News World Dubai jails American over video mocking teens

Dubai jails American over video mocking teens

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

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 The National. A third brother was pardoned.

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 styled 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.

The case has drawn attention from celebrity comedians in the US The comedy video website Funny or Die, co-founded by Will Ferrell and Adam McKay, posted a video earlier this month to raise awareness about Cassim's situation.

In the video, McKay says: "Basically Dubai, if you want to be viewed as an international place, destination - don't put people in jail for making silly videos. ... It's one thing to have a bad sense of humour. It's another thing to lock somebody up because of it."

Latest World News