A British man who was sentenced to three months' imprisonment in Dubai for touching another man's hip has today had the charges against him dropped.
Jamie Harron, 27, from Stirling, was sentenced in his absence for public indecency in the Middle Eastern country yesterday.
But he is now free to leave the country after having his passport returned - and said he is flying home tomorrow.
He also said his parents are 'ecstatic' that he is returning after his experience with the 'absolute shambles' of Dubai's justice system.
His mother, Patricia, said she was 'absolutely delighted' at the news.
Harron told her: 'Just stop crying mum, don't be upset anymore. Don't cry anymore.'
He said he put his hand on businessman Emad Tabaza's hip to avoid spilling a drink in a crowded bar.
His German accuser dropped the complaint, but local prosecutors decided to proceed with the case.
The electrician had been working in Afghanistan and was on a two-day stopover in the United Arab Emirates when he was arrested in July.
The vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, has exonerated Harron, according to the group Detained in Dubai.
Radha Stirling, who works for Detained in Dubai, said: 'The cases against him have been dismissed, and the sentence imposed by the court yesterday has been nullified.
'We wish to express our deepest gratitude to Sheikh Mohammed for his personal intervention in this case, and for exonerating Jamie at long last.
'It has now been established that the allegations against Jamie were entirely unwarranted, defamatory, and meritless; to such an extent that the ruler of the country found it necessary to step in and correct the wrongful action of the public prosecutor and to quash the judgment of the court.'
She added: 'This was a courageous and honourable decision on the part of Sheikh Mohammed.
'While it highlights the urgent need for judicial reform in the country, it is also a hopeful sign that the UAE's leadership possesses the will and vision to pursue such reforms in the future.'
She said Harron is now considering a civil suit against the businessman and his staff who also accused him of drinking alcohol and making a rude gesture.
When he was sentenced yesterday, he was given two weeks to appeal the decision.
He was said to be 'angry, disappointed, and dreads what may happen next'.
He was initially jailed for five days and then released on bail with his passport confiscated.
The incident occurred at the raucous Rock Bottom bar, popular among Dubai's many wealthy and often tipsy foreign residents and tourists.
Stirling said at the time: 'He has already suffered tremendously as a result of these allegations, and now faces the likelihood of incarceration.
'He feels betrayed and exploited by the system, which did not investigate the reports of key witnesses in his defence and led him to believe that the case would be dropped.'
She added: 'His family was unable to visit him during this critical time because they faced a very real risk of imprisonment themselves under the UAE's cyber crime laws which forbid criticism of the government.'
Harron had already been sentenced in absentia to 30 days in prison for failing to appear at a court hearing for making a rude gesture and drinking alcohol during the same July incident.
Stirling said she believed a decree from Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, had resolved the case.
In Dubai, as in the other seven sheikhdoms that make up the United Arab Emirates, absolute power rests with the hereditary ruler.
'It was just a public-relations nightmare for the country,' Stirling said.
She said of Harron: 'He was understandably nervous; as similar calls from the police in other cases were merely tactics to lure individuals into police custody.
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