Britons arrested in the UAE for taking photos and videos of drone and missile attacks have been targeted in prison, according to human rights lawyers.
The Mail on Sunday revealed yesterday that as many as 70 Britons have been locked up in the Emirates as the Gulf state’s clampdown on sharing images of the conflict has intensified.
Tourists, expats and cabin crew have been detained in overcrowded police cells and prisons – and in some cases denied sleep, food and medicine – as they fall foul of draconian laws that purport to protect ‘national security and stability’.
Radha Stirling, the founder of human rights group Detained in Dubai, claimed some detainees have even been physically assaulted
Stirling said that people from Britain were at an increased risk of abuse in UAE prisons because ‘the FCDO is being deliberately difficult with British citizens and not helping as effectively as counterparts like France and Canada … this is very dangerous’.
‘The government isn’t stepping in to defend citizens. Meanwhile the service in the prison is going down because of the war. I’m hearing directly about [Britons in] overcrowded, horrendous conditions, no room to sleep … people being beaten,’ Stirling said.
‘Things like people being forced to stay awake for 48 hours, not being given food or water, denied medication … and forced to sign things without consular officials involved.’
David Haigh, the founder of human rights group Dubai Watch, who was previously imprisoned and tortured in a Dubai jail, called the conditions ‘horrific.’
He added: ‘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.’
Dubai Watch is representing eight arrested Britons, but Haigh says local lawyers tell him that at least 35 Britons have been detained in Dubai, and a similar number in neighbouring Abu Dhabi.
In some cases, they were made to sign statements in Arabic they did not understand, it is claimed.
Tiina Jauhiainen, who spent two weeks in solitary confinement in a Dubai jail in 2018 was reportedly told: ‘No one knows you are here. We can do whatever we want to you.’
That, says Jauhiainen, is the reality facing the scores of Britons locked up in Emirate jails.
Jauhiainen was detained after sharing a video where the daughter of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum, Princess Latifa, claimed she had been beaten, tortured and imprisoned by officials linked to her family.
She was kept in solitary confinement, threatened with the death penalty and interrogated for hours about the video, the escape plan and whether she was part of a larger plot to overthrow Sheikh Mohammed.
She said it was ‘the most terrifying thing that has ever happened to me in my life’.
In a windowless cell with permanent fluorescent light, she had no idea if it was day or night and only a thin blanket for covering, which left her shivering violently.
When she was eventually released without charge, she was forced to sign paperwork agreeing not to criticise the regime or talk about her incarceration.
Among the detained Britons is a London-based air steward for the budget airline FlyDubai.
A British lawyer living in Dubai as an expat is also among those arrested, while Detained In Dubai is helping the family of a 60-year-old British tourist who was charged with 20 others after footage of Iranian missiles over Dubai was found on their phones.
Despite deleting the footage, he was arrested and now faces two years in jail and up to £40,000 in fines.
He was charged under cyber-crime laws, but some cases are being treated as more serious national security issues.
Emirati laws prohibit anyone from taking or publishing photos that could ‘disturb public security’.
When there is an Iranian strike, those nearby are sent a text message in both Arabic and English saying: ‘Photographing or sharing security or critical sites, or reposting unreliable information, may result in legal action and compromise national security and stability.’
Police also reportedly approach those in the area and demand to see their phones. Anyone caught with photos of attack sites is arrested, while those who receive such photos through apps like WhatsApp are also tracked down and arrested.
Even passively receiving an image is deemed illegal under the severest laws, which can carry a sentence of ten years in prison or fines of up to £200,000.
Held under draconian ‘domestic security’ laws, detainees are not even entitled to consular assistance or even a phone call.
There is no duty for Dubai officials to inform anyone that they have been detained, let alone British embassy staff.
It is why the Foreign Office has no grip on the true total of British citizens being held in Dubai jails – because the numbers are essentially hidden.
Access by British consular staff is understood to be ‘restricted or outright denied’.
The Foreign Office is not automatically alerted to all cases, and some of those arrested have been advised not to contact the British Embassy for fear it could prolong their cases.
Officials believe just five British detainees are receiving consular help for taking pictures.
An FCDO spokesperson said: ‘We are providing consular assistance to a small number of British nationals detained in the UAE in connection with this issue, and our ambassador is engaging with the Emirati authorities about their cases.’
Iran has launched thousands of missiles and drones at the UAE since the beginning of the conflict on February 28.
Authorities in Dubai said on Monday that reports of explosions across parts of the city were the result of ‘successful air defence operations.’
Meanwhile, experts have warned that major cities could be obliterated if the UAE joins the war against Iran.
Jeffrey Sachs, the American economist, has warned Dubai and Abu Dhabi ‘could be blown up’ if the conflict escalates.
Speaking to Asian News International, Sachs says the UAE continues to ‘double down’ on its mistakes by aligning itself with the US and Israel.
‘Basically, Dubai and Abu Dhabi could be blown up if the UAE gets into the war. These are resort areas. These are tourist destinations. These are not fortified missile defence areas.
‘These are places where rich people are going to party and put their money. And to enter a war zone is to defeat the entire purpose of a place like Dubai. The Emirates got itself into an absurd mess with its eyes open. And it keeps doubling down, by the way,’ he said.
Hotspots like Dubai have been reduced to ghost towns since the conflict intensified, with influencers and expats scrambling to leave as Iran pounds the Gulf.
Once a tax-free haven attracting social media stars and countless Brits seeking warm weather and crime-free streets, Dubai’s carefully crafted image has been shattered and some residents believe it is ‘finished’.
Thousands have fled the war-torn city, vowing to never return as the Islamic Republic sends barrages of missiles and suicide drones at glitzy skyscrapers and glamorous five star hotels, even striking the world famous Fairmont hotel on Palm Jumeirah.
And now even more expats may be forced to leave the Emirates, as reports of contract terminations for teaching staff at Dubai’s elite private schools have been circulating.
Schools have shifted to hybrid learning amid the conflict, and several institutions have begun cost-cutting as parents withdraw their children from schools.
Radha Stirling of Detained in Dubai wrote on X: ‘Layoffs have commenced in the UAE education sector. Non-essential teaching staff, particularly in sports and extracurricular roles, are having their contracts terminated.
‘For many expats, this risks immediate financial default and long-term travel bans.’
