The case reflects how courts are increasingly relying on digital evidence in criminal proceedings.
The UAE Appeals Court has acquitted a well-known personality of a cybercrime charge, ruling that prosecutors failed to establish that she was behind the social media account cited as evidence against her.
She and a second man had previously been convicted by the Federal Court of First Instance and fined Dh250,000 each after her husband alleged that she had been in contact with the man on Snapchat and involved in an “illicit relationship” with him.
Both were charged with using social media to incite and entice prostitution and immoral acts. The first-instance court had relied on a digital forensics report covering chats, messages and recordings extracted from electronic devices. The report had been submitted by the woman’s husband.
On appeal, Ahmed Al Zarooni, advocate and founder of Ahmed Al Zarooni Advocates and Legal Consultants, said the defence strategy was not to re-argue the facts of the case, but to scrutinise the evidence.
The defence focused on three key questions: Had it been technically established that the account belonged to the woman? Was she actually the person using it? And was the device from which the evidence was extracted in her possession at the relevant time?
After reviewing the case file, the appeals court found that forensic laboratories had attempted to identify the owners of the Snapchat accounts but were unable to do so. Investigators also found no evidence linking the accounts to the woman.
The court ruled that the mere appearance of a person’s name on a social media account does not, on its own, establish ownership. Independent technical evidence is required to conclusively prove the connection between an account and the person accused of operating it.
The court also held that, while the husband’s statements could ordinarily be taken into consideration, they were not sufficient on their own in this case because questions remained over the source and attribution of the digital evidence.
The ruling reaffirmed that digital evidence must be reliably and conclusively linked to the defendant, and that a conviction cannot be based on conjecture. Any reasonable doubt must be resolved in favour of the accused, in line with the presumption of innocence.
The Federal Court of Appeal subsequently overturned the first-instance judgment and acquitted the woman of all charges.
The case highlights the growing importance courts place on digital evidence in criminal proceedings, as well as the need to establish not only that incriminating content exists, but also who created it, controlled the account or was responsible for the device from which it was obtained.
“The goal in criminal defence isn’t to hunt for a technicality; it’s to test the evidence,” Al Zarooni said. “Is the evidence certain enough to sustain a conviction, or does it leave a real possibility of doubt? As long as that possibility remains, the presumption of innocence cannot be set aside.”
