Six foreigners from the US, Canada and Britain have been sentenced to a $2,725 fine and up to a year behind bars in a United Arab Emirates maximum security prison over a YouTube video mocking Dubai ‘gangsta’ youth culture.
The US national Shezanne Cassim, 29, was detained in the UAE in
April for posting the 20 minute parody video which made fun of
young men and boys from the city who seem to imitate US hiphop
culture.
The American aviation business consultant was charged with
endangering security in the UAE by violating a cybercrime law.
The wording of the law makes it unacceptable to commit acts
deemed damaging to the nation’s reputation, with the collective
standing accused of “defaming the UAE society's image
abroad,” according to state-owned newspaper The National.
As well as the prison sentence, Cassim received a 10,000 dirhams
($2,725) fine for the video, which was
entitled “Ultimate Combat System: The Deadly Satwa Gs”.
The video opens with the disclaimer that the “following
events are fictional and no offence was intended to the people of
Satwa and UAE.” In the 20-minute short that follows, the men
who perceive themselves to be deadly gangsters practice throwing
sandals at sheets of newspaper and using phones to call for
‘backup’ as a method of evading trouble.
“Now I show you one very, very dangerous weapon: this is
called the agal,” claims the fictional tutor of the ‘gang’.
The agal is the cord used to secure headscarves, and the men
practice making whipping motions with it. The video seems to mock
the pseudo-aggressive behavior of youth that are inherently
mild-mannered.
Alongside Cassim, two Indians who were also on trial were given
the same sentence on Monday. Two Emirati defendants were each
given eight months, while one was pardoned.
Three more were sentenced in absentia - a Canadian woman, a
British woman and an American man - and fined the same 10,000
dirhams ($2,725).
Cassim’s familiy, who live in the US, stated that they are
“now trying to confirm whether the one-year imprisonment
includes time served or means additional jail time,”
according to Reuters. Cassim was arrested in April.
Gulf states have observed an increasingly severe crackdown on
internet freedoms over the past two years. In November, an Abu
Dhabi court sentenced a man to two years in prison for tweeting
about a political trial.
State worker Waleed al-Shehhi was also fined 500,000 dirhams
(approximately $137,000). Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab
and Bahrain have all joined the UAE in this crackdown.
A Bahraini blogger and human rights activist, Ali Abduleman was
granted political asylum in the UK in May after being ‘forced
into hiding’ by the regime.
In June this year, Qatar also approved a range of new measures
aimed at monitoring the online activity of its citizens, while in
Saudi Arabia, three lawyers are currently facing trial, accused
of posting messages on social media which were critical of the
authorities.