Jailed Dubai mum Marnie Pearce to be freed by pardon tomorrow

source Mirror

Marnie Pearce, the British mum jailed in Dubai for adultery, has won a dramatic pardon and will be set free tomorrow.

Marnie, 40, was locked up after her Egyptian husband falsely claimed she cheated on him. She was supposed to be deported back to Britain after her sentence – which could have meant never seeing her two young sons again.

Now, in a dramatic U-turn by the authorities in Dubai, Marnie is being pardoned and allowed to stay to fight  her ex-husband, Ihab El Labban, for custody of the boys.

In an emotional phone call from prison on the eve of her release, Marnie told the Sunday Mirror: “I didn’t dare believe I would ever have the chance to hug my babies again.

“When I first heard the deportation order was going to be lifted I just felt numb. When the news did sink in I cried tears of joy.”

The U-turn comes after a long-running campaign by the Sunday Mirror and human rights charity Amnesty International, who describe Marnie as a “prisoner of conscience”.

Under the terms of her pardon, the conviction for adultery – which Marnie vehemently denies – will still stand.

But a ruling ordering deportation at the end of her three-month sentence, cut short for good behaviour, has been scrapped.

CAMPAIGN

It means she can stay to fight for custody of sons Laith, eight, and Ziad, four, who were wrenched sobbing from her in heartbreaking scenes filmed on a mobile phone.

El Labban won custody by accusing his wife of adultery – a serious crime punishable by jail under Sharia law – after she exposed his affair with an American woman.

Marnie, from Bracknell, Berks, said: “All I have ever wanted is to stay in Dubai and fight for the chance to see my boys. No mother should be kept from their children.

“It’s a child’s right to see their mother and I’ve got to fight to make sure the boys have the chance to be with me, for their sake as much as mine. I am holding on to the thought that I will be able to hold them, cuddle them and tell them how much I love them and how much I have missed them.”

Marnie’s reprieve came moments before campaigners were due to hand in a petition, signed by 5,000 people, to the United Arab Emirates embassy in London.

he hand-over was cancelled when senior officials at Dubai’s judiciary agreed on Thursday that Marnie’s deportation should be reviewed.

It is believed the decision followed a series of meetings with Foreign Office officials.

On Thursday afternoon a message was sent from the Dubai authorities to prison officials at Central Jail al-Awir, where Marnie is being held, to say that she was not going to be deported.

Marnie, who wed El Labban in the Seychelles in 1999, said: “I want to thank the British public for all the support they have given me – it has really kept me going.

“And I want to thank the Sunday Mirror for helping to raise awareness of my case and keeping it in the public eye.”

POLICE RAID

Marnie, who was not allowed to speak in court to defend herself, was arrested last March along with British ex-pat Brian Clark after El Labban claimed they were having an affair.

When officers raided Marnie’s home they found the pair fully clothed, having a cup of tea.

Yet both were arrested and Marnie was charged when her husband suddenly produced used condoms which he claimed were evidence.

But last month a Sunday Mirror investigation revealed that pharmacist El Labban, 41, was the real love cheat. He had an affair with American businesswoman Tonya Thompson, 46, a mum of two who he met at a sales conference in Dubai.

When Marnie found out she threw him out of their home. Fearing he would lose custody of the children, he then reported Marnie as an adulteress.

Before she was jailed for three months in February, Marnie was forced to hand over her children to El Labban in harrowing scenes captured by a passer-by and posted online.

Marnie said yesterday: “The last few months have been a very dark time for me. But knowing that the deportation order has been lifted it is like a light has come back in my life.

“It has been very tough in jail and hard to stay positive. I was completely heartbroken at the thought of not seeing my sons again. Now at least I have some sort of chance of access.”