BEIRUT — A Sydney woman was arrested arrested for adultery in Lebanon. Mahassen Issa, a mother of two, who had recently separated from her husband, was arrested after traveling to Tripoli last month to visit her new boyfriend.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has confirmed it is providing assistance to an Australian woman in Beirut.

Her brother Ahmed, speaking from Sydney, said Issa “deserves what she gets.”

“She has wronged the system,” he told Macquarie Radio.

Issa said she was about to return to Sydney when she was contacted by Lebanese Internal Security Forces informing her she had been charged with adultery.

Lebanese law bans married women from having a relationship while married. Issa’s separation from her husband is not recognized legally in Lebanon. Marriage laws are handled by state-sponsored religious institutions in Lebanon.

If convicted, Issa, 29, could face six months in jail.

The family of Issa’s husband reportedly alerted authorities in Lebanon.