Abu Dhabi court fines woman Dhs5,000 for publishing photo of another without her permission

The Abu Dhabi Family, Civil and Administrative Cases Court has ordered a woman to pay Dhs5,000 in damages to another woman for insulting and defaming her online and publishing her personal photos without permission or consent with the intent of tarnishing her reputation and causing her harm.

The woman had previously been convicted by a criminal court, which fined her Dhs20,000 after amendment.

Specifically, the plaintiff filed a lawsuit against the defendant, requesting that she be ordered to pay Dhs51,000 in compensation for material and moral damages suffered as a result of her actions.

The complainant also requested that the defendant be ordered to pay the court fees, expenses, and attorney's fees.

The plaintiff filed her lawsuit on the basis that the defendant had slandered and defamed her via information technology, publishing her personal photos without her permission or consent in order to tarnish her reputation and cause her harm by threatening to publish them more widely via a social media platforms.

She filed a criminal lawsuit against the defendant, who was convicted of the first charge and fined Dhs20,000, and sentenced to two months' imprisonment for the second charge.

However, an appeal judgment amended this to suspend the execution of the freedom-restricting penalty for a period of three years from the date the judgment became final, unless otherwise specified. The judgment was not appealed against and became final.

The Court explained that the defendant's actions had caused moral damage to the plaintiff, affecting her honour and reputation, as a result of the insult.

Taking all of the above into account, the court has the discretionary power to award her compensation of Dhs5,000 for the moral damages she suffered. However, as the complainant failed to provide evidence to support her claim for material damages, the court ruled that this request should be rejected.