SHARJAH, UAE — The parents of alleged adulteress Roxanne Hillier will submit a petition against her imprisonment, signed by over a thousand people, in the coming days as concerns grow over her mental health, her distraught father said late on Tuesday. A court in the conservative UAE emirate of Sharjah jailed the 22-year-old South African for three months in May for allegedly having sex with her married boss. Under UAE law adultery and pre-marital sex carries a jail sentence. "I am genuinely concerned for Roxanne's well being, I think she will need counselling when she finally gets out of jail," Freddie Hillier told reporters. Freddie said his daughter has become withdrawn during her time behind bars and is no longer the bubbly, assertive character she once was. "I am concerned she is showing signs of withdrawal. I have a very bad feeling that this experience will have a long lasting effect on her," he said. Freddie said the petition calling for her "immediate and unconditional" release will be sent to the South African president and UAE embassies around the world. Roxanne, who was working as a dive assistant, is due for release around the middle of August when she will be deported from the UAE. Her 41-year-old Emirati boss was acquitted of all charges. Freddie also slammed the court verdict in the face forensic tests taken shortly after Roxanne was arrested, which Freddie said proved his daughter not had sex with her boss. "When my daughter was first arrested she told me they examined her. She said they (medical examiners) 'stuck probes everywhere'. But none of the samples revealed any sign of sex having taken place," he said. | | Scuba diving instructor Roxanne Hillier, 22, was convicted and jailed for allegedly having sex with her boss, the owner of a dive shop in the UAE emirate of Sharjah. "My daughter is innocent, they know that, yet she is still in jail." Since Roxanne was jailed her family has launched a campaign on the web-based social forum Facebook calling for her release, which has raised more than a thousand signatures and messages of support. by Peter Harrison |
