State Secretary for Portuguese Communities José Cesário said his office is “permanently following” the case of 18-year-old Sofia Janeiro, who was detained in January along with a 36-year-old Spanish transsexual.
José Cesário said Portuguese authorities have kept ongoing contact with the teen’s family via the Embassy after learning of the case through Amnesty International.
According to the State Secretary the case has “very delicate” outlines and the intention is to “get through the process as quickly as possible”, but “we must bear in mind that both committed a crime according to local law.”
Speaking to Lusa News Agency, State Secretary Cesário explained that the duo – the Portuguese national and his Spanish partner, both transsexuals – were ordered to pay a fine of around €480 and were told to leave the country, and are “awaiting expulsion in a local hospital due to the health problems of one of them.”
Identified in online reports as Sofia Janeiro and Alessandra Chanel, the pair were convicted for “disrespecting moral standards, indecent behaviour and resistance to authority”, according to news agency Efe.
The Spanish international news agency further claims that the pair also faced charges of transvestism but were absolved of the crime as both are legally identified on their passports as women and not men.
Nonetheless UAE law does not recognise the existence of transsexuals and legal proceedings regarded them as transvestites.
Sofia Janeiro and Alessandra Chanel were arrested on 22 January while standing outside the door of a bathroom in the Burj Jalifa subway station.
Their case was denounced by Amnesty International, which asked Dubai authorities to allow them to return home.