Get you up to speed: UAE detains dozens of UK nationals for filming Iranian air strikes in Gulf
Hundreds of people have been arrested across the Gulf for filming Iranian attacks on tourist hotspots. As many as 70 UK nationals have been locked up in the UAE for filming these drone and missile strikes.
Hundreds of individuals have been arrested in the Gulf for filming Iranian attacks, with 70 UK nationals reported detained in the UAE, according to local authorities. Dr Ramy Abdu, Chairman of Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, stated that governments are using “vaguely worded laws” to impose strict censorship on their populations and are conducting mass arrests without due process.
As many as 70 UK nationals are currently detained in the UAE for filming Iranian attacks, and they could face up to ten years in jail for violating national security laws. Campaign groups report that the legal system is overwhelmed, and detainees are being denied basic needs such as sleep, food, and medicine.
‘Security agents stopped and arrested me after filming air strikes in the Gulf’ | News World
Two foreign nationals shared their stories of being tracked down by officials after filming air strikes
Hundreds of people have been arrested across the Gulf for filming Iranian attacks on tourist hotspots.
As many as 70 UK nationals have been locked up in the UAE for filming these drone and missile strikes.
WTX has heard the stories of two foreign nationals who were allegedly tracked down and arrested for innocently recording explosions in different Gulf countries.
Iran in retaliation for US and Israeli attacks are spotted in the skies over Ramallah in West Bank on March 25, 2026. Following the retaliation,Israeli air defense systems were activated in an attempt to intercept the missiles. (Photo by Issam Rimawi/Anadolu via Getty Images)” decoding=”async” loading=”lazy”/>
People have been arrested for filming missile strikes in the sky (Picture: Issam Rimawi/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has shared the testimonies of these individuals, who aren’t British and were detained and interrogated for hours after filming Iranian air strikes.
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One foreign national was arrested after being caught up in an Iranian attack over a major Gulf city.
He was walking through the city at around 8.45pm when he heard loud explosions overhead and saw flashes in the sky.
‘I did not livestream the footage, nor did I share it with anyone except a friend, to reassure him that I was safe.’
The foreign national went about his evening, but it was not long before the authorities somehow found him.
Iranian missiles hit tourist hotspots across the Gulf (Picture: Chris Eubank Jr/Facebook)
‘Three individuals in plain clothes stepped out and identified themselves as security agents.
‘They immediately asked me to unlock my phone and present my identification.’
The foreign national said he was then taken into detention for hours in what he claimed were overcrowded cells with individuals of various nationalities.
Describing the ‘interrogation’ that followed, he said: ‘The questioning focused on my motives for filming sensitive locations, spreading rumors, and assisting the enemy in identifying targets.
He claimed he was threatened with a long jail sentence and heavy fines during the interview. After 48 hours in custody, he was released.
Air strikes have hit numerous Gulf states (Picture: various sources / AFP via Getty Images)
However, he claimed that he was forced to sign a document that admitted to violating the law, as well as ‘a pledge not to disclose what had happened to any media or human rights entity’.
Officials also allegedly warned him he risked being deported and banned from re-entering the Gulf state if he broke this agreement.
Arrests for alleged breaches of cybercrime laws have taken place throughout the Middle East.
Since the start of the Iran war, local and national authorities in the UAE say they have made 189 arrests in connection with alleged violations of the country’s cybercrime laws.
Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain – a leading human rights group – told WTX they have noted at least 10 foreign nationals arrested in Bahrain in cases linked to the US-Israeli war on Iran.
Jawad Fairooz, Director of SALAM for Democracy and Human Rights, said they were aware of 204 Bahraini citizens arrested for different reasons since the war began.
Another foreign national shared their story of being arrested for filming missile strikes in a different Gulf state through Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor.
He was in a residential apartment in a large city in mid-March when air raid sirens blared, and loud explosions shook windows.
Authorities across the Middle East have cracked down on cybercrime laws (Picture: Fadhel MADAN / AFP via Getty Images)
Around 12 hours later, at midday the following day, there was a knock at his apartment.
He claimed: ‘I found four individuals in security uniforms.
‘They confiscated my personal phone and laptop, placed me in a vehicle belonging to a security agency, and transferred me to a nearby security facility.’
He alleges he was blindfolded and left in a long corridor for hours before being taken into an interrogation room.
During the police interview, he claimed the investigator ‘accused me of filming sensitive military locations during a state of emergency and sending coordinates to the enemy’.
The man said that he tried to defend himself from the accusations and stressed he would never do anything to threaten the country’s security.
The foreign national alleged he was then kept in solitary confinement for six days and denied contact with his country’s embassy.
He was then released but allegedly forced to sign documents promising not to speak about what had happened to me.
Ramy Abdu, Chairman of Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, said states were imposing censorship on residents (Picture: Manchester Metropolitan University)
Dr Ramy Abdu, Chairman of Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor, said states were using ‘vaguely worded laws’ to ‘impose strict censorship’ on their populations.
He added: ‘We recognize the right of states to safeguard their national security; however, invoking security imperatives does not grant authorities a blank check to carry out mass arrests devoid of due process.
‘Criminalizing spontaneous documentation does not indicate a genuine security threat posed by individuals, but rather exposes a pattern of systematic information suppression employed by these governments.’
As many as 70 UK nationals who have been locked up in the UAE for filming Iranian attacks on the Gulf country.
British tourists, expats and cabin crew have been held in overcrowded police cells and could face ten years in jail for breaching laws around protecting ‘national security and stability’.
Campaign groups say the legal system is swamped with cases and some are being denied sleep, food and medicine in detention.
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