The man’s attempts included contacting three different sorcerers, spending Dh30,000 overall, before the authorities intervened and arrested him/ Representational Image

A man in the UAE has been sentenced to six months in prison after being convicted of engaging in sorcery and violating the privacy of his estranged wife and her family. The Fujairah Court of Appeal upheld the initial ruling, which also included the confiscation and destruction of materials seized during the investigation. The case came to light after the wife filed a police report, accusing her husband of using black magic against her, their children, and her relatives. Her suspicions were confirmed when she was contacted by a spiritual healer who provided her with WhatsApp messages and photos that directly implicated her husband. According to a report by Emarat Al Youm, the husband admitted during police interrogation that he had gone online in search of someone who could cast love spells to restore his failing marriage. He found a woman from another Arab country promoting herself on social media as an expert in “bringing back loved ones.” He contacted her via WhatsApp and paid her Dh20,000. As part of the ritual, he sent her personal images of his wife, a video of himself, and their phone numbers.Things took a turn when the woman demanded an additional Dh25,000. When he refused, she threatened to expose his actions by sending the compromising content to his wife. Undeterred by the threat, the man turned to another practitioner, paying Dh10,000 for a second attempt at spellwork. When that too failed, he contacted a third woman who didn’t initially request money, but before anything could proceed further, he was apprehended by authorities. Meanwhile, the wife had already moved out of their home two months earlier and had initiated divorce proceedings due to alleged abuse. Her suspicions regarding her husband’s use of sorcery were further confirmed when a woman, believed to be connected to the earlier “spiritual healer,” contacted her from outside the UAE and offered evidence of his actions for Dh35,000. Refusing to pay without seeing proof, the wife was sent photos, a video, and images of magical rituals. These materials were handed over to the police.The Public Prosecution brought four formal charges against the man:

These charges fell under the UAE’s cybercrime and fraud laws and were classified as misdemeanors. The initial court found the evidence compelling and handed down a six-month prison sentence, along with an order to confiscate and destroy the incriminating digital materials. The man appealed the ruling, denying all charges in court. However, the appellate court rejected his claims, citing clear evidence and sound legal reasoning in the original verdict.The appeal was dismissed, and the six-month jail sentence was officially upheld by the Fujairah Court of Appeal. The case has garnered public attention for highlighting the intersection of digital privacy, superstition, and the misuse of technology in personal relationships. No further charges were reported against the spiritual healers involved, though their identities and phone numbers were part of the investigation. The court’s final decision underlined the UAE’s firm stance against sorcery, fraud, and cyber-enabled privacy violations.