UAE Arrests Activist For 'False News' Tweets
An Emirati activist arrested and charged with "spreading false news" on Twitter is yet another sign of dwindling free speech in the United Arab Emirates, writes Matt Duffy.
In a troubling sign of an even greater crackdown on free speech, the United Arab Emirates security forces have arrested an activist and charged him with “spreading false news” via Twitter.
The charge appears to be the first brought under the new cybercrime law updated in November of last year. The revision of the law was widely criticized for its exasperatingly broad language prohibiting a wide array of speech, including sarcasm directed toward the nation's leaders and even disparaging cartoons.
Abdulla Al-Hadidi was arrested on March 22 on the false news charge as well as a dubious accusation of attacking a security guard outside the courthouse where his father is being tried along with 93 others accused of sedition.
International media and foreign observers have been barred from attending the trial, meaning that only local media — which practice self-censorship in order to avoid upsetting authorities — are providing an account of proceedings. Al Hadidi had been tweeting updates from the trial, offering his own perspective on the proceedings. He also appeared on CNN earlier this month, where he denied the government’s central argument that all of those on trial are working in concert with the Muslim Brotherhood, a group officially banned in the UAE.
