A British couple convicted of having sex on a Dubai beach are likely to return to the UK by the weekend, after being spared jail. 
 
 Michelle Palmer, 36, of Oakham, Rutland, and Vince Acors, 34, of Bromley, south-east London, appealed against their three-month sentences after they were convicted last month of having unmarried sex and public indecency. 
 
 But a judge at Dubai's Court of Appeal yesterday suspended their sentence. They will now be deported to the UK, and pay a fine of about £170 for being drunk in a public place. 
 
 After the ruling, Palmer said: "It just proves our innocence after all the bad stuff that was written. That's it." 
 
 Andrew Crossley, a London-based solicitor representing Acors, said it was likely the pair would return to the UK shortly. "It may take a couple of days to get their passports and their visas sorted but they should be back by the weekend," he said. 
 
 He said Acors and Palmer, who had been on bail after the incident, were "chuffed" at the judge's decision. "Vince says it hasn't sunk in yet," said Mr Crossley. "They are both chuffed. Vince can't believe it." ||||| Image copyright Culverwell family Image caption Emlyn Culverwell and his fiancee Iryna Nohai met while working in the UAE 
 
 A South African man and his Ukrainian fiancee have been detained in the United Arab Emirates for unlawful sex, a relative says. 
 
 Emlyn Culverwell‚ 29, and Iryna Nohai, 27, were reportedly arrested after a doctor discovered Ms Nohai, who had stomach cramps, was pregnant. 
 
 They were arrested for sex outside of marriage, which is illegal in the UAE. 
 
 Mr Culverwell's mother has pleaded for their release, saying "the only thing they did wrong was fall in love". 
 
 South Africa's foreign ministry has said that it is not able to help the couple as this is a matter of domestic UAE law, News24 reports. 
 
 The South African government has advised the couple to get legal assistance, the BBC's Pumza Fihlani in Johannesburg says. 
 
 There was no immediate comment from the UAE government. 
 
 Mr Culverwell and Ms Nohai have reportedly been held since January, but news of their detention has only emerged now. 
 
 Mr Culverwell has been working in the UAE for the past five years. 
 
 His mother Linda told News24 that the family is "trying to get messages to the two to say we love them and that they shouldn't be worried". 
 
 The couple have not yet been charged as the authorities are still carrying out tests, Mrs Culverwell added. 
 
 If found guilty, they could face a long jail sentence. ||||| Dubai - A South African and his fiancée have been arrested in the United Arab Emirates because the woman is pregnant. 
 
 The Department of International Relations and Co-operation says there is nothing it can do for Emlyn Culverwell, 29, and his 27-year-old fiancée, Iryna Nohai, who is originally from the Ukraine. 
 
 They were arrested in Abu Dhabi on January 29 on a charge of having sex before marriage, an offence in the UAE. 
 
 Linda Culverwell, a Port Alfred resident, told Netwerk24 that her son and Iryna had got engaged on January 27. 
 
 That Sunday, Iryna developed stomach cramps and Emlyn took her to the Medeor medical centre. 
 
 A doctor found that she was pregnant and informed the authorities, upon which the couple was arrested. 
 
 Linda said Emlyn’s dad Karl had, to date, received no answers from the authorities in Abu Dhabi, the UAE’s embassy in South Africa, or South African consulate there. 
 
 "Every time we try to get information, it feels as though I’m hitting a brick wall," said Linda. 
 
 “We don’t even know if they have legal representation.” 
 
 Linda said the Ukrainian embassy had become involved and was trying to obtain permission for the two to get married or for them to be deported. 
 
 Emlyn’s employer, Yas Waterworld, told his family that formal charges had not been brought yet, because Iryna was apparently undergoing "further tests" to determine how long she’d been sexually active. 
 
 "For heaven’s sake, how can they supposedly determine that?" 
 
 'It must feel as if she is being raped by the authorities' 
 
 Linda said she was worried that Iryna’s "stomach cramps" could have been signs of a miscarriage, as she was still in the early stages of her pregnancy. 
 
 "I can imagine the hell she is going through. It must feel as if she is being raped by the authorities." 
 
 She said her son was a fitness fanatic who didn’t even drink or smoke. 
 
 "The only thing they did which was wrong, was to fall in love. It makes no sense. 
 
 "We are trying to get messages to the two to say we love them and that they shouldn’t be worried... what concerns me most, is that we actually haven’t got a clue how they are. All the Department of International Relations is prepared to say is that we have ‘to be patient’, but there are three lives at stake here." 
 
 A spokesperson for the department, Nelson Kgwete, said the couple was being prosecuted in terms of UAE laws and that the South African government could do nothing about it. 
 
 "The South African government is aware of the case, but unfortunately cannot provide legal assistance. As [the] department all we can do is monitor the situation and try to ensure that they are fairly treated." 
 
 Foreigners were often prosecuted in terms of the UAE’s morality laws, Kgwete said. ||||| A couple have been detained in the United Arab Emirates for having sex outside of marriage, according to a relative. 
 
 The South African man and his Ukranian fiancee were reportedly arrested after a doctor in Abu Dhabi who treated Ms Nohai for stomach cramps discovered she was pregnant. 
 
 Emlyn Culverwell‚ 29, and Iryna Nohai, 27, have not yet been charged by authorities in the Islamic country, who are reportedly still investigating. 
 
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 South Africa's foreign ministry said it was unable to help the couple as it is a matter of domestic UAE law, the South African News24 website reports. 
 
 Mr Culverwell’s mother, Linda, said she was unable to get any answers from either the authorities in Abu Dhabi, the South African Embassy in the UAE or the South African consulate there. 
 
 Mr Culwerwell’s employer, Yas Waterworld, told his family formal charges have not yet been brought because Ms Nohai is apparently undergoing “further tests” to determine how long she has been sexually active. 
 
 “For heaven’s sake, how can they supposedly determine that?“ his mother said. 
 
 “It must feel as if she is being raped by the authorities. 
 
 “The only thing they did which was wrong, was to fall in love. It makes no sense. 
 
 ”We are trying to get messages to the two to say we love them and that they shouldn’t be worried... what concerns me most, is that we actually haven’t got a clue how they are. All the Department of International Relations is prepared to say is that we have ‘to be patient’, but there are three lives at stake here.“ 
 
 A spokesperson for the department, Nelson Kgwete, said the couple was being prosecuted in terms of UAE laws and that the South African Government could do nothing about it. 
 
 ”The South African Government is aware of the case, but unfortunately cannot provide legal assistance. As [the] department all we can do is monitor the situation and try to ensure that they are fairly treated." 
 
 In 2008, a British couple, Vince Acors and Michelle Palmer, were given jail sentences for having sex in public in the UAE after they were caught together on a Dubai beach – although they had their sentences suspended when they signed a court document agreeing to marry on their return to England. 
 
 The promised marriage did not happen, not least because Mr Acors had a wife already. 
 
 In the UAE, all sex outside marriage is illegal, although in Dubai, a blind eye is usually turned to unmarried western couples who co-habit. 
 
 An unmarried woman who gives birth in the UAE may encounter problems registering the birth of her child, according to advice from the British Government, which says: “To get a birth certificate from the UAE authorities, you must provide a marriage certificate and the authorities may compare the date of the marriage against the estimated date of conception.”
– On Jan. 29, a 27-year-old Ukrainian woman living in the United Arab Emirates went to the doctor after experiencing stomach cramps. What came next: a pregnancy diagnosis—and her arrest for unmarried sex, which is illegal in the UAE. Iryna Nohai and her South African partner, Emlyn Culverwell‚ 29, have been detained without charge in Abu Dhabi since, the BBC reports. "The South African government is aware of the case, but unfortunately cannot provide legal assistance" regarding what it says is UAE law, a rep tells News24. "The only thing they did which was wrong, was to fall in love," says Linda Culverwell, who tells News24 that her son and Nohai got engaged on Jan. 27, two days before their arrest. She says the Ukrainian embassy is trying to intervene, and that it sees two alternative outcomes: They could marry or be deported. Otherwise, if charged and found guilty the pair could face time behind bars. The BBC notes that Culverwell has been working in the UAE for the past five years, and his employer reportedly told his family no charges have been filed because authorities are allegedly conducting "tests" aimed at determining how long Nohai has been sexually active. The couple's case is not an expat first: The Independent reports that an unmarried UK couple were sentenced to three-month terms in 2008 for having sex on a beach in Dubai, though their sentences were suspended upon appeal. (A woman was jailed in Dubai after reporting rape.)