Spying on spouse is a criminal offence in UAE

Husbands who spy on their wives by bugging their cars or tapping their phones are committing a crime. Marriage does not permit a husband to keep his wife under surveillance without her consent because doing so is a breach of privacy, according to Senior Chief Prosecutor Esmail Madani, Head of the Public Funds Prosecution.

“A husband who taps his wife’s phone or bugs her car without consent is committing a crime that’s punishable by law. Marriage should not be deemed as an alibi for a husband or wife to bug the other party without permission or consent. Husbands or wives will be subject to legal action if they are caught breaching their partner’s privacy. Individuals should be aware that using the telecommunications systems to bug someone without obtaining prior permission from the concerned authorities is a crime,” Madani said yesterday.

His warning came in light of a Dubai Appeal Court’s judgement against a 38-year-old Emirati man, H.A., who was jailed for three months and fined Dh10,000, for secretly installing a tracking and bugging device in the car of his 31-year-old countrywoman E.Y., who he is now divorced. Although H.A. contended that E.Y. was still his wife when he installed the tracking device, Starfinder AV120, in her car the court found him guilty.

Prosecutors charged H.A. with using the device without obtaining permission from the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) and breaching E.Y.’s privacy by eavesdropping on her calls.

Prosecutor Abdul Rahman Nasser, who carried out the investigations, charged a 47-year-old Lebanese manager, R.J., with promoting and selling the tracking device [Starfinder] unlawfully and without the TRA’s permission.

According to the charge sheet, R.J.’s company was listed as a suspect in the case.  According to the appeal ruling, R.J. was fined Dh100,000 and his company was also fined Dh100,000