( CNN ) -- A judge in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday sentenced an American to one month in jail for being in possession of police handcuffs , his lawyer said . Adam Foster , 30 , of Burdett , New York , was taken into custody at the conclusion of the hearing in Dubai to begin serving his sentence , his lawyer , Yousuf Khalifa Hammad , told CNN . Foster had been detained for more than two months in the UAE on charges of stealing police handcuffs , an allegation he vehemently denied and said he only confessed to after being tortured . `` I ca n't say he was happy . But he did n't show any ( anger ) . He accepted the judgment , '' Hammad said . The judge 's ruling brings to an end a case that was the focal point of a grassroots writing campaign organized via Facebook . Nearly 2,000 people wrote letters to the UAE 's ambassador to the United States on Foster 's behalf , demanding his release . `` Thanks to everyone that who has supported me during all of this , '' Foster wrote in a brief message late Wednesday on Facebook . `` I ca n't stress enough how much that means to me . Court is in less than 12 hours.. not going to get much sleep tonight . '' Foster faced up to seven years in prison on charges of theft of government property , possession of police paraphernalia and theft at night . Officials in the UAE did not responded to multiple requests by CNN for comment . Foster has been given credit for four days served during his initial detention and could have an additional seven days shaved off his sentence for good behavior , Hammad said . The U.S. State Department has confirmed that Foster has been detained since February 26 . American consular officers met him on February 28 before UAE authorities released him on bail March 1 . Investigators claim Foster stole a pair of official police handcuffs during questioning in an unrelated matter at a Dubai police station the night before he was due to leave the city , according to his attorney , Hammad . Foster has said it was a coincidence , saying he was brought in for questioning because he was in possession of a bottle of Korean rice wine -- a parting gift from colleagues . He was released without charges . Foster said he found the handcuffs a day earlier on the ground at a mall parking lot , about a mile and half from the police station where he was questioned . `` I was thinking 'souvenir , ' '' Foster told CNN last week . `` They were lying on the ground . So I picked them up . '' Foster , who was on his way home after a six-week stint as a contractor for Dubai Energy Water Authority , was arrested after authorities found the handcuffs in his luggage during a routine security screening at the Dubai airport . After hours of maintaining his innocence during police questioning , he was beaten and forced to confess , Foster said . He claims he was told to take off his shoes and socks , and handcuffed to a chair while one of two officers used a coil to whip the bottom of his feet . He also said he was punched in the face . Foster said he then signed a confession written in Arabic . Foster said he recanted his confession after he was released from jail . Nearly 2,000 people appealed to Yousef al Otaiba , the UAE ambassador to the United States , and Jeffrey D. Feltman of the State Department 's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs to intervene on Foster 's behalf . `` Thinking of you and praying for strength for you and your family ! '' wrote Facebook user Christin Cherkis Bresett . Hundreds of others have posted messages of support . Last year , UAE authorities detained Nicholas Moody of Nevada for more than three months on charges of possessing weapons accessories -- parts that could accompany a gun , though no firearm itself . Moody was arrested during an 18-hour layover in Abu Dhabi while heading back from Iraq . A judge later dismissed the charges .
NEW : Adam Foster was taken into custody in court to immediately begin his sentence . Foster : Lawyer : ` ` I ca n't think he was happy '' Foster says he was tortured into confessing to a crime he did n't commit . Foster : ` ` Court is in less than two hours .. not going to get much sleep . ''