Up to 70 UK citizens have been detained in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for taking photos and videos of Iranian attacks, it has been claimed by a British-based campaign group.
Detained in Dubai chief executive Radha Stirling said she believed dozens of Britons had been arrested in the UAE for sharing war images under the country’s “draconian” cybercrime laws.
“We’re talking approaching 50 to 70 was my estimate and possibly even more. I think by the end of this we’ll see a lot more, possibly 100, maybe 150,” she told Sky News.
But the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said it was only providing consular assistance to a “small number” of UK citizens detained over these issues in the Gulf nation.
“We are providing consular assistance to a small number of British nationals detained in the UAE in connection with this issue, and our ambassador is engaging with the Emirati authorities about their cases,” an FCDO spokesperson said.
Five Britons are currently receiving consular assistance in the UAE after being detained on such charges, with some already being released, Sky News understands.
Ms Stirling, a human rights advocate and lawyer focused on Dubai, said many Britons had been detained for sharing updates on their welfare, after Iran launched missile and drone attacks against its gulf neighbours in response to US and Israeli strikes.
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“Most people did not know and were unaware of these cybercrime laws and the vast extent to which they can be applied, especially in a situation like this,” she said.
“There is no way that any of these people knew that it was illegal to send a private message to colleagues saying, ‘here I am, I’ve arrived at the airport. Is it safe for me to walk through, given this explosion’, and then sharing a photo of that explosion with colleagues.”
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Ms Stirling rejected criticism that Britons who had elected to move to the UAE to take advantage of its tax exemptions were not deserving of government assistance.
“When your citizens are locked up, when they’re arbitrarily detained, when they’re prosecuted under national security laws for simply sending a photo to a loved one, that’s when your government needs to step up,” she said.
“And it’s irrelevant whether there’s tax or no tax in the UAE, our government is obliged to provide that service or else we look weak diplomatically and in the eyes of the world.”
Ms Stirling said anyone arrested under cyber security laws could face harsh penalties under the UAE’s strict laws, including a life sentence.
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“That’s expats, that’s tourists, some of them for simply sharing a private message saying ‘Mum, I’m okay’, or to a husband or a wife overseas; ‘This building has just been blown up. I live here. Here’s a photo of me in my apartment’.
“People are just being arrested, prosecuted or charged and potentially even escalated to national security charges in Abu Dhabi, which could see them in prison for life.”
