As many as 70 Britons have been thrown behind bars in the United Arab Emirates for taking photos or videos of drone and missile attacks, it has been revealed.
Holidaymakers, expats and airline crew are among those detained, with some allegedly held in cramped police cells and prisons and deprived of sleep, food and medication after falling foul of strict laws said to protect “national security and stability”.
Critics claim the oil-rich emirates, including Dubai, are enforcing a heavy-handed crackdown to shield their image as glamorous and safe tourist hotspots.
Under the toughest rules, even receiving an image can be treated as a crime, with punishments of up to ten years in jail or fines reaching £200,000.
The figure of up to 70 detained Britons comes from two UK-based campaign groups working alongside Emirati lawyers, according to the Mail on Sunday.
Campaigners warn the sheer number of arrests has overwhelmed the legal system, leaving detainees stuck in custody for months before charges are brought. Human rights group Dubai Watch says some have been granted bail but had their passports seized, preventing them from leaving the country.
For expats, this can mean losing the right to work if their visas expire, leaving them at risk of homelessness.
Dubai Watch is currently assisting eight Britons, but its founder David Haigh said local lawyers believe at least 35 have been detained in Dubai and a similar number in Abu Dhabi.
Some detainees have reportedly been forced to sign statements written in Arabic that they could not understand, while access for British consular officials is said to be “restricted or outright denied”.
The Foreign Office is not automatically informed of every case, and some detainees have been warned against contacting the British Embassy amid fears it could prolong proceedings. Officials believe just five Britons are currently receiving consular support over the allegations.
Last night, Radha Stirling of the Detained In Dubai group said: “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.”
Among those caught up in the crackdown is a London-based air steward working for FlyDubai. It is understood he took a photo of damage after an Iranian drone crashed near Dubai airport on March 7 and shared it with colleagues to check if the area was safe before being arrested when police examined his phone.
A British lawyer living in Dubai has also been detained, while campaigners are supporting the family of a 60-year-old tourist who was arrested alongside 20 others after footage of Iranian missiles over the city was found on their devices.
Despite deleting the clip, he now faces up to two years in jail and fines of £40,000.
While some cases are being handled under cyber-crime laws, others are treated as more serious national security matters.
UAE legislation bans taking or sharing images that could “disturb public security”. During Iranian strikes, residents nearby receive warning texts in Arabic and English stating: “Photographing or sharing security or critical sites, or reposting unreliable information, may result in legal action and compromise national security and stability.”
Police are also said to approach people at the scene and demand to check their phones, with anyone found to have images of attack sites detained. Those who receive such content on platforms like WhatsApp can also be traced and arrested.
Mr Haigh, who says he 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.”
Before the conflict, more than 240,000 Britons were living in Dubai, although around half are believed to have returned to the UK since Iran began launching missiles and drones across the Strait of Hormuz.
The Emirati embassy in London said people had been warned not to take or share images 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.”
A Foreign Office spokesman 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.”
