Dubai arrests over sharing content ‘could lead to travel bans and Interpol Red Notices’
A human rights campaigner living in the United Arab Emirates has warned that arrests over sharing war content are going to increase.
Dubai’s reputation as the tax-free safe haven of the Middle East has been shaken amid the Iran war, wth drone attacks a daily sight.
While headlines have focused on influencers posting the attacks to their millions of followers, this also includes clips shared privately to family.
Radha Stirling, the founder of Detained in Dubai, has warned that police are arresting locals and expats alike for posting such content.
She expects some could face job losses, travel bans and Interpol Red Notices – worldwide notices to arrest a person – as civil cases turn criminal.
Stirling wrote in the Daily Mail: ‘Some were inside buildings that were struck and, despite being survivors, were treated as criminals.
‘In several cases we have handled, authorities attended buildings in the aftermath, requesting access to residents’ phones and reviewing personal content on the spot.
‘Those found to have taken photographs, even if never shared publicly, were arrested. They were then driven straight to the police station and the contents of their phone was deleted, erasing any evidence of drone strikes.
‘We have seen ordinary residents caught up in this, including parents, workers and those simply trying to reassure loved ones.’
Cybercrime charges can be escalated into international notices in some cases, according to legal experts, though it is rare.
‘When there is instability, enforcement ramps up’
Dubai has become nothing more than a ‘ghost town’ since Iran began retaliatory strikes for the US and Israel’s deadly attack on it last month.
As much as some photos in the early days showed dozens still relaxing on the beach, sun loungers and pools now sit empty.
The authorities of this sleek sanctuary have arrested dozens for sharing ‘rumours, false information, or any content that contradicts official announcements’.
The Dubai Media Office, meanwhile, is posting about the success of the city’s real estate sector between updates about counter-strikes. UAE leaders are going on heavily filmed shopping trips.
Stirling wrote: ‘We’ve seen this pattern before.
‘When there is instability, enforcement ramps up, complaints increase and more people get pulled into civil and criminal cases they never expected.’
Nick Rowles-Davies, an international lawyer, told Metro that he fled the city on Monday after being caught in strikes in the financial district.
He explained that the censorship stems from a law, the Federal Decree-Law No. 34 of 2021, which carries a prison term or a fine of £40,000.
The founder of the litigation funding platform Lexolent said the law is so far-reaching that it even includes people who repost the offending content.
‘During the Covid emergency, prosecutions were brought against individuals who had simply forwarded fabricated stories they had not written themselves,’ he said.
Stirling described how the UAE justice system often favours the complainant, leaving little chance of justice for the social media user.
She added: ‘We have seen cases where people have reported others out of spite, trawling through years of social media activity to find something that could be interpreted as offensive.’
Those posting content may have to face off with UAE’s media regulator, the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority.
The body works with cybercrime investigators to monitor online feeds and trap people who have posted illegal content without realising it.
Analysts say that Dubai will also continue to be dragged into the war – it sits near the Iran-controlled Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway where a fifth of the world’s oil passes through.
Stirling said: ‘Dubai is built on its reputation, and that reputation is now under serious strain.
‘If investor confidence shifts from opportunity to risk, the damage will not be easy to reverse.’
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