UAE officer wins prison appeal after filming Messi's passport

An Emirati police officer has won an appeal of his prison sentence over posting a video online of him holding Barcelona star Lionel Messi's passport.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An Emirati police officer has won an appeal of his prison sentence over posting a video online of him holding Barcelona star Lionel Messi's passport.

Abu Dhabi's state-run The National newspaper reported in Wednesday's edition that Dubai's Court of Appeal had overturned the officer's 1-month prison term.

The newspaper quoted the officer's lawyer, Abdul Moniem bin Suwaidan, as saying Tuesday that the accused had the permission of Messi's business manager to make the video Dec. 27 at a private wing of Dubai International Airport.

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The officer, identified by the initials J.M., had posted a video to the mobile phone app Snapchat including the caption: "Shall I burn the passport or just put it back!"

Messi is a global ambassador for the coming 2020 World Expo, or world's fair, in Dubai.