Group Of Women Arrested After Posing Naked On Dubai Balcony

Footage was shared on Twitter which showed a group of women on the front of a penthouse apartment on the Dubai Marina.

The UAE has strict laws on social media and anything that is classed as 'lewd' can be punishable by a fine or custodial sentence. It even extends to people sharing images or footage of the event.

A police statement read: "A criminal case has been registered against the arrested, and they have been referred to Public Prosecution for further legal action.

"Dubai Police warns against such unacceptable behaviours, which do not reflect the values and ethics of Emirati society."

The group of women can be seen on the balcony, in what appeared to be a publicity stunt.

The penalty for engaging in lewd behaviour is up to six months in prison and a fine of 5,000 AED (£985), with police warning about making and publishing 'pornographic material' online, which includes those sharing the images.

It added: "Any person who establishes, operates or supervises an electronic site and/or transmits, sends or publishes through an electronic site, gambling or pornographic materials shall be punished by imprisonment and a fine of not less than Dh250,000 and not exceeding Dh500,000."

In February, a British woman was detained in Dubai after sending a single swear word over WhatsApp to her housemate, who in turn went to the police.

The woman, a human resources manager in her 30s, had messaged her housemate to say she planned to use the dining table when working from home, but the discussion somehow escalated and she used a swear word.

She eventually forgot about the disagreement - which happened some months ago - but the row resurfaced when she tried to leave the country to return to England.

The woman had been living in Dubai since 2018, and had already shipped her belongings back home, with her visa about to expire.

But it wasn't until she was in the airport that she was told by authorities that she couldn't leave, as police had a case against her.

It turned out that the woman was under investigation after her flatmate's allegations, due to Dubai's strict cyber crime laws.

The woman tried to speak to the former housemate to get her to drop the case, but she 'doesn't seem to care'.