Looks like UAE can't take a joke...
DUBAI: An American man detained for months in the United Arab Emirates
and seven co-defendants were fined and sentenced to jail Monday after
being convicted in connection to a satirical video about youth culture
in Dubai.
The case, which has drawn the attention of international
human rights advocates, centers around a mockumentary uploaded to the
Internet. Officials charged that the film spoofing would-be Dubai
"gangstas" ran afoul of a 2012 cybercrimes law that tightened
penalties for challenging authorities, according to supporters of one of
the filmmakers, Shezanne Cassim.
Cassim, 29, is a U.S.
citizen from Woodbury, Minn., who was born in Sri Lanka and moved to
Dubai for work after graduating from the University of Minnesota in
2006. He became the public face of the defendants after his family
launched an effort to publicize his months-long incarceration following
his arrest in April.
He was sentenced Monday to a year in prison
followed by deportation and a 10,000 dirham ($2,725) fine, according to
family spokeswoman Jennifer Gore.
American consular officials have been following the case closely and attended Monday's hearing at the State Security Court in the federal capital, Abu Dhabi.
The U.S. Embassy had no official comment following the verdict. State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf
last week said American officials were troubled by Cassim's "prolonged
incarceration" and called for "a fair and expedient trial and
judgment."
Two Indian defendants received similar sentences, while
two Emirati brothers were sentenced to eight months behind bars and
received 5,000 dirham fines, according to state-owned newspaper The
National. A third brother was pardoned.
The paper said the defendants had been accused of "defaming the UAE society's image abroad."
Three
other defendants, a Canadian, Briton and an American, were convicted
and sentenced in absentia to the penalties given to their other
foreigners. They have never been detained by authorities and so are
unlikely to serve their sentences.
The paper identified the defendants only by their initials, which is common in the Emirati media.
Gulf
Arab authorities have been cracking down on social media use over the
past two years, with dozens of people arrested across the region for Twitter posts deemed offensive to leaders or for social media campaigns urging more political openness.
The video, called "Ultimate Combat System: The Deadly Satwa Gs," is set in the Satwa district
of Dubai. It is a documentary style clip that pokes fun at Dubai
youth who style themselves "gangstas" but are not particularly thuggish,
and shows fictional "combat" training that includes throwing a sandal
and using a mobile phone to call for help.
It opens with text saying the video is fictional and is not meant to offend.
Read more: HERE
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