Abu Dhabi: The United Arab Emirates (<keyword id="19908927" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="UAE" source="keywords">UAE</keyword>) is closely monitoring the case of <keyword id="21332555" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Pavel-Durov" source="keywords">Pavel Durov</keyword>, founder and CEO of <keyword id="19897633" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Telegram" source="keywords">Telegram</keyword>, who holds <keyword id="22944319" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Emirati-citizenship" source="keywords">Emirati citizenship</keyword>, after his arrest in <keyword id="19899242" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="France" source="keywords">France</keyword> and the extension of his detention period by French authorities, Al Jazeera reported.<br /><br />Notably, the founder of the Telegram messaging app, Pavel Durov, who had an arrest warrant issued against him, was detained by the French authorities at an airport outside Paris, CNN reported.<br /><br />Officers from France's anti-fraud office, attached to French customs, took the French-Russian billionaire into custody on Saturday evening after he arrived at Bourget Airport on a flight from Azerbaijan, according to CNN affiliate BFMTV.<br /><br />The UAE's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement early on Tuesday that it was "closely following" Durov's case and that it had "submitted a request to the French government to provide him with all consular services urgently," according to Al-Jazeera.<br /><br />"Caring for citizens, preserving their interests, following up on their affairs, and providing them with all aspects of care are a top priority for the UAE," the ministry said in the statement.<br /><br />Durov, 39, was wanted under a French arrest warrant due to the lack of moderation on Telegram, which allegedly led to the platform being used for money laundering, drug trafficking and sharing pedophilic content.<br /><br />Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron after the arrest of Durov said that France is deeply committed to freedom of expression and communication.<br /><br />Sharing a post on X two days ago, Macron said, "I have seen false information regarding France following the arrest of Pavel Durov. France is deeply committed to freedom of expression and communication, to innovation, and to the spirit of entrepreneurship. It will remain so. In a state governed by the rule of law, freedoms are upheld within a legal framework, both on social media and in real life, to protect citizens and respect their fundamental rights. It is up to the judiciary, in full independence, to enforce the law."<br /><br />The post further said, "The arrest of the president of Telegram on French soil took place as part of an ongoing judicial investigation. It is in no way a political decision. It is up to the judges to rule on the matter."<br /><br />Notably, France issued an arrest warrant for Durov on charges of complicity in drug trafficking, crimes against children and fraud due to the lack of moderation on Telegram and his failure to cooperate with law enforcement, the Moscow Times reported, citing French local media.<br /><br />The Russian-born founder of Telegram, which he says boasts over 900 million users, is currently based in Dubai. He became a naturalised French citizen in August 2021.<br /><br />Durov, who is also the founder of the VKontakte social network, left Russia in 2014 after he refused to share VKontakte users' data with Russian security services. Later, Russia unsuccessfully attempted to block Telegram over its refusal to provide users' online communications to security services. <br />

Closely following Telegram founder Pavel Durov's case: UAE asks France for consular access

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5bacdaff3d9ef73f098b4572-1199/abudujilili supi.jpeg" border="0" alt="Abudujilili Supi" data-mce-source="Courtesy of Mijiti Yisake" data-mce-caption="Abudujilili Supi, a Chinese Muslim Uighur who was arrested in the United Arab Emirates and whose family fears will be deported to China." /><p class="source"><span>Courtesy of Mijiti Yisake</span></p><p class="caption">Abudujilili Supi, a Chinese Muslim Uighur who was arrested in the United Arab Emirates and whose family fears will be deported to China.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>Abudujilili Supi, a Chinese Muslim of the persecuted Uighur ethnic minority, was arrested for no clear reason in the United Arab Emirates last week.</strong></li><li><strong>His family fears that he was arrested for being Uighur, and that he will be deported to China and imprisoned there.</strong></li><li>His wife witnessed the entire arrest, and has since fled to Turkey. Supi's brother, who is currently with her, told Business Insider what happened.</li><li><strong>This is one of the first cases of a Uighur family in the Gulf region speaking out about an arrest and potential deportation to China.</strong></li></ul><p>A man belonging to China's persecuted Muslim Uighur community was arrested for no apparent reason last week, an act which his family fears is down to his ethnicity and could see him deported to China and punished.</p><p>Abudujilili Supi, a Chinese citizen living and working in the United Arab Emirates, was arrested by four men outside his local mosque last Thursday, Supi's brother Mijiti Yisake told Business Insider in a series of WhatsApp messages.</p><p>He says Supi's captors - it is not clear whether they are police - told him he will be taken to China. Yisake fears that if his brother is deported to China, he will be imprisoned in a detention center or re-education camp.</p><p>Rights groups have accused China of <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/xianjiang-province-china-police-state-surveillance-2018-7">imprisoning up to 1 million Uighurs in such camps</a> in the western Chinese region of Xinjiang, where some 8 million Uighurs live.</p><p>This is one of the first cases of a Uighur family in the Gulf region speaking out about an arrest and potential deportation to China.</p><p>Dozens of Uighurs in other countries have already been deported to China, according to experts and families, who fear they have been held in degrading re-education camps.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5bace79bea4002e4088b4568-1280/abudujilili supi china passport redacted.jpg" border="0" alt="Abudujilili Supi china passport redacted" data-mce-source="Courtesy of Mijiti Yisake; Business Insider" data-mce-caption="Abudujilili Supi's passport photo, as supplied by his brother Mijiti Yisake. Business Insider has redacted some of the personal information." /><p class="source"><span>Courtesy of Mijiti Yisake; Business Insider</span></p><p class="caption">Abudujilili Supi's passport photo, as supplied by his brother Mijiti Yisake. Business Insider has redacted some of the personal information.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><h2>The arrest</h2><p>Supi's wife, a Muslim Uighur named Mayila Xianmuxiding, witnessed the arrest from their apartment, which overlooked the mosque. She described the incident to Yisake, who relayed details to Business Insider.</p><p>According to Xianmuxiding, Supi entered the Abdullah Bin Rawahah Mosque in Sharjah, a city northwest of Dubai, for daily prayers around 4 p.m. and left around 4:20 p.m.</p><p>While Supi was praying, his wife said four men who looked Emirati were waiting outside the mosque for prayers to end. Xianmuxiding doesn't know how long they were waiting there - she said she had been praying at home around the same time her husband was at the mosque, and only looked out when she was done.</p><p>After Supi exited the mosque, she said the four men approached her husband, grabbed his arms, and bundled him into a small white car. It all happened quickly, Yisake said, citing his sister-in-law.</p><p>Xianmuxiding thought the four men who approached her husband were fellow worshippers at the mosque at first, she said. She said she didn't realise who they were until the mosque's cleaner told her the four men were Emirati police.</p><p>Business Insider has not been able to establish who the men were, and the Emirati government has not responded to questions.</p><p><strong><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5baceb6939ce1abe088b456a-1131/sharjah mosque arrest.jpg" border="0" alt="sharjah mosque arrest" data-mce-source="Google Maps/Business Insider" data-mce-caption="The Abdullah Bin Rawahah Mosque in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, where Abudujilili Supi was arrested, according to his family." /><p class="source"><span>Google Maps/Business Insider</span></p><p class="caption">The Abdullah Bin Rawahah Mosque in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates, where Abudujilili Supi was arrested, according to his family.</p></div><p></p></div></div></strong></p><h2>"I am going with people"</h2><p>Supi called Xianmuxiding three days after the arrest, on Monday.</p><p>"Please travel to another country," he told his wife, according to Yisake. "I am going with people. I don't know where I am going. They said to me, 'You will be returned to China.'"</p><p>Supi didn't specify who the "people" were - his family thinks he meant the police.</p><p>That was the last time Supi and his wife spoke.</p><p>Xianmuxiding has since fled to Istanbul, Turkey, where she remains with her brother-in-law Yisake. "She is feeling very sad about her husband," Yisake told Business Insider.</p><p><em><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/life-inside-china-internment-camps-for-uighur-minority-in-xinjiang-bbc-report-2018-8">What it's like inside the internment camps China uses to oppress its Muslim minority, according to people who've been there</a></em></p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5bacf9b9e55aa8150a8b456a-1200/untitled design 8.jpg" border="0" alt="istanbul" data-mce-source="Dmitry Polonskiy/Shutterstock" data-mce-caption="Istanbul, Turkey" /><p class="source"><span>Dmitry Polonskiy/Shutterstock</span></p><p class="caption">Istanbul, Turkey, where Supi's wife fled after the arrest.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Supi, 27, was born in Xinjiang, and studied in Egypt before traveling to the UAE to learn English. After his studies, he found a job as a muezzin - who leads and recites the daily call to prayer - for the local government in Sharjah.</p><p>Although he remained a Chinese citizen, he lives and works legally in the UAE, Yisake said. Business Insider has seen copies of two legal documents confirming Supi's employment, his UAE residency card, and Chinese citizenship.</p><p>Yisake and Supi both left China in 2012, but have returned every year to visit. Their last visit was in 2016, Yisaki said.</p><p>They still have about 30 relatives still in Xinjiang, but Yisake doesn't know where they are - he thinks they have all been locked up in prison camps.</p><p>There's no way of finding out, he says. If he tries to contact them on WhatsApp or WeChat - the popular Chinese messaging app <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-government-accessed-deleted-wechat-messages-2018-5">monitored by the Chinese government</a> - the state will come for his family, Yisake said.</p><p>"If we call them from abroad, Chinese police will torment our family members in East Turkestan," Yisake told Business Insider, "and put them in prison." East Turkestan is the name many Uighurs use for Xinjiang</p><p>"Everything and everyone's phones are controlled by the government."</p><p><em><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/how-china-deals-with-dissent-threats-family-arrests-2018-8">Barging into your home, threatening your family, or making you disappear: Here's what China does to people who speak out against them</a></em></p><h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5bacf9814e353e8c0b8b456b-1438/gettyimages-813182970.jpg" border="0" alt="Xinjiang" data-mce-source="Kevin Frayer/Getty Images" data-mce-caption="An ethnic Uyghur woman holds her child in a local shop on June 28, 2017 in the old town of Kashgar, in the far western Xinjiang province, China." data-link="https://www.gettyimages.com/license/813182970" /><p class="source"><span><a href="https://www.gettyimages.com/license/813182970">Kevin Frayer/Getty Images</a></span></p><p class="caption">A Uighur woman holds her child in Kashgar, Xinjiang, in June 2017.</p></div><p></p></div></div></h2><h2>Why this family is speaking out</h2><p>The UAE government has not responded to Business Insider's numerous requests for confirmation on Supi's case.</p><p>Two experts have independently told Business Insider that they are aware of it.</p><p>Both say that this is the first case in which a Uighur has publicly spoken out about an impending deportation to China from the UAE.</p><p>Yisake told Business Insider: "If I don't mention this story, he will be deported to China."</p><p>"We understand every country's laws and we obey the laws of all countries we live in," he added. "Why does the Chinese government speak about us like all Uighur people are criminals?"</p><p><span>Beijing has repeatedly justified its surveillance and crackdown in Xinjiang as preventing terrorism, and insisted that detaining Uighurs was <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-xinjiang/chinese-official-says-china-is-educating-not-mistreating-muslims-idUSKCN1LT1LV">"not mistreatment,"</a> but "to establish professional training centers, educational centers."</span></p><p><em><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/xianjiang-province-china-police-state-surveillance-2018-7">How a Chinese region that accounts for just 1.5% of the population became one of the most intrusive police states in the world</a></em></p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5bad0632a135a2a00c8b456c-799/terror-threats-transform-chinas-uighur-heartland-into-security-state.jpg" border="0" alt="xinjiang uighur security" data-mce-source="Thomas Peter/Reuters" data-mce-caption="A police officer checks the identity card of a man as security forces keep watch in a street in Kashgar, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, China, March 24, 2017.  REUTERS/Thomas Peter" /><p class="source"><span>Thomas Peter/Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">A police officer stops and checks the identity of a Uighur man in Kashgar, Xinjiang, in March 2017.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Rian Thum, an historian on Islam in China at Loyola University New Orleans, told Business Insider:</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">"Uighur exiles in the Middle East often feel that they remain there at the whim of their host governments, and that if they make any public complaints they themselves risk deportation to China and near-certain confinement in mass-internment camps.</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">"It's difficult to know whether the lack of public complaint about incidents in the Gulf states is a reflection of these fears or of a low incidence of actual threats."</p><p>Egypt, one of China's economic partners, deported at least 12 Uighurs back to China last summer, with at least 22 more detained for no reason, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/06/world/asia/egypt-muslims-uighurs-deportations-xinjiang-china.html">according to The New York Times</a>. Statistics on other Muslim countries' record on Uighur arrests and deportations are not clear.</p><p>Sophie Richardson, the China director of Human Rights Watch, also told Business Insider:</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">"On the chances for deportation or the UAE releasing him: We just don't know.</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">"But if he is returned to China we share his family's concerns that he is at high risk of ill-treatment, arbitrary detention, and/or other human rights abuses."</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5b7ad01580eb351d008b543d-1200/xinjiang uighur pray.jpg" border="0" alt="xinjiang uighur pray" data-mce-source="Kevin Frayer/Getty" data-mce-caption="Uighur men pray before a meal during the Corban Festival, also known as Eid al-Adha, in Turpan, Xinjiang, in September 2016." /><p class="source"><span>Kevin Frayer/Getty</span></p><p class="caption">Uighur men pray before a holiday meal in Turpan, Xinjiang, in September 2016.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-muslim-countries-arent-criticizing-china-uighur-repression-2018-8">Leaders of Muslim countries have been silent</a> over China's repression of Uighurs in Xinjiang, with some experts attributing this to their reluctance to anger Beijing and risk losing its economic investment.</p><p>Last week officials in Pakistan, China's largest Muslim ally, <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/pakistan-criticizes-china-over-repression-of-muslim-uighur-xinjiang-2018-9?r=US&amp;IR=T">broke ranks to criticize China's treatment of the Uighurs</a>. Muslim groups across southeast Asia protested against the Chinese camps this month, with activists in Pakistan accusing its government of betraying Muslims for economic benefit, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-detentions-of-muslims-trigger-protests-in-islamic-world-1538040605">the Wall Street Journal reported</a>.</p><p>Some Western countries, however, have spoken up. Earlier this month the UN human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, called for international monitors to be let into Xinjiang. (Beijing told her to <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/china-tells-un-to-back-off-after-alleging-xinjiang-has-1-million-in-camps-2018-9">back off and "respect China's sovereignty"</a> in response.)</p><p>The Swedish government also halted the deportation of an unspecified number of Uighurs to China due to concerns over their treatment, <a href="https://www.thelocal.se/20180924/sweden-interrupts-uighur-deportations-to-china">according to Agence-France Presse</a>. Germany also halted the deportations of all Uighurs to China, <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/germany-halts-uighur-deportations-to-china/a-45190309">citing the same concern</a>, last month.</p><p>Richardson said: "The UAE would do well to examine the recent decisions made by Germany and Sweden to not forcibly return Uighurs or other Turkic Muslims to China."</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-have-not-found-aliens-aestivation-hypothesis-gaian-bottleneck-2018-8">3 compelling reasons why we haven't found aliens yet</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/lzJPcFTC-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

A member of China's most persecuted minority has been arrested for no clear reason, and his family fears he's going to be deported to China

<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/593ea005da6dde5136719849-571/qatar-airways-in-focus-as-boeing-airbus-vie-for-orders.jpg" alt="Qatari men take pictures after the Airbus A320-200 aircraft chartered by Qatar Airways landed at Doha's new Hamad International Airport (HIA), April 30, 2014. REUTERS/Fadi Al-Assaad " /><p class="source"><span>Thomson Reuters</span></p>On June 5, <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/topics/organisations/gcc.html" target="_self">GCC</a> members Saudi Arabia, the <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/topics/country/united-arab-emirates.html" target="_self">United Arab Emirates</a> and Bahrain, announced their decision to <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/06/saudi-arabia-uae-egypt-bahrain-cut-ties-qatar-170605031700062.html" target="_self">sever</a> diplomatic relations with <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/topics/country/qatar.html" target="_self">Qatar</a> and install an air, land and sea blockade.<p>The announcements were only the first of a number of measures that were taken over the following week, most of which were issued in by the three governments, and some targeted their own citizens.</p><p><span>Here are a few of the most prominent - and strangest - of these decrees.</span></p><h2>Breaking up families</h2><p>The Saudi-led bloc issued orders of forced removals against their own nationals, as well as Qatari nationals.</p><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/593ea005da6dde513671984a-1109/90192147685400598231201155772o.jpg" alt="Doha, Qatar" /><p class="source"><span>Rafi Letzter/Tech Insider</span></p><p>Qatari residents of <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/topics/country/saudi-arabia.html" target="_self">Saudi Arabia</a>, the UAE and <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/topics/country/bahrain.html" target="_self">Bahrain</a> were given two weeks' notice to leave and return to Qatar. Saudi, Emirati and Bahraini citizens residing in Qatar were told by their governments to return immediately or face serious consequences.</p><p>Thousands of individuals and families <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/06/saudi-led-blockade-qatar-breaking-families-170609131754141.html" target="_self">suffered</a> under these orders, as the deep familial and interpersonal ties between GCC countries mean that there are a huge number of families where one spouse is Qatari and the other is a national of another GCC country.</p><p>These families were split up. Qatari mothers residing in Saudi, the UAE or Bahrain took the brunt of these decisions, since they were forced to leave their children, who only have their father's citizenship, behind.</p><h2>Criminalising sympathy</h2><p>Sympathy for Qatar expressed by <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/topics/subjects/social-media.html" target="_self">social media</a> users across the GCC created a PR disaster for the countries who severed relations with their Gulf neighbour.</p><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/593ea005da6dde513671984b-2163/rtr2xg9w.jpg" alt="The Princess Tower in Dubai, UAE" /><p class="source"><span>Reuters/Jumana El Heloueh</span></p><p>To stem the flow of negative reactions Saudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain took steps to <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/06/On%20June%205,%20three%20GCC%20members;%20Saudi%20Arabia,%20the%20United%20Arab%20Emirates%20and%20Bahrain,%20announced%20their%20decision%20to%20sever%20diplomatic%20relations%20with%20Qatar.%20%20%20The%20announcements%20were%20only%20the%20first%20of%20a%20number%20of%20measures%20that%20were%20taken%20over%20the%20following%20week,%20most%20of%20which%20were%20issued%20in%20by%20the%20three%20governments,%20and%20some%20targeted%20their%20own%20citizens.%20%20Here%20are%20a%20few%20of%20the%20most%20prominent%20-%20and%20strangest%20-%20of%20these%20decrees.%20%20READ%20MORE:%20Qatar-Gulf%20crisis%20-%20All%20the%20latest%20updates%20%20Breaking%20up%20families%20%20The%20Saudi-led%20bloc%20issued%20orders%20of%20forced%20removals%20against%20their%20own%20nationals,%20as%20well%20as%20Qatari%20nationals.%20%20Qatari%20residents%20resident%20of%20Saudi%20Arabia,%20the%20UAE%20and%20Bahrain%20were%20given%20two%20weeks'%20notice%20to%20leave%20and%20return%20to%20Qatar.%20Saudi,%20Emirati%20and%20Bahraini%20citizens%20residing%20in%20Qatar%20were%20told%20by%20their%20governments%20to%20return%20immediately%20or%20face%20serious%20consequences.%20%20Thousands%20of%20individuals%20and%20families%20suffered%20under%20these%20orders,%20as%20the%20deep%20familial%20and%20interpersonal%20ties%20between%20GCC%20countries%20mean%20that%20there%20are%20a%20huge%20number%20of%20families%20where%20one%20spouse%20is%20Qatari%20and%20the%20other%20is%20a%20national%20of%20another%20GCC%20country.%20%20These%20families%20were%20split%20up.%20Qatari%20mothers%20residing%20in%20Saudi,%20the%20UAE%20or%20Bahrain%20took%20the%20brunt%20of%20these%20decisions,%20since%20they%20were%20forced%20to%20leave%20their%20children,%20who%20only%20have%20their%20father's%20citizenship,%20behind.%20%20WATCH:%20Amnesty%20slams%20embargo%20on%20Qatar%20over%20rights%20violations%20(2:19)%20Criminalising%20sympathy%20%20Sympathy%20for%20Qatar%20expressed%20by%20social%20media%20users%20across%20the%20GCC%20created%20a%20PR%20disaster%20for%20the%20countries%20who%20severed%20relations%20with%20their%20Gulf%20neighbour.%20To%20stem%20the%20flow%20of%20negative%20reactions%20Saudi%20Arabia,%20UAE%20and%20Bahrain%20took%20steps%20to%20intimidate%20their%20citizens%20from%20expressing%20opinions%20that%20opposed%20their%20policies.%20%20The%20UAE%20Attorney%20General%20Hamad%20Saif%20al-Shamsi%20announced%20that%20any%20objections%20to%20the%20UAE's%20strict%20measures%20against%20the%20government%20of%20Qatar%20or%20expression%20of%20sympathy%20with%20Qatar%20would%20be%20a%20crime%20punishable%20by%20a%20prison%20sentence%20of%203-15%20years%20and%20a%20fine%20of%20no%20less%20than%20$136,000%20(500,000AED),%20whether%20on%20a%20social%20media%20platform%20or%20via%20any%20written%20or%20spoken%20medium.%20%20Shamsi%20added%20that%20the%20UAE%20had%20taken%20decisive%20action%20against%20Qatar%20as%20a%20result%20of%20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">curb their citizens</a> from expressing opinions that opposed their policies.</p><p>The UAE Attorney General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi announced that any objections to the UAE's strict measures against the government of Qatar or expression of sympathy with Qatar would be a crime punishable by a prison sentence of 3-15 years and a fine of no less than $136,000 (500,000AED), whether on a social media platform or via any written or spoken medium.</p><p>Shamsi added that the UAE had taken decisive action against Qatar as a result of "its hostile and irresponsible policy against the UAE and a number of Gulf and Arab states". He noted that these infractions would be prosecuted in accordance with cybercrime laws because they were deemed to be harmful to the nation's higher interests and social stability.</p><p>Shamsi stated that the general prosecutor's office would be implementing the law on offenders who were guilty of what he called "crimes". He stressed that this decision was taken to preserve the national security of the UAE and its higher interests and the interests of its people.</p><p>The criminalisation of sympathy with Qatar was implemented in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain with slight differences in the length of prison sentences and size of fines.</p><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/593ac181c4adee20008b4a7c-1200/qatar-air-map02.png" alt="Qatar air map_02" /><p class="source"><span>Mike Nudelman/Business Insider</span></p><p>The Bahraini Ministry of Interior stated "any expression of sympathy with the government of Qatar or opposition to the measures taken by the government of Bahrain, whether through social media, Twitter or any other form of communication, is a criminal offence punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine".</p><h2>Banning Al Jazeera and blocking websites</h2><p>Hotel residents in Saudi Arabia can no longer watch Al Jazeera channels, after the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/06/saudi-arabia-bans-al-jazeera-channels-hotels-170609141041079.html" target="_self">warned</a> against airing Al Jazeera inside any hotel or tourist establishment.</p><p>The commission stressed that all channels belonging to the Al Jazeera Media Network are to be removed from the list of satellite stations in "all hotel rooms and touristic facilities and furnished residential units … including the TV lists kept within", in order to avoid punishments that included fines up to $27,000 (100,000 Saudi riyals) and a cancellation of the hotel's licence.</p><p>This general directive was sent to the owners and operators of tourist facilities, and it stressed that channels screened should be "compatible" with "official Saudi channels".</p><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/593ea005da6dde513671984c-1600/qatarchaos1.jpg" alt="qatarchaos1" /><p class="source"><span>Reuters</span></p><p class="caption">A man looks at pigeons at Souq Waqif market in Doha, Qatar, June 6, 2017.</p><p>In addition, the commission ruled that no individual receiver units be available inside rooms, each hotel to must have a central receiver programmed in accordance with official Saudi policy.</p><p>At the end of May 2017, Egypt <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/05/egypt-blocks-financial-newspaper-website-170528165449860.html" target="_self">blocked 21 websites</a>, including Aljazeera.net, claiming that they had content "supporting terrorism and extremism as well as publishing lies". A source at the official Middle East News Agency said that most prominent among those blocked sites were Aljazeera.net, al-Sharq, Masr al-Arabia, al-Shaab, HuffPost Arabi, Rassd, and Hamas Online.</p><p>Among the blocked sites was also Mada Masr, an Egyptian news site that works from within <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/topics/country/egypt.html" target="_self">Egypt</a> and describes itself as progressive and not linked to "Islamists" or to Qatar.</p><p>The Saudi-led bloc against Qatar followed suit and blocked websites from the Al Jazeera Media Network and the Qatari newspapers al-Watan, al-Raya, al-Arab, and al-Sharq.</p><p>Saudi internet users were greeted by the statement "The requested site is in violation of the systems and directives of the Ministry of Culture and Information".</p><p>Users within the UAE attempting to access a number of sites, including Aljazeera.net, see a message from the telecommunications regulatory authority stating that the sites' content is restricted and does not comply with the standards of the telecommunications authority.</p><h2>Closing postal services</h2><p>On June 8, the Emirates Post Group, a government agency, announced that all postal services to Qatar would be halted in accordance with instructions from the government of the UAE.</p><p>The group further stated that all postal offices within the country had been informed to stop accepting any mail being sent to Qatar.</p><h2><strong>Charity organisations</strong></h2><p>On June 8, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Egypt issued a joint press release in which they designated a number of individuals and organisations of differing nationalities as "<a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/06/saudi-led-bloc-issues-terror-list-170608221049889.html" target="_self">terrorist</a>".</p><p>The list included 59 individuals, including Yusef al-Qaradawi, chairman of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, as well as 12 bodies including Qatar Charity and Eid Charity.</p><p>The UN <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/06/bound-saudi-arabia-terror-list-170609184543168.html" target="_self">responded</a> to this statement by reiterating that they are bound only by the "terrorist designations" issued by its own agencies, not those issued by any other party.</p><p>Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the secretary-general of the UN, said that the UN has strong cooperation with Qatar Charity, including a number of joint projects being implemented in <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/topics/country/yemen.html" target="_self">Yemen</a>, Syria and <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/topics/country/iraq.html" target="_self">Iraq</a>.</p><p>An official at the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded said that accusing Qatar Charity of "terrorism" is not only a defamation of humanitarian charitable work, but also constituted a <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/06/qatar-rejects-saudi-led-bloc-terror-list-170609053901190.html" target="_self">violation</a> of international standards and rules.</p><p>He pointed out that the inclusion of a number of journalists on the list indicated that the purpose was to intimidate and to muzzle <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/topics/subjects/press-freedoms.html" target="_self">freedom of expression</a> guaranteed by international accords.</p>            <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bernie-bernard-madoff-life-prison-2017-5">This is what Bernie Madoff's life is like in prison</a></h3>                                    Please enable Javascript to watch this video                    

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