United Arab Emirates – YouTube video puts defamation law in spotlight

THE recent case of the Emirati man who was caught on video assaulting an Indian truck driver and the controversial video footage posted on the web, has put the UAE’s defamation law in the spotlight. 

The man who documented the incident posted the video on YouTube. It sparked numerous comments from both Emiratis and expatriates, who continued to share the footage on social media websites. 

After the offender’s son approached the authorities saying the video had tainted his father’s reputation, the man who took the video was taken into custody. 

Dubai Police reasoned that this was because the videographer chose to share the proof of the assault with the public instead of doing so discreetly by handing it over to the police. 

“UAE law states that one should not take photographs or videos of other individuals without their permission, consent or knowledge and publish them anywhere. If the images are not published however, there is no court case,” said Ali Al Abbadi, an Abu Dhabi-based lawyer. 

This means that if still or live images of a person are taken without their approval, but are kept private, the owner of the content will not be penalised by law, he added. According to Al Abbadi, the Court of Misdemeanours handles such cases, which can be punishable by jail term and/ or a fine of a month to three years and a fine betweeb Dh1,000 to Dh30,000.