An alleged British computer hacker has been stranded without a job in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the past six months, while the prosecution has failed to produce a case, the Briton's lawyer said Monday.
"Until now, (the UAE state-run telecoms company) Etisalat has not submitted any documents to the prosecution" in the emirate of Dubai, the lawyer for Lee Ashurst, 21, told the daily Gulf News.
"I will be asking for the case to be proceeded with immediately, or dropped altogether following the Eid holidays" this week that mark the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, said Habib al-Mulla.
"I think six months is a very long period to investigate such a case, especially as Etisalat should have had evidence to support its claims when they were made," Mulla said. Etisalat has said it would submit a technical report to the prosecution of its allegations against the Briton.
Ashurst was questioned by Etisalat officials and police officers who raided his apartment in Dubai ¯ the Internet, trading and leisure hub of the UAE ¯ on June 14. His laptop was confiscated and passport has been retained.
He has been accused of "misuse" of Etisalat equipment and services, charges which carry a maximum six months in jail or a fine of up to 10,000 dirhams ($2,725).
But the Dubai public prosecutor's office yet to decide whether to take the case to court, while Ashurst was fired from his job as a computer network engineer with a construction company after his case appeared in local newspapers.
Etisalat, the sole Internet provider in the UAE, experienced major web disruptions in June. — (AFP, Dubai)
© Agence France Presse 2000
© 2000 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
