Dubai Attorney General says young males were released as there was "no evidence of criminal intent"
Two men arrested for posting a selfie on social media featuring The Address Downtown Dubai fire in the background have been released, Attorney General of Dubai Essam Al Humaidan confirmed in a statement issued by the official state news agency WAM.
The Attorney General said that the Public Prosecution in Dubai decided to release the two unnamed young men following a thorough investigation and review of the posted picture and case file and after listening to all witnesses.
The Public Prosecution has closed the case since no evidence of criminal intent has been established against the young men, the WAM statement said.
The Attorney General called on individuals to exercise caution and discretion when posting any material on social media and refrain from spreading rumours, defaming others or violating other people’s freedom so that they do not breach any laws, it added.
A fire engulfed the 63-storey The Address Downtown luxury hotel and residential tower on New Year's Eve. Authorities are still investigating the cause and the hotel is closed indefinitely.
so what there was a fire why can't one post such a selfie in dubai. dubai can't censor the truth.
The couple from Kuwait smiling with the backdrop of the fire with a highly inappropriate comment," grinning couple uploaded this selfie on New Year's Eve with the burning Address Downtown hotel in the backdrop. The picture, posted , was captioned: 'New Year my dear Dubai. May God bless you and keep you safe, you always surprise us with the biggest fireworks.' This inappropriate selfie that was posted to Instagram should also be investigated like these two men. When this picture hit the press from Dubai to London people commented on how offensive it was and justifiably they should be reprimanded by the authorities also and shouldn't go unpunished because they are from a GCC country. Their picture was appalling.
You are still investigating the cause? By now we should know if it was an accident.
I agree it was a crude image but to arrest somebody for it ?? The fire itself was seen by every international news channel around the globe anyway. Pleased to see that public prosecution released the offenders without charge.
to post a selfie smiling with pleasure pointing at a burning building that could have death and tragedy to many people, is a very insensitive low act. If these two people are happy that a disaster could have taken place in Dubai, then let them go somewhere else. We can do whithout these schadenfreuders.
What a time we live in when people feel the need to grab their 15 minutes under the spotlight in front of a tragic scene. I feel for these people, they have no empathy for the situation and are self obsessed.
I agree, not to mention their insensitivity to the feelings of thousands of relatives of residents at hotel around that time.
I agree the photos must have been inappropriate and insensitive, but it is not the job of the law to arrest people for stupidity.
I find it telling that there seems to be more focus on arresting people sharing photos of the blaze than on arresting the people responsible for the fire spreading so dramatically in the first place.
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