Dubai Police have warned that people who joke about extremist groups on social media or on texts could be liable to criminal prosecution.
7Days newspaper reported that Dubai Police’s Al Ameen service, which provides the public with a hotline to report crimes, has warned against “irresponsible behaviour” like threatening a country’s security or pretending to be a member of a terrorist group on social networks or via text messaging.
“Once we had someone who sent a message to his friend claiming he was part of an organisation or illegal group in the UAE just to scare him for a joke,” an official told the newspaper.
“It’s not acceptable even if it’s joke. They can even be prosecuted.”
On a separate occasion, a group of friends sent social media messages to other friends claiming to be a member of an illegal group as a joke, which was investigated by Al Ameen after they received a report on it.
“We investigated the matter as it was serious but discovered it was a joke,” the official said.
“We want people to be careful even if they want to joke with their friends or relatives.”
