"I
then went to the passport control desk and noticed that Messi’s
passport was left there, so I picked it up and shot a video of myself
while holding it," said JM.
He posted the clip on Snapchat with
the caption:
"This is Messi’s, he is here in Dubai, what do I do? Shall I
burn the passport or just put it back! Ok Ok you can go!"
The
clip was later reported to police and JM was charged with violating
Messi’s privacy, which he confessed to in court but said it was only a
joke. The policeman told prosecutors he had permission from
Messi’s bodyguard, who was standing next to the passport control desk
and saw him as he spotted the player’s passport.
"He was
standing there so I spoke to him in English and asked him if I could
take a picture of myself with the player’s passport and he said yes,"
said JM.
He added that the passport control officer present at
the desk at the time was not responsible for the incident.
"I didn’t
take his permission — he was there but didn’t see what happened,” said
the defendant, who deleted the clip after uploading it to Snapchat.
"I
have no idea how it got circulated. I was just kidding and had never
done this thing with anyone else before. I was wrong and I promise I
would never repeat such a behaviour," said JM.
Emirati policeman MA, 31, testified he was
patrolling the private jet area when he saw JM.
"It was 4am when I saw
him still present and my colleague asked him to go home, then my
colleague and I left to resume our checks ahead of the plane landing,”
said the officer"
MA said orders banning the use of mobile phones
during working hours were clear to all, including the defendant.
"I
don’t know why he did that, he knows it’s not allowed. We all would love
to have a picture with Messi but it’s not allowed,” he said.
In court, the defendant confessed to the charge and requested leniency. A verdict is expected later this month.
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