While the woman hasn’t been hurt to anyone’s knowledge, her pleas to pay a fine in exchange for release from prison says a lot about the conditions in which she is being held. In the absence of outside intervention, it is likely she will languish in the Emirate jail until a verdict is issued next month:
“The U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi responded to an Associated Press query by stating that the embassy, ‘is aware of the case and is providing consular services.’
While liberal on some issues, the UAE has strict laws governing expression. Unlike in many Western countries, defamation is treated in the UAE as a criminal rather than a civil matter.
Insulting the UAE’s leaders, or the country itself, can carry a prison sentence and steep fines.
In 2013, a 29-year-old U.S. citizen from Minnesota was tried under a cyber-crimes law and accused of defaming the country’s image abroad for posting a spoof video online about youth culture in the UAE. He spent nine months in prison before being deported and fined $2,700.”
Source: Daily Star
With all the times I’ve heard them chant death to America and c**p.