Story By: Lee Bullen, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash
Gorgeous Moroccan actress Mariam Hussein has said that she “made a mistake” when she allowed restaurant well-wishers to approach her for snaps on her birthday, leading to her arrest for breaking COVID-19 restrictions.
Hussein, 32, who has appeared in numerous Gulf television series and Arabic-language films, was taken in for questioning by the police in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after footage of her celebrating her birthday at a restaurant were widely circulated online.
Images showed the Moroccan actress, who lives in Dubai, surrounded by diners in the restaurant on her birthday.
Hussein said: “I went for dinner in a restaurant with my mother, a relative, and friend.”
However, Hussein said she was given a surprise birthday cake by the restaurant’s owners and well-wishers suddenly crowded around to take snaps with her.
Hussein, who boasts nearly 700,000 followers on Instagram, told the Emirati newspaper The National: “There were no plans for a birthday party, but the restaurant brought me a surprise birthday cake.
“Surveillance cameras can confirm that it all went unplanned.
She added: “I am aware of how strict measures are taken against offenders.”
The actress told The National: “I would not break them just to celebrate my birthday, but I may have made a mistake by allowing fans to approach too close for pictures and felt embarrassed to reject their requests.”
Hussein added that she regrets the incident and normally abides to the safety measures in place.
Her lawyer Mohammed Al Najjar said: “She was questioned with much respect for three hours, during which the CCTV footage was checked and proved what happened was not planned.”
The police confirmed that they detained the actress over the online images.
Hussein was nevertheless hit with a 10,000 AED (2,134 GBP) fine for flouting COVID-19 social distancing rules.
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