A Ukrainian woman living in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates with her South African boyfriend has had charges of having sex outside marriage dropped, and may now face deportation instead, media have reported.
According to South African news website News24, the family of the South African man will arrange for the couple to fly to South Africa.
Iryna Nohai and her fiancé Emlyn Culverwell, who both work and reside in Abu Dhabi, were detained at the end of January, but have since been released pending a court hearing of their case.
The UAE has strict laws against extramarital sex, with prison sentences, fines and deportation for foreigners being common penalties.
The couple’s breach of UAE law was discovered when Nohai, together with her fiancé, went to the Medeor medical centre in Abu Dhabi on Jan. 29 complaining that she was suffering from stomach cramps, News24 reported earlier, quoting Culverwell’s mother.
The doctor found that Nohai was actually pregnant, and contacted the UAE authorities.
The first secretary of the consular section of the Embassy of Ukraine in the UAE, Yaroslav Sakal, confirmed to the Kyiv Post that Nohai had then been arrested.
“There is (such) a law in the UAE. And when a person goes to another country they need to follow the laws there,” Sakal said.
“From our side we’re doing everything possible,” Sakal said, “We visited Iryna regularly when she was in the detention center, we spoke to the South African consulate, we keep in touch with her relatives.”
Sakal said the next court hearing of the couple’s case could be held on March 17.
Nohai and Culverwell were released from the detention center and are back at their flat in Abu Dhabi waiting for their hearing.
“Representatives of both the Ukrainian embassy and South African consulate are to be present during the hearing, and hopefully somebody from their employing company too,” Sakal said.
Nohai and Culverwell worked together at Yas Waterworld, a waterpark in Abu Dhabi. The pair has been dating for a few years and reportedly got engaged on Jan. 27.
Sakal says that consular section was continuing to monitor the case, and that Nohai has had permission to speak to her mother throughout the investigation.
