A woman has been sentenced to prison for three months by a court in the United Arab Emirates after her husband sued her for looking through his phone chats without his permission.

In a statement made against his wife, the husband claimed that she accessed his phone while he was asleep.

The statement further said the wife copied all the data on the device including pictures and chat conversations to het own phone so she could read all the information at a later date.

The court in Ras Al Khaimah found the woman guilty of violating the UAE's Strict Privacy Law, which state that married couples are forbidden from accessing each other's phone without permission, even if one of them suspects the other of cheating.

The UAE’s cybercrime laws are strict, especially when it comes to protecting the privacy of individuals online.

Lawyers to the the petitioner - Raed Al Awlaki and Mohammad Jad Al Mawla told Stepfeed News that "Under the country’s laws, it’s illegal to go through a person’s phone without their permission."

"For married couples, the illegality of searching through a phone or computer stands regardless of whether a partner believes they are being cheated on.

"It’s also considered a violation of an adult’s personal online privacy if any of their information is pried on by a spouse, parent, friend, relative, or colleague." They explained.