Dubai court to review deportation of British mom

Dubai court to review deportation of British mom


DUBAI (AlArabiya.net)

A British woman facing deportation from Dubai on charges of adultery may remain in the emirate after all, supporters said Saturday after calling off a march earlier in the week after Dubai authorities promised to review her case.Marnie Pearce, a 40-year-old British expat convicted and jailed for adultery, is nearing the end of a three-month sentence after which she was supposed to be deported back to Britain with no chance of seeing her children.However campaigners, who rallied to support Pearce on foot and on the social networking site Facebook, called off their scheduled march when Dubai authorities announced a review of Pearce's deportation order once she is released early May.

“Following discussions with the Dubai authorities we have agreed to suspend the handing over of the petition," Pearce's supporters said in a statement."We have had a promise from the Dubai authorities that they are in the process of reviewing their position in regards to Marnie's deportation and custody case. We feel that with the negotiations at a delicate stage it would be inappropriate to hand in the petition at this time.”Last month the British Embassy asked that the deportation order be rescinded but the court's ruling was said to be irreversible.

Family feud
Pearce lost custody of her two children, aged four and eight, after she and her former Egyptian husband Hamdi al-Sheewi separated in Dec. 2007 and he accused her of adultery.She faced losing her children in March after Dubai's top court rejected her second appeal and sentenced her to three months in jail followed by deportation.Her supporters planned to hand in a petition to the embassy of the United Arab Emirates in London on Thursday calling for her to be allowed to see her children.Pearce was charged with consensual sex out of wedlock, a charge she has vehemently denied. She accused her husband of lying "so that he could win the custody of their two children," UAE newspaper Gulf News reported.According to reports, she attempted to run away with the children but turned herself in last month and handed over the children to their father.