American jailed over spoof Satwa gang video to be released

The American man and his friends were each jailed for a year and fined Dh10,000 by the State Security Court last month for defaming the UAE’s image abroad.

DUBAI // An American jailed for his part in making a spoof YouTube video on life in Satwa is about to be released.

S C, 29, and Indians R and A were each jailed for a year and fined Dh10,000 by the State Security Court last month for defaming the UAE’s image abroad.

The American spent nine months in jail awaiting trial and will soon be released.

Jen Psaki, a US state department spokeswoman, said: “We understand that he has been credited with his pre-trial detention time against his one-year sentence, as well as given time off for good behaviour.

“We have received word that he has been moved to a deportation facility for processing. We understand processing will take a few days, at which point he will be returning to the US.”

But sources said he could leave the UAE as early as Thursday morning.

Two Emirati brothers found guilty of contributing to the video, S D and S D, were given eight months and Dh5,000 fines. Their brother A D was pardoned.

A Canadian woman, a British woman and an American man were sentenced in their absence to a year in prison and Dh10,000 fines.

It is believed the Emirati brothers were released last month but it is not yet known whether the Indians have been freed.

The 19-minute film was set in Satwa, Dubai, which was depicted as a dangerous neighbourhood plagued by warring gangs.

The characters practise martial arts using items of Emirati national dress including the agal, the black rope worn around the headdress, and naal, the leather slippers.

The jailed American, a business consultant and amateur comedian, and the convicted Emirati brothers – one a media and marketing manager and rapper; the other a student and part-time airline worker – posted the video on YouTube in October 2012.

They were arrested in April last year.

Defence lawyers had argued that their clients had not intended to mock the UAE’s culture or harm its reputation overseas.

They said the video was only intended to be a satire about suburban teenagers adopting gang culture, and that the video started with the disclaimer: “The following events are fictional and no offence was intended to the people of Satwa and UAE.”