Although there are many well-known laws to consider while in Dubai and the surrounding UAE, some of the less well-known restrictions in the UAE, from Dubai to Abu Dhabi, often overlooked, with some of the strangest legal offences that could result in your arrest, fines or deportation from the country.
Insults on WhatsApp
It prohibited to utter insults in the UAE altogether, where the use of the word curse or obscene words is a crime, because it “insults the honour or shame” of a person, and in accordance with article 373 of the UAE Penal Code: the utterance of insults is punishable by up to one year in prison. With a fine of up to AED 10,000 (£2,157), the use of finger signals as a kind of obscene “middle finger lift signal” considered an “inappropriate gesture” that violates the “dignity of the victim and/or his privacy and/or his life,” and this will lead to immediate deportation from the country.
Open someone’s phone without their permission
It is illegal in the UAE to “invade someone else’s privacy” using computer networks or social media, which can result in at least six months in prison and a fine of between AED 100,000 and AED 500,000 (between £21,563 and £107,816).
Eating or drinking on public transport
Eating and drinking strictly prohibited in all forms of public transport and its stations, from metro and buses to pedestrian crossings, getting caught eating and drinking cost you a fine of up to AED 100 (£22).
Carry foods containing poppy seeds
Poppy seeds are a source of opium, a banned substance in the United Arab Emirates, and the possession of poppy seeds is a serious violation of the law and leads to imprisonment.
Fundraising
Raising funds for charitable reasons is a difficult business in the UAE, you must first obtain fundraising approval from the Department of Islamic Affairs and Philanthropy (IACAD), otherwise the announcement of fundraising violates charitable laws in the UAE, and this can lead you to imprisonment He paid fines ranging from 250,000 to 500,000 dirhams (£53,928 to £107,855), and even deportation from the country.
Use VPN
Under UAE cybercrime laws, VPN users can face fines ranging from AED 500,000 to AED 2 million (£107,855 and £431,421) if they “use a false IP address or third-party address by any other means for the purpose of committing or preventing the discovery of a crime.” So whether you’re trying to access a blocked or blocked site, or downloading copyrighted material, you risk a big fine.
Owning an unclean car
With frequent sandstorms in the UAE you think you’ll forgive if you miss cleaning your dusty car, but dirty cars seen as “tarnishing the city’s image and public health,” and as a result dirty cars routinely towed, and their owners fined and booked fees of AED 3,000 (£647).
Wash your car
While not washing your car can put you in serious trouble, washing your car “incorrectly” can also put you in just as serious trouble, prohibiting you from washing your car in residential areas or hiring workers to wash your car, informal car washes “tarnishing the image of the beautiful city” as well as being an environmental hazard, where dirty water pollutes the streets and sewers, instead you have to take your car to appropriate facilities such as those at beautiful city stations. Gasoline and parking in shopping malls.
Take pictures of people without their permission
This a very serious crime that affected many people in the past, and the UAE very strict about maintaining the privacy of individuals, taking a picture of someone without their knowledge or serious consent a crime and this exacerbated if you post these pictures on social media platforms, and according to internet crime laws you can fined up to 500,000 dirhams (£107,816) and imprisoned for six months for this offence, although the sentences in practice much harsher, as the sentences in practice much harsher. Many visitors deported.
Take and share photos of road or aviation accidents
Taking pictures in general a risky business in the UAE, in addition to banning the taking of pictures of military buildings, courts and palaces, you not allowed to take any pictures of road accidents that you see on your flights, this can fine you to between 50,000 and 3 million dirhams (between £10,788 and £647262), leaving you at risk of deportation, extending to aviation accidents: It strictly forbidden to post photos and videos on social media platforms.
Start and spread rumors
This perhaps the most ambiguous crime on this list, anything that interpreted as a rumor punishable under UAE law, can result in gossip exchanges, especially on social media, the penalty three years’ imprisonment and a fine of up to 1 million dirhams (£215754), as the UAE intends to impose very strict laws on publishing news on the Internet, with the aim of eliminating those who “catch up” They are a threat to “national peace”.
