Public Prosecution refers 2 footballers, website owner to court under cybercrime law

Two footballers and a website owner will tomorrow stand trial at the Abu Dhabi Court of Misdemeanour on charges of using telecommunication to insult and harm others and of breach public morals by circulating footage on the Internet.

The Abu Dhabi Public Prosecution demanded that the court hand out the maximum penalties to the suspects in accordance with article (17) of the UAE Cyber Crime Law, which punishes anyone who establishes, operates, supervises, produces, transmits, publishes and exploits through an electronic site materials that may prejudice public morals by imprisonment and a fine of not less than Dh250,000 not exceeding Dh500,000.

The suspects also face a jail term not less than one year and a fine not less than Dh250,000 and not exceeding Dh500,000 under article (21) of the same law.

While warning that the law punishes all those involved in such crimes in all their forms either by appearing, preparing, filming or re-transmitting, the Public Prosecution urged individuals to be cautious and careful when preparing, producing, using, publishing or releasing terms, words, signals, drawings or symbols or filming or recording audio-visual, readable materials that insult and harm the community and public order.

Court records showed that a reprehensible video clip, which went viral on the social media, screened an angry footballer making improper acts and directing offensive words to a sports personality.

The first suspect confessed to the investigators of having made the abusive words in the video, while the second suspect confessed to have filmed the clip. The third suspect confessed to have published the first part of the clip and claimed that his website had been hacked and the second part of the clip was published without his knowledge and consent.