An airport officer will face six months behind the bars and a possible fine of €124,000 might be charged from him as he made a video of himself with Lionel Messi’s passport and posted it on social media. He made the video after his request for a photograph with the Argentine star was turned down.
This incident happened in Dubai when the Barcelona star visited the place a month ago for the Globe Soccer Awards, where he won the Best Player of the Year. This particular Emirati policeman wanted to take a photo with Messi but he was told that the Barcelona star was too tired from all the travelling. The policeman, who has been identified as J.J. was not disheartened by this.
He walked to the desk in the passport control office and found Messi’s passport lying there. The 26 year old then made a video of himself along with the passport and uploaded it on the Snapchat application with the message, “This is Messi here in Dubai … what shall I do now? Burn his passport or let it go! Alas … I will let it go."
“I waited for Messi’s arrival to take a photo with him, but his private escorts informed me that the player was tired and would not be able to take a photo,” the airport official said.
"Thereafter I walked to the passport control’s office where I saw Messi’s passport on a desk. I grabbed the passport and opened it to the page that contained Messi’s personal details and took video images with my iPhone via Snapchat."
J.J. was charged with abusing the telecommunications system and breaking the Cybercrime Law. However, he has asked the authorities to be more lenient with him.
Dubai-based Advocate Ali Abdullah Al Shamsi said, “His behaviour is deemed a breach of Messi’s privacy because the passport is considered a private possession just like the details mentioned on it.
"As a private ownership, the passport and the details printed inside it are protected by law just like the protection that the passport’s bearer enjoys."
The fact that the policeman was, after all, a fan must be kept in mind. Though no matter how big a fan he was, there are some limits that must never be broken. In this case, Messi’s privacy was breached by a police personal who had been invested with the duty to protect privacy.
