A British man has been arrested for filming Iranian missile strikes in Dubai.
The 60-year-old, from London, is understood to have been taken into custody but not yet charged.
He was allegedly filming the missiles, which have rained down on the Middle East as Iran retaliates against the US and Israel’s ‘Operation Epic Fury’, The Telegraph reports.
The United Arab Emirates has been the target of a number of Iranian missiles, but officials have been told to not take any footage of strikes in region.
It is against the law to to share material that causes public panic or harms public order.
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There have also been a number of images which have been created using AI.
Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Dubai, said: ‘The UAE’s cybercrime laws are some of the harshest in the world when it comes to social media.
‘People can face fines of up to USD 77,000 simply for posting commentary that authorities say harms “public order” or “national unity”.
‘In times of war, these laws become even more dangerous. Residents are effectively being warned to stay silent online. Visitors are particularly vulnerable because they often assume they are protected by their home country’s standards of free speech. They are not.
‘The risk is very real, and many people are now too frightened to speak publicly, even if they disagree with what is happening.
‘It is illegal to take photos of government buildings and people have been charged for posing in front of forbidden sites.
‘There is a real risk that well meaning visitors stranded in the UAE will be inadvertently breaking the law.’
It comes as the navy is readying evacuation warships to be deployed to help stranded British tourists and expats in Dubai.
The RFA Lyme Bay is being placed on ‘heightened readiness’ to be sent to the eastern Mediterranean to help Brits stuck in the Middle East.
The Ministry of Defence said: ‘As part of prudent planning, we have taken the decision to bring RFA Lyme Bay to heightened readiness as a precaution, should she be needed to assist in maritime tasks in the eastern Mediterranean.’
The vessel, which is a landing ship, has both aviation and medical facilities primed for humanitarian relief missions.
It is currently in Gibraltar, with the status change only ‘precautionary’.
Influencers who have remained in the country say they are ‘stuck in middle of World War Three’.
Aviation Expert Daniel Goz, known as Nonstop Dan, claimed he was stranded because the only tickets to get home were economy class.
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