Abu Dhabi man jailed for possessing child pornography

ABU DHABI // A man found in possession of child pornography has been sentenced to six months in jail and fined Dh150,000 by the Court of Misdemeanours has ruled.

The Emirati was caught after the UAE authorities conducted a joint operation with international partners to catch possessors of child pornography.

As they tracked him down, they also found out he was using an virtual proxy network to access and upload videos. He was also using another programme to hide his identity.

Authorities managed to find his home and inspected his electronic devices where they found six CDs containing the material, and found other material on his laptop and mobile phone.

Investigations showed that there was no intention or instances of publishing or sharing the videos by the defendant.

He confessed using the videos for personal use in front of prosecutors, but later denied the charge in court.

The court convicted him according to article 18 of the information technology law number 5 for 2012.

The law has set a minimum of six months in jail and a Dh150,000 fine for whoever possesses deliberately pornographic material involving juveniles.