A New York City college student has been sentenced to one year in prison by the United Arab Emirates, reports the NY Post. Elizabeth Polanco De Los Santos, 21, who attends Lehman College in the Bronx, was accused of assaulting an airport security guard during a connecting flight in Dubai earlier this year.

After being prohibited from leaving Dubai for nearly three months, she was later sentenced to a year in prison.

“Elizabeth only intended to transit through Dubai for six hours but she’s been there for months on end and has lost $50,000 in expenses and lawyers costs,”

said Detained in Dubai founder Radha Stirling. 

In July, De Los Santos and a friend were traveling back to New York from Istanbul. Originally planning to transit through Paris, they decided to change their flight to have a layover in Dubai to explore the city.

The trouble began at the airport security when the staff asked Los Santos to remove a waist compressor she needed to wear due to recent surgery. 

Taken to a private booth, female staff members not only handled the compressor roughly, causing pain to her healing scars, according to her mother, but also refused to assist her in putting it back on.

Frustrated, Los Santos called out to her friend for help, leaning past a security guard who was blocking her way.

“I gently touched her arm to guide her out of the way, then desperately started crying to my friend for help,”

she told Detained in Dubai.

After a security guard filed a complaint, Los Santos was confined for hours and forced to sign a form in Arabic. Upon her attempt to leave, a travel ban was imposed due to the ongoing court case. After weeks in hotels, she managed to pay a 10,000 AED ($2,700 US) fine and depart following a judge’s permission. Unfortunately, Dubai prosecutors contested, leading to a one-year prison sentence on Monday.

#Clique, what are your thoughts?