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Get you up to speed: UAE detains British man amid crackdown on social media sharing of attacks
A 60-year-old man is accused of ‘broadcasting, publishing, republishing or circulating rumours or provocative propaganda that could disturb public security’, according to the campaign group Detained in Dubai. The British Embassy in the UAE warned against photographing, posting, or sharing images of incident sites, stating that violations may lead to fines, imprisonment, or deportation.
A British man, aged 60, has been detained in the UAE for allegedly “broadcasting, publishing, republishing or circulating rumours or provocative propaganda that could disturb public security,” according to the campaign group Detained in Dubai. The British Embassy in the UAE has warned that violations of local laws can lead to fines, imprisonment, or deportation, and stated that British nationals are subject to these regulations.
The British Embassy in the UAE issued warnings advising individuals against photographing or sharing images related to strikes or government buildings, emphasising that violations may lead to fines, imprisonment, or deportation. The Foreign Office has confirmed that it is in contact with local authorities following the detention of a British man in the UAE.
Why are people being arrested for posting footage of Iran attacks in Dubai? | News World
The man, 60, is accused of ‘broadcasting, publishing, republishing or circulating rumours or provocative propaganda that could disturb public security’, campaign group Detained in Dubai said.
Dubai, which is in the UAE, has been hit with missiles amid the conflict between Iran and the US and Israel.
Why are people being arrested for sharing footage of Iranian attacks?
The group said penalties in such cases can include up to two years in prison.
Dr Mira Al Hussein, Research Fellow at the Alwaleed Centre for the Study of Islam in the Contemporary World, University of Edinburgh, told WTX the UAE’s cyber-crime laws are ‘deliberately vague’ and ‘broad enough to be stretched retrospectively to cover whatever the moment requires’.
‘In this instance, the UAE has managed to cultivate a high level of public confidence in its capacity to intercept Iranian missiles and drones and minimise impact on civilian infrastructure, business and daily life,’ she said.
‘When images of strikes and damages circulate in ways that contradict the official account — attributing sounds and damage to successful interceptions and falling debris rather than to strikes that got through — that confidence is undermined.
‘It can generate public fear and disorder.
‘The UAE government wants to control not only the present story but the historical record.
A fire appears to have been started inside the Dubai Creek Harbour Hotel after an Iranian drone strike in footage posted to social media (Picture: X)
A view of the damaged part of the Dubai Creek Harbour Tower after it was hit by an Iranian drone attack in Dubai (Picture: EPA)
‘Documented evidence of strikes and damages may include incidents that the government does not wish to acknowledge publicly.
‘It also raises questions about why specific sites were targeted.’
What warnings have been issued?
Repeated warnings have been issued through social and print media, advising people not to film, publish or share footage of strikes or interceptions and to only seek information from official sources.
The penalty for non-compliance is up to two years in prison or a £20,000 fine.
On Friday the British Embassy in the UAE posted on X: ‘UAE authorities warn against photographing, posting, or sharing images of incident sites or projectile damage as well as government buildings and diplomatic missions.
‘British nationals are subject to UAE laws, violations may lead to fines, imprisonment, or deportation.’
The post continued: ‘Under UAE law, sharing” can include posting on social media platforms as well as sending or forwarding content via messaging applications.
‘UAE law also restricts the photographing of certain sites, including government buildings and diplomatic missions.’
‘This speaks to the gravity of this charge and to how seriously the UAE government is treating these incidents.’
Ms Stirling added: ‘Under UAE cybercrime laws, the person who originally posts content can be charged, but so can anyone who reshapes, reposts or comments on it.
The Foreign Office has confirmed it is in contact with local authorities after a British man was detained in the UAE.
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October 12, 2024
6:18 am
‘Cheer up, you caught the bad guy,’ says killer Virginia McCullough as she is arrested for murdering her parents
A woman who murdered her parents “in cold blood” before hiding them in makeshift tombs for four years told officers to “cheer up, you caught the bad guy” as she was arrested in her home.
Virginia McCullough, 36, poisoned her father John McCullough, 70, with prescription medication and fatally stabbed her mother Lois McCullough, 71, shortly afterwards in 2019.
She ran up large debts on credit cards in her parents’ names and after their deaths, she continued to spend their pensions until she was finally caught in 2023.
In body-worn video footage released by police, a handcuffed – and eerily calm – McCullough told officers: “I did know that this would kind of come eventually.
“It’s proper that I serve my punishment.”
She said she had slipped something into her father’s drink then put his body under a bed on the ground floor, and put her mother’s body in an upstairs wardrobe.
McCullough, having been arrested on suspicion of double murder, told an officer: “Cheer up, at least you’ve caught the bad guy.”
She added: “I know I don’t seem 100% evil.”
At the police station, she told officers where a kitchen knife was, which she described as a “murder weapon”, and a hammer which she said “will still have blood on it”.
McCullough, of Pump Hill, Chelmsford, Essex, was sentenced to life imprisonment on Friday with a minimum term of 36 years at Chelmsford Crown Court, after she admitted to their murders between 17 and 20 June 2019 at an earlier hearing at the same court.
Chelmsford Crown Court heard how she hid their bodies in makeshift tombs at the family home in Great Baddow in Essex, then told persistent lies to cover her tracks.
The court heard she cancelled family arrangements and frequently told doctors and relatives her parents were unwell, on holiday or away on lengthy trips.
But concerns over Mr and Mrs McCullough’s welfare were raised in September 2023 by a GP at their registered practice, and Essex County Council’s safeguarding team referred these to police.
The GP had not seen the couple for some time and said Mr McCullough had failed to collect medication and attend scheduled appointments. It was found McCullough had frequently cancelled appointments, using a range of excuses to explain her father’s absence.
Police said a missing persons investigation was initially launched and McCullough lied to officers, claiming her parents were travelling and would be returning in October.
It became a murder investigation, and when officers forced entry to the house in Pump Hill on September 15 2023, McCullough confessed that her parents’ bodies were in the house and that she had killed them.
Nicola Rice, a specialist prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “McCullough callously and viciously killed both of her parents before concealing their bodies in makeshift tombs within their home address.
“She spent the next four years manipulating and lying to family members, medical staff, financial institutions, and the police, spending her parents’ money and accruing large debts in their name.”
She added: “This was a truly disturbing case, which has left behind it a trail of devastation, and I can only hope that the sentence passed today will help those who loved and cared for Lois and John begin to heal.”
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November 23, 2024
8:25 am
Defense alliance NATO chief Mark Rutte has met US President-elect Donald Trump to discuss global security issues, according to a NATO spokesperson.
The meeting took place in Palm Beach, Florida.
During his first term as US president, 2017-2020, Trump pushed for European NATO countries to spend more on defense and described the alliance’s cost-sharing as unfair to the US.
Rutte took over as NATO chief from Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg in November.
Before taking office in January, Trump has nominated Pete Hegseth for the post of defense secretary, which has raised eyebrows among many allies.
Hegseth, 44, has served as an infantry captain in Iraq and Afghanistan, but has no senior military or government officer experience.
November 23, 2024
8:25 am
November 23, 2024
8:17 am
Multiple missiles were fired in an airstrike towards a densely populated part of Lebanon’s capital early on Saturday.
The huge airstrike targeted Beirut’s Basta neighbourhood, and no prior warnings were given by the Israeli military. The largely residential area was struck last month.
At least one violent explosion was heard across the city, Reuters witnesses said, and plumes of smoke could be seen. Scenes of massive destruction at the site were shared online, including a massive crater in the ground.
“Beirut, the capital, woke up to a horrific massacre, as the Israeli enemy’s air force completely destroyed an eight-story residential building with five missiles on Al-Mamoun Street in Basta,” the state-run National News Agency reported.
The health ministry put the initial death toll at four, with 23 wounded. The number is expected to climb in the coming hours as search and rescue efforts continue.
It came after a long day of Israeli airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, which have been non-stop since last week.
The cross-border fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group escalated into a full-blown war in mid-September.
Israel has bombed southern Lebanon, Beirut’s southern suburbs and the eastern Beqaa region, and has sent ground troops across the border. Hezbollah has continued to fire rockets deeper into Israel.
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