Dozens of Britons detained in UAE after ‘filming drone and missile attacks’
As many as 70 Britons have been locked up in the United Arab Emirates for filming Iranian attacks on the Middle Eastern country.
British tourists, expats and cabin crew are being held in overcrowded police cells and could face ten years in jail for breaching laws around protecting ‘national security and stability’.
Campaign groups say the legal system is swamped with cases and some are being denied sleep, food and medicine in detention, the Mail on Sunday reports.
They are accusing the UAE of trying to protect their ‘carefully constructed brand’ as a glamorous and safe travel spot.
Laws in the Gulf State prohibit publishing or sharing material that could disturb public security, and the British embassy has previously warned expats not to take pictures or share images of Iranian missiles.
Those nearby to an Iranian strike are sent a text message in both Arabic and English saying: ‘Photographing or sharing security or critical sites, or reposting unreliable information, may result in legal action and compromise national security and stability.’
Even passively receiving an image is deemed illegal under the strictest laws, which could carry a ten-year jail term or a fine up to £200,00.
Dubai Watch CEO David Haigh is representing eight arrested Britons and says local lawyers have told him 35 Brits have been detained in Dubai, with similar numbers in Abu Dhabi.
His human rights group says that those arrested are facing months in detention before being charged because the system is so overwhelmed.
Others have been released on bail but have had their passport confiscated so they cannot leave.
Campaigners have claimed that some Britons have been made to sign Arabic statements they do not understand.
Radha Stirling of the Detained In Dubai group told the Mail on Sunday: ‘British citizens are being held in overcrowded conditions, denied medication, and pressured to sign confessions without legal representation.
‘This is a serious failure of protection. Immediate and robust diplomatic intervention is required to safeguard their welfare and secure their release.
‘These are not criminals, but ordinary tourists, workers and residents who acted without malicious intent.’
Access to British consular staff is understood to be ‘restricted or outright denied’ for those arrested.
The Foreign Office is not automatically alerted all arrests and some are advised not to contact the Embassy because it could prolong their case.
Officials believe just five British detainees are receiving consular help for taking pictures.
One Brit being detained in the UAE is a London-based air steward for budget airline FlyDubai.
It is understood he took a picture of the damage caused when an Iranian drone struck close to Dubai airport on March 7 and sent it to colleagues, asking if the area was safe.
Police later checked his phone and arrested him.
An expat lawyer living in Dubai is also among those arrested under national security laws.
Detained In Dubai also say they are helping a 60-year-old British tourist who was charged with 20 others after footage of Iranian attacks was found on their phones.
He faces two years in jail and a fine as large as $40,000 despite deleting the footage.
It is said that UAE police will demand to look through the phones of people close to the site of a missile attack and arrest anyone caught with photos of the strikes.
Officers reportedly track down and arrest people who receive photos through apps like WhatsApp.
Mr Haigh, who was tortured in a Dubai jail, said: ‘Dubai is a corporation, a gleaming global brand desperate to keep the facade intact.
‘So, once tourists and expats take photos of a missile intercept, or a drone strike, they become the enemy.
‘They are arrested, vanished, threatened, charged, forced to report friends, and face years in jail.’
There were more than 240,000 Britons living in the United Arab Emirates before the start of the war with Iran.
The Emirati embassy in London said people had been warned about taking or sharing photos from ‘incident sites’, adding: ‘Disseminating such materials or inaccurate information can incite public panic and create a false impression of the UAE’s actual situation.’
The Foreign Office said: ‘We are supporting a number of British nationals in the UAE who have been detained or arrested.
‘We expect full consular access to British nationals. The British Ambassador regularly speaks to the authorities about access.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
MORE: Who are the Houthis? Yemen’s rebels joining war against the US in the Middle East
MORE: Houthis rebels in Yemen enter war with missile attack on Israel, injuring 12 US soldiers
MORE: FBI director’s emails and personal photos published by Iranian hackers