Dubai: An American man was sentenced to up to a year in prison in Dubai after being convicted in connection to a satirical video about youth culture there.
The video they produced and uploaded to the internet was a spoof documentary of would-be "gangsta" youth in the Gulf Arab city-state.
The state-owned daily The National said they were accused of "defaming the image of United Arab Emirates society abroad." Supporters of the defendants reported that they were charged under a 2012 cybercrimes law that tightened penalties for challenging authorities.
Shezanne Cassim, a 29-year-old U.S. citizen from Woodbury, Minnesota, became the public face of the defendants after his family launched an effort to publicise his months-long incarceration following his arrest in April.
Cassim, who was born in Sri Lanka and moved to Dubai for work after graduating from the University of Minnesota in 2006, was sentenced Monday to a year in prison followed by deportation and received a 10,000 dirham ($A3051) fine, according to family spokeswoman Jennifer Gore.
Cassim's brother, Shervon, described the ruling as "painful and unfair."
"Shez is coming up on nine months incarceration for making a parody. This isn't justice," he said in a statement.
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 US Embassy had no immediate 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."
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