UAE Law: Sharing images of accidents is illegal

It’s a law that is often discussed in the UAE, however, many people still ignore it. Taking and sharing images of accident sites can carry serious penalties, and following the crash landing of an Emirates plane last week, the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has issued a reminder.

The GCAA posted on their official Twitter account: “GCAA warns all residence in the #UAE to stop abusing social networks by publishing videos, news or pictures of aviation’s accidents.” They also said that posting these images “is considered to be irresponsible and disrespectful to the victims, and is punishable under #UAE law.”

warns all residence in the to stop abusing social networks by publishing videos, news or pictures of aviation’s accidents.

— GCAA UAE (@gcaa_uae)

Sharing such practices is considered to be irresponsible and disrespectful to the victims, and is punishable under law.

— GCAA UAE (@gcaa_uae)

This comes after many images and videos of flight EK521 were posted across social media and news channels.

The law in the UAE prohibits people from taking images of accident sites. This usually applies to road traffic accidents, as it shows disrespect to those injured and their families.

Last month the Ministry of Interior cautioned that the circulation of these images “is unacceptable as it can cause psychological shock to parents when they view such images.” This warning followed a fatal traffic accident in Ajman, as images of the crash site were later seen on social media.

In September last year there was a fresh reminder of social media misuse as a whole. Colonel Khalid Nasser Al Razooqi, director-general of the Smart Service Department at Dubai Police told 7Days that the Police look out for things like offensive emojis and cyber extortion. “We have laws against users misusing social media and we can reach any person in the world,” Colonel Al Razooqi said.

Social media and cyber crimes can carry penalties such as large fines and even jail terms, so if you see an image or video that you think may break one of these laws, make sure you don’t share it.