UAE court convicts eight over 'spoof documentary video'
Shezanne Cassim's family said the video merely poked fun at teenagers
Six foreigners and two UAE citizens have been sentenced to up to a year in jail for making what they say is a spoof video about Dubai youth culture.
A state security court found them guilty of "defaming the UAE society's image abroad", according to the state-owned newspaper, The National.
The family of American Shezanne Cassim, confirmed he was one of the six jailed for a year, three of them in absentia.
The foreigners were the first to be charged under a 2012 cybercrimes law.
It provides a legal basis to prosecute people who use information technology to criticise senior officials, argue for political reform or organise unlicensed demonstrations.
'No offence intended'
The National reported that an American, whom it referred to by the initials "S C", and two Indians, "R" and "A", were sentenced to a year in prison and given a 10,000 dirham ($2,723; £1,666) fine.
Two UAE citizens, brothers -"S D" and "S D" - were jailed for eight months and fined 5,000 dirhams, while a third brother, "A D", was pardoned, the newspaper added.
A Canadian woman, "S", a British woman, "L", and an American man, "T", were convicted in absentia and sentenced to a year in prison and fined 10,000 dirhams.
The defendants were reportedly accused of violating Article 28, which calls for imprisonment for anyone who uses information technology "with the intent of inciting to actions, or publishing or disseminating any information, news, caricatures, or other images liable to endanger state security and its higher interests or infringe on the public order".
The 19-minute video, entitled Satwa Combat School, was posted on YouTube in October 2012.
It opens with the explanatory text: "The following events are fictional and no offence was intended to the people of Satwa or UAE."
Set in the Satwa district of Dubai, the video is a mock documentary about a fictional establishment in which students are taught to throw sandals as a form of weapon, and seek aid through social media when in need of back-up.
Cassim's family said the video poked fun at teenagers in Dubai who styled themselves as "gangstas" but were more known for their mild behaviour.
The UK-based Emirates Centre for Human Rights (ECHR) said the defendants were denied proper access to lawyers and made to sign documents they did not understand.
"These young filmmakers are suffering the consequences of authorities who are increasingly sensitive to any form of criticism, no matter how mild. This case has laid bare problems with due legal process and restrictive internet laws in the UAE," said the ECHR's director, Rori Donaghy.
16 December 2013 Last updated at14:56
Syria: Saudi prince's anger over royal biopic
Watch the movie on youtube
A Syrian film about the founder of modern Saudi Arabia has been shown in Damascus, despite attempts from a Saudi prince to have it banned, it appears.
The film, King of the Sands, was screened in the Syrian capital last Friday after being denounced by Prince Talal Bin-Abd-al-Aziz for "distorting a great historical figure", the Arabian Business website reports. It tells the story of the rise of late King Abd-al-Aziz Al Saud, also known as Ibn Saud, and the foundation of the Saudi kingdom in early 20th Century. The film, directed by Syrian Najdat Anzour, had its first showing in London last September, and is one of the first feature films to tackle the character of Ibn Saud, played by Italian actor Fabio Testi.
The feature is controversial in Saudi eyes because of the way it portrays Ibn Saud as "an unscrupulous, bloodthirsty womaniser who was a pawn of the British", Iranian Press TV reported earlier this year. The film's trailer shows a young Ibn Saud as a zealous leader, converting British intelligence officer John Philby to Islam "in name, without practise". In another scene, the trailer shows Ibn Saud in the bedroom with a young wife.
The director says the film is a useful piece of "history revision" that draws on what happened 100 years ago to comment on the "current chaos" in the Arab world.Lebanese pro-Hezbollah newspaper Al-Akhbar noted that the film had already been shown in Beirut, and Saudi objections are probably the result of Riyadh's support for the anti-Assad rebellion in Syria.
Prince Talal Bin-Abd-al-Aziz lambasted the feature on his Twitter account, saying: "This film will end up in the garbage bin of failed art works". The Saudi prince, who is one of Ibn Saud's 18 sons, added that he had sought the mediation of a "friend in common" with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to "ban showing the film" in the country. However, his mission appears to have failed, with Syrian TV showing a large audience applauding a screening at the opera house in Damascus.
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