UAE imprisons transgender Singaporean, friend for their look
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A transgender Singaporean and her friend have been sentenced to a year in prison in the capital of the United Arab Emirates for dressing in a feminine way, friends and family say.
Abu Dhabi police did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday, but the two’s arrest and quick sentencing show the danger that the LGBT community can face in the Mideast nation home to the famous nightclub scene of Dubai.
Nur Qistina Fitriah Ibrahim, a transgender woman who has not undergone a sex-change operation, and her friend, freelance fashion photographer Muhammad Fadli Bin Abdul Rahman, were arrested in Abu Dhabi on Aug. 9, friends say. Police stopped them at Yas Mall as they tried to eat at a food court, said Radha Stirling, CEO of the advocacy group Detained in Dubai.
Fadli at the time of his arrest was wearing a white T-shirt, a bow tie and earrings, his brother Muhammad Saiful Bahri Bin Abdul Rahman said.