US citizen facing 7 years in Dubai Jail for using expletive on Instagram

American expat, Jordan Branford is facing up to seven years in a Dubai jail after using a swear word on the popular social media platform, Instagram.

The US citizen, 44, and originally from Oregon, is being charged under the UAE's vaguely worded cybercrime law. After appearing in court in March 2017, Branford was initially convicted and sentenced to a fine of $68,000 followed by deportation. 

He was, however, unable to pay the hefty fine after spending his finances on legal fees. In the UAE, failure to pay a court fine results in a prison sentence that's length is determined by the amount of money owed. Subsequently, Branford now faces a long stretch in a Dubai jail with each day served being the equivalent to paying off $27 of the original $68,000 fine. In accordance with these rules, Branford will serve just under 7 years in jail.

Branford's arrest came after a complaint was bought against him by his estranged wife, who claimed that the use of the swear word in the Instagram post was directed at her.

Branford alleges that his wife had tried to sue him on numerous occasions over private phone messages, stating she tried to “ruin” him financially after their marriage broke down in 2007.

“She kept telling me that her ‘uncle is a judge here in the UAE’, and that she would get my money one way or the other,” Jordan said.

“Well there is nothing more to get now. I have spent over $230,000 in both legal fees and keeping a roof over my head while trying to appeal the charges. I have not been allowed to work because of the police case, and I am also in debt to my friends and family.”, he continued.

CEO of Detained in Dubai, an international NGO representing Branford, Radha Stirling said of the case:

“It is wholly unacceptable that Jordan should face seven years in prison over an Instagram story that disappears promptly from his display feed. The post simply mentioned a swear word but did not name any individuals. Whether it is mentioning a word that could be argued to be derogatory, or uploading a photo of a badly parked car that could be argued to be a breach of privacy, what is clear is that the laws are a great risk to anyone living in or visiting the country.”

The Instagram post in question read, “so I woke up today and heard the b**** made another case.”

Stirling continued: “For what is such a trivial offence, the sentencing has been extremely harsh in this case. Violent offenders receive more lenient sentences. Jordan has already been held for 20 months, including over 2 months in the notorious Al Barsha police holding cell, and has gone through the most stressful time of his life.”

Jordan Branford's case is symptomatic of a wider issue facing foreign nationals in the UAE who are increasingly at risk of mistreatment at the hands of Emirati authorities.

Since the institution of the cybercrime law in 2012, scores of people have been arbitrarily detained, forcefully disappeared, and in many cases tortured, on the most frivolous of charges. In 2016 alone, around 300 people were detained in the UAE for comments posted on social media sites.

Commenting upon how this law affects foreign nationals, Stirling stated that, “most people are unaware that they are likely already in breach of the cybercrime laws when they arrive in the country. Under these poorly drafted and arbitrarily enforced laws, visitors can even be subject to prosecution for posts they have shared from outside of the UAE, years before visiting.”

“At the moment a visitor can be jailed for sharing a post by a charity on Facebook if the charity is not approved by the UAE. This includes anything posted years before the visitor arrives in the UAE. Meaning that a huge amount of people are guilty of this crime, and theoretically risk arrest even while transiting through Dubai airport, if reported in advance or if their devices are inspected in transit.”, she continued.

ICFUAE demand the immediate and unconditional release of Jordan Branford. Furthermore, as these cases build up, we urgently call upon the Emirati authorities to amend the cybercrime law, so as to stop the criminalisation of freedom of speech in the UAE.