Abu Dhabi: An Abu Dhabi man has admitted using a picture of a woman in a medical centre advertisement without her permission, according to the Public Prosecution.

The Asian man was also accused of carrying on commercial activities without first obtaining a licence from the Ministry of Economy and Commerce.

The defendant had agreed with one of the medical centres in the capital to design an advertisement about the arrival of a new medical device. However, he designed the poster using a photograph of a woman from the internet without taking her permission or the centre’s approval, which was deemed to have affected her reputation.

The man pleaded guilty and confessed to downloading the Arab woman’s picture with the help of his friend.

Gulf News had reported earlier that the UAE laws prohibit people from taking photographs or videos of other individuals without their permission and publish them anywhere. If the images are not published, however, there is no court case.

“This means that if photos of a person are taken without their approval, but are kept private, the owner of the content will not be penalised by the law,” Ali Al Abbadi, an Abu Dhabi-based lawyer, said earlier.

The Court of Misdemeanours handles such cases and penalties can be up to three years in prison and a fine of as much as Dh30,000.

“These can range from a minimum of one month up to three years in prison and a fine of a minimum of Dh1,000 to Dh30,000,” he said.

In all libel cases, the offensive material must be presented to authorities as proof that the crime has been committed.

In situations where the defamation was only verbal, evidence can be presented by a witness who heard the words.

According to the Arab Social Media Report website, the UAE has the highest Facebook penetration rate (41.6 per cent) in the region.

Therefore, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) had earlier warned Facebook users against tagging other users without their permission and posting content that is contrary to public morals, the principles of Islam and the social and moral welfare of the UAE or anything that offends a nation or its government.