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On May 30, British journalist Mark T. Townsend was acquitted in a criminal libel case that had kept him a virtual prisoner in Dubai for nearly two years.

The case arose from a criminal defamation complaint lodged against him by the managers of one of Dubai’s main English language newspapers, Khaleej Times.

Townsend is a former business editor of Khaleej Times. After he left in 2009, allegations of mismanagement at the paper were published on the website www.complaintsboard.com . The allegations were published under a username that resembled Townsend’s surname – but Townsend denied having anything to do with the web posting.

Defamation being a criminal offence in the United Arab Emirates, the complaint of defamation led to the initiation of criminal proceedings and the start of a 22 month ordeal during which he was unable to work or leave the country.

At no point during these 22 months did police or prosecution produce any evidence to link Townsend to the publication – although midway through the case, a crudely photoshopped screenshot of the web post purporting to show Townsend’s full name was suddenly added to the case file.

Despite the lack of any evidence, Townsend’s court case was a stop-start affair, with the judge postponing the proceedings month after month to give the prosecution yet more opportunity to produce evidence. With each postponement, Townsend’s heart sank deeper.

But on 30 May, the judge finally found that there was no case to answer and acquitted the British journalist.

Townsend commented that despite emerging victorious, the case had cost him dearly:

“If the objective was to foster ruin then achieving that outcome has been singularly successful. The case has been devastating for myself and loved ones who have witnessed institutionalised ritual humiliation at first hand.

Separated from my family and unable to travel I have effectively lived in a jail without bars.”

Still awaiting the return of his passport, he also expressed concern about the deteriorating state of media freedom in the country and urged reform.

“I have a deep concern this could easily happen again to someone else and a deep desire that justice be done in whatever form it may take.”

But, he added, “for us, life begins again”.

The Media Legal Defence Initiative helped Townsend defend the case