PH Embassy confirms 2 OFWs in UAE arrested for allegedly sharing attack videos

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — The Philippine Embassy on Monday confirmed that two Filipinos have been arrested by UAE authorities for allegedly posting videos of missile attacks in the emirates amid the Middle East conflict involving Iran, Israel and the US.

In a statement, the embassy said it will provide legal assistance to the two, both Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). It has also informed their families of their situation and “provided timely updates and support.” 

Identities and other details of the cases are being withheld, “in view of the ongoing investigation and at the request of the families,” the embassy said.

“Legal assistance is being extended to the arrested through the embassy’s retained legal counsel,” read the embassy’s statement.

“A request has been submitted to the relevant UAE authorities for a consular visit to the arrested nationals, subject to approval by the competent authorities,” it also said.

‘Expedited trial’

The UAE Attorney General’s Office earlier announced that 25 people of various nationalities were facing arrest and “expedited trial” for posting images of the Middle East conflict on social media.

A report by WAM, the official government news agency, quoted UAE Attorney General Dr. Hamad Saif Al Shamsi as saying that the 25 individuals published content that harms national defense measures and glorifies acts of military aggression against UAE.

The two OFWs were among the 25 people.

“The Public Prosecution has commenced investigations into the charges filed against the defendants and ordered their preventive detention pending further inquiries,” WAM said.

Three groups

According to the WAM report, the alleged violators were divided into three groups:

• those who published and circulated authentic video clips documenting the passage and interception of missile aggressions in the UAE’s airspace or the resulting impact; 
• those who published fabricated visual content created through artificial intelligence or recirculated footage of incidents from outside the UAE while falsely claiming they occurred within it; and
• those who published content glorifying a hostile state and its political and military leadership, promoting its regional military aggressions as achievements.

The AG said such actions incite public anxiety and panic, while risking exposing defensive capabilities and allowing hostile accounts to promote misleading narrative.

Al Shamsi stressed that any individual proven to be involved in these acts will be referred to the judiciary to receive the prescribed legal penalty. 

Filing charges and having appropriate legal action against the 25 individuals “serves as a just consequence for actions involving the deception and exaggeration of facts without regard for the country's circumstances or its security requirements,” WAM said in its report.

Advisory

Following this, the Philippine Embassy and Consulate General issued an advisory reaching out to UAE authorities and seeking formal confirmation of the identities, legal status, and circumstances of any Filipinos caught up in the arrests.

Ambassador Alfonso A. Ver, head of the Philippine mission to the UAE, in the advisory, also cautioned Filipinos against posting photos of the ongoing Iran war on social media.

“All Filipino nationals in the UAE are reminded to exercise utmost caution and responsibility in their use of social media and messaging platforms. Filipinos are advised to refrain from recording, posting, forwarding, or commenting on unverified or sensitive security related content; to avoid spreading rumors or speculative information and to rely only on official announcements of UAE authorities and credible news sources for information on ongoing security situations,” read the advisory. — BM, GMA Integrated News