British tourist in Dubai among 21 people charged in the UAE for sharing missile footage

A BRITISH TOURIST is among 21 people who have been charged under the UAE’s cybercrime laws for sharing videos showing missile activity and explosions, according to advocacy group Detained in Dubai.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) includes tourist hotspots such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Since the US and Israel unleashed strikes on Iran on 28 February, the war has spread across the Middle East, with Iran launching strikes around the Gulf.

As of yesterday, the UAE’s defence ministry has reported six deaths – four civilians and two military personnel who died as a result of a helicopter crash blamed on a technical malfunction.

Meanwhile, Dubai reported a drone attack and fallen debris in two locations on today.

The Dubai government’s media office described both incidents as “minor”.

But last week, the UAE’s Attorney-General warned that people who post images and video online of “incident sites or damage” caused by missiles will face legal action “without leniency”.

It was further warned that this included a ban on reposting other people’s content “documenting incident sites or damage resulting from the fall of projectiles or shrapnel in some areas” of the UAE.

“Publishing such materials, or circulating inaccurate information about them may incite panic among community members and create a false impression of the true situation in the country,” added the statement posted to social media.

Detained in Dubai’s CEO Radha Stirling today warned that “even sharing or commenting on circulating videos or news could lead to jail, fines and deportation”.

Among the 21 charged in connection with videos and social media posts relating to recent missile strikes charged is a 60-year-old British man in Dubai.

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Stirling said the man “deleted the video from his phone immediately when asked and had no intention of doing anything wrong, but has nonetheless become caught up in the wider group of charges”.

Stirling added that according to the official case summary, those accused are alleged to have “broadcast, publish, republish or circulate false news, rumours or provocative propaganda that may incite public opinion or disturb public security”.

She said that while the charges “sound extremely serious on paper,” the conduct can include “something as simple as sharing or commenting on a video that is already circulating online”.

She explained that under UAE cybercrime laws, the person who originally posts content can be charged, but so can anyone who reposts or comments on it.

Penalties can include up to two years in prison, fines ranging from AED 20,000 to AED 200,000 (€4,700 to €47,000), or both.

Foreign nationals can also face deportation.

“People understandably assume that if something is already widely shared or published by media outlets, it must be acceptable to comment on or repost it,” said Stirling.

“In the UAE, that assumption can be extremely dangerous.”

She added that journalists have travelled to Dubai specifically to film missile interceptions have to send the footage to editors abroad, who then publish it from outside the country.

Stirling warned that “foreigners need to understand that what may seem like normal social media behaviour elsewhere can lead to arrest in the UAE”.

“In some circumstances, people can find themselves treated as national security suspects before the facts are even clarified.

“In times of regional tension, authorities can become hypersensitive, and innocent mistakes can quickly escalate into extremely serious and dangerous situations for foreigners.”

Stirling also pointed to similar enforcement across the Gulf, noting that Qatar has already charged more than 200 people under comparable laws.

Raphaella Stirling, a crisis manager at Detained in Dubai, said they are continuing to monitor the cases and working to establish the full details of the allegations and the nationalities of the other individuals charged.

“It’s a natural reflex to photograph your surroundings but authorities are hypersensitive and the real danger may not be Iran’s missiles overhead but the Emirati authorities’ react to what people post online.”

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