Source: Al Emarat Al Youm – Abu Dhabi Court of Family, Civil, and Administrative Matters
A disagreement between two girls escalated to one of them directing insults at the other via WhatsApp and exploiting her photos for public shaming on TikTok, which caused her psychological harm.
The Abu Dhabi Court of Family, Civil, and Administrative Claims ruled that the defendant must pay 10,000 dirhams in compensation, while the criminal court had previously convicted her and imposed a fine of 20,000 dirhams.
In detail, a girl filed a lawsuit against another, demanding that she pay 45,000 dirhams in compensation for the damages she suffered, along with legal interest from the date of the lawsuit until full payment, as well as court fees, expenses, and attorney fees. She based her claim on the fact that the defendant insulted her via WhatsApp and published her photos on TikTok. The defendant was previously convicted in absentia by a criminal ruling, sentenced to three months’ imprisonment, and deported from the country for the first offense. For the second offense, she was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment and prohibited from using the internet for six months. Upon appeal, the court modified the ruling, setting the fine at 10,000 dirhams for the first offense and 10,000 dirhams for the second. In her response, the defendant argued that she was not at fault, claiming that her actions were a reaction to the plaintiff’s misconduct, and requested the lawsuit be dismissed or, alternatively, that the compensation amount be reduced proportionally to the actual damage, if any.
The court noted that the criminal ruling carries weight in civil proceedings whenever it decisively establishes the occurrence of the act that forms the common basis between the criminal and civil claims, the legal description of the act, and its attribution to the perpetrator. The court emphasized that the fault for which the defendant was criminally convicted was the cause of the plaintiff’s damages.
Regarding the claim for moral and material compensation, the court confirmed the defendant’s fault, which resulted in moral harm affecting the plaintiff’s reputation, dignity, and emotional well-being.
The court rejected the claim for material damages, as the case documents contained no evidence proving that the plaintiff suffered any material loss due to the defendant’s actions. The court ruled that the defendant must pay the plaintiff 10,000 dirhams as compensation for the moral damages she suffered and bear the court fees and expenses, while all other claims were dismissed.