Defamation
Defamation Lawyers in Dubai
A complaint about something you wrote can be filed the same day you write it. A message in a work group, a comment under a post, a review, or a voice note forwarded to one other person is enough for someone to walk into a police station here and start a file.
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The short answer
This page explains what counts as defamation or insult in the UAE, the difference between the criminal route and a civil claim for compensation, what to do if a complaint has been made against you, what to do if you are the one being targeted, and how evidence has to be preserved on either side.
On this page
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What counts as defamation in the UAE
Two related ideas
UAE law deals separately with insult, which is language attacking a person’s dignity or honour, and defamation, which is attributing something to a person that would expose them to punishment or public contempt. The two often appear in the same complaint, and which is alleged changes how the case is argued.
It does not have to be a newspaper
People assume defamation means a published article. Most complaints here come out of ordinary communication: a group chat, a message to a colleague, a comment under someone’s photograph, a review, or something said in front of other people. Slander in the UAE, the spoken form, is taken seriously rather than dismissed as talk.
Whether anyone else had to see it
The question of how many people received the statement, and whether a message sent to one person counts, comes up in almost every case. It affects both whether a complaint gets anywhere and how it is charged.
Is it a defence that the statement was true?
Do not assume it is. Truth does not work the way people expect, and a defence built entirely on being right about the underlying facts can fail.
Who can complain
Individuals complain about statements made about them. Whether a company can do the same about a statement concerning its business, and who can complain for someone who has died or is abroad, are separate questions.
What the law does about penalties
We publish no penalty ranges, fine figures or sentence lengths. The provisions on insult, defamation and online offences have been amended more than once, and a figure copied from an older article is worse than no figure at all. Ask us about the exposure on your facts.
The criminal route and the civil route
A criminal complaint
Most defamation matters in Dubai start as a complaint to the police, which goes to the Public Prosecution and, if referred, to the criminal court. The complainant is not in control of it once it is filed. The route is the one set out on our page about criminal cases in Dubai.
A civil claim
A civil claim asks for compensation for harm caused by the statement. It needs proof that there was harm and that the statement caused it, which is different evidence from what a criminal file needs. It is the route when what you want is money or a correction.
Running both
A civil claim for compensation can in defined circumstances be attached to the criminal case rather than brought separately, which saves duplication. Whether that is available, and at what stage, depends on the case.
Choosing between them
A criminal complaint is faster to start and carries more pressure. A civil claim is the only route to compensation. People often file the criminal complaint first without deciding what they want at the end, then find the outcome does not give it to them.
How long you have
Both routes have time limits, and they are not the same. Do not assume you can leave it for a few months while you decide.
Social media, WhatsApp and group chats
Why so many cases start here
A written message is a permanent record of exactly what was said, with a timestamp and a recipient list, which makes these cases far easier to file than a dispute about words spoken in a corridor. A screenshot is often the whole complaint. Group chats produce most of them, particularly work and building groups, where a comment made in frustration is read by twenty people and forwarded on.
Reviews and public posts
A review of a company, a post naming a former employer, or a comment identifying someone in a dispute can all lead to a complaint, even where the writer believes every word of it.
Forwarding someone else’s words
Passing on a message you did not write does not automatically put you outside the problem. If you forwarded it, you circulated it.
Deleting does not undo it
The other side almost certainly has the screenshot already. Deleting removes your own record of the surrounding conversation, which is usually the part that helps you, and it can look like destroying evidence. Do not delete anything once you know a complaint may be coming.
If a complaint has been made against you
The first steps
Attend if you are called, because staying away does not make the complaint go away. Before you go, write down your own account with dates and collect the full conversation, not just the message complained about. Tell us the station and the case reference.
What not to do
Do not contact the complainant to argue, apologise in writing or offer money without advice, because all of it goes into the file. Do not post about the case. Do not delete accounts or messages. Do not sign a statement you have not understood.
What the defence usually turns on
Who sent the message and from which device. What the whole exchange said rather than the extracted part. Whether the person was identifiable. Whether anyone else received it. Whether it was an allegation of fact or an opinion. These cases turn on the surrounding material, not the sentence in the screenshot.
Whether you can travel
A complaint can have consequences for movement while the file is open. Find out your position before you book anything.
If you are the person being targeted
Preserve the evidence first
Capture the content before it is taken down. Save the full screen including the account name, the handle, the date and the time, and record the link. Keep the original device. Note who else saw it and ask them to keep their own copy. Do not edit or crop the images.
What a good complaint contains
A clear statement of what was said, by whom, when, to whom, and how you are identifiable from it. The material itself, in a form that can be examined. Evidence of the effect on you if you want compensation. A badly assembled complaint is a common reason a file goes nowhere.
Screenshots on their own
Whether screenshots are accepted as they stand, or whether a technical examination of the device or account is required, depends on what is disputed.
Getting the content removed
Removal and blocking are handled separately from the complaint itself, through the platform and through the relevant authority.
When it happened online
Where the statement was published online, the complaint may engage the provisions on online offences as well as the general ones. If it also involves hacked accounts, images, blackmail or online fraud, speak to a cyber crime lawyer in Dubai and read our page on cybercrime defence.
Settlement and withdrawal
Where withdrawal ends the matter
In some categories of case, withdrawal by the complainant ends it. In others the prosecution continues regardless of what the complainant now wants. Establish which applies to your case before anyone agrees to anything or pays anything.
How a settlement should be recorded
If the matter can be settled, the terms need to be written down: what is withdrawn, what is corrected, what is deleted, and what each side agrees not to do next. A verbal understanding reached through a mutual friend is not a settlement.
Paying is not always the right move
An unadvised payment can be read as an admission and it does not always close the file. Get advice on whether payment achieves anything before money moves.
What to bring us
The message, post, review or recording, in its original form and with the conversation around it. The case number and the station, if one exists. Your Emirates ID and passport. The names of anyone else who saw it. A written timeline. Anything showing the background dispute, because a defamation case in Dubai is usually the second chapter of an argument about something else.
How we charge is set out on our legal fees page.
Questions people ask us
Can someone file a case over a WhatsApp message?
Yes, and it happens regularly. A private message, a voice note and a group post have all led to complaints here. The fact that you considered the conversation private does not by itself end the question.
Can I be reported for a bad review?
A review that makes an allegation about a person or a business can be the subject of a complaint. Whether it goes anywhere depends on what was said and whether it reads as a statement of fact about an identifiable party.
What if I was the one insulted first?
That is relevant context and it should go into the file, but it is not an automatic answer to a complaint against you. Counter complaints are common here and belong in one strategy, not filed in temper.
Does an apology close the file?
Not on its own, and an apology written without advice can be used as an admission. If an apology forms part of a settlement, it should be drafted with the settlement rather than sent in a panic.
I have left the UAE and found out there is a case. What now?
A file can proceed in your absence, and you may only discover it when you try to return. These matters can often be addressed without you being present, at least at the start.
Speak to a defamation lawyer in Dubai
If a complaint has been filed, find out what it says and what stage it has reached. If you are the one being targeted, preserve the material before it disappears. We can do either.
Call us on +971 50 747 9570 or email help@lawyerindubai.ae. Our office is at Empire Height Towers, Marasi Drive, Business Bay, Dubai. You can also reach us through our contact page.
Related pages: cybercrime defence, criminal lawyers in Dubai, legal fees.
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