NEWS FROM THE UAE
Source : The National

Photographer jailed for bridge snap

ABU DHABI - FEB 16: An amateur photographer who said he was aiming for the perfect snap for a photography competition was jailed, relieved of his passport and yesterday fined Dh1,000 (US$270) for taking prohibited pictures on Khalifa Bridge.

MA, 30, a Pakistani living in Sharjah, said he was taking pictures of the sunset for the “Abu Dhabi Through Your Eyes” contest, but he was accused of photographing Mina Zayed, which includes military facilities and docked warships.

Appearing in court without a lawyer, he said his troubles began on October 25 when he drove to Abu Dhabi with his Canon 5D Mark II camera and a 24-105mm lens, intending to submit the pictures he took for the photo competition.

At about 5.30pm, while driving over the newly opened Khalifa Bridge into Abu Dhabi, he “saw a beautiful sunset and decided to pull over and take some pictures”.

MA took several pictures facing Abu Dhabi Island and the port. As he drove away, he said, he noticed a white Honda with a Dubai license plate was following him.

“The man signalled for me to pull over, and I did. He said that he was with the army and wanted to look at my camera,” MA said.

The man, claiming to be an army officer, wanted to confiscate the camera and take MA to a police station. MA told the court that he objected to that plan, so they both decided to call the police.

“When the police came,” MA said, “they said that I was taking pictures of the military zone, but how am I supposed to know that? There are no signs that say ‘no photography’. This bridge has been under construction for five years and there are no signs.”

MA was taken to the police station and his camera was confiscated. He was kept in a holding cell for two days. He was released on bail after his passport was taken as bond.

“I called the organisers of the photo competition,” he said, referring to the Office of the Brand of Abu Dhabi and the Tourism Development & Investment Authority, “to see if they can help me and there has been nothing”.

The State Security Public Prosecution pressed charges against him and his case was referred to the State Security courts at the Federal Supreme Court, which handles security matters such as passport forgery and terrorism.

MA paid his fine yesterday, but has yet to receive his camera.

“I have been coming to Abu Dhabi every couple of weeks since then … and I just want my passport and camera back so I can just move on,” MA said.

 
Dubai gang accused of burying rivals alive

DUBAI  - FEB 16: A heavily armed gang of alcohol bootleggers kidnapped two members of a rival gang, tortured them, sexually assaulted them and buried them alive, a court heard yesterday.

The 13 gang members appeared at Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance yesterday morning charged with two counts of murder, kidnapping and hiding bodies. Five of the men are also charged with sexual assault, and 10 with consumption of alcohol.

All 13 denied the charges, but could face the death penalty if convicted.

Local authorities, police and private security firms have fought for years to eliminate gangs who illegally sell alcohol and other contraband in and around labour camps.

The court heard how the gang of 12 Indians and one Pakistani allegedly kidnapped Abu Baker Nujila and another man who has not been identified and assaulted them with metal bars, pipes, sticks, swords, machetes and knives on January 1 2009.

Five of the men are alleged to have raped the victims before the whole gang buried them in sand-covered graves.

The defendants were arrested, according to prosecution records, on January 25 2009, after information came to light that the men’s bodies had been found buried in Jebel Ali.

“Our investigations led us to the first defendant who was found in Jebel Ali with the rest of the gang members,” said the investigating officer, Mohammed al Badi.

A police team searched the Jebel Ali Industrial Area until it found the gang, still allegedly wielding swords, machetes and pipes.

When interrogated, the men said they were carrying the weapons for self-defence against rival gangs in the area.

Prosecutors claim MJ, 24, was the ringleader who coerced the rest of the gang into their brutal, premeditated attack on their rivals.

Although denying the charges against him, MJ told investigating officers that cut-throat competition for sales between alcohol bootleggers in the area left his gang no choice but to take up arms to protect their “turf”.

He allegedly admitted to sending people to “warn off” competition from straying into his territory a number of times.

MJ, who worked as a mason, allegedly told arresting officers that the two victims had persisted in selling alcohol in his area, and that his gang had wanted to “teach them a lesson that they will never forget”.

Prosecution documents quote him as saying: “In alcohol sales, everything happens.”

The gang is alleged to have forced their victims into a minivan, driven them to an isolated area in Jebel Ali and carried out the assault.

A forensic report said the victims had been savagely beaten with “hard and sharp objects”, but both choked to death after being buried in the sand.

MJ along with BK, RS, AS and MS, are accused of raping them while the other members of the gang were digging shallow graves.

Prosecutors also charged MS with illegal possession of alcohol; he allegedly was discovered to have 71 cans of beer and seven bottles of various types of alcohol.

The defendants will appear in court next month, once a lawyer has been assigned them. Their case will be heard by the same panel of judges that sentenced two Indian men to death in January for the murder of a Pakistani man.

Turf fights between rival groups are not uncommon. In March 2008, at least 30 people were injured in violent clashes sparked by such a dispute in the Jebel Ali Industrial Area.

A Crime Investigation Department officer, who did not give his name, said yesterday that bootleg gangs were often run by a “strong-willed” leader who coerced others into joining.

Sculptors to lend their hands to beautifying public spaces

The Blue Trees by Konstantin Dimopoulos, who is one of the symposium’s invited artists.

ABU DHABI  - FEB 16: International sculptors intend to leave an artistic legacy in some of the capital’s more barren public spaces.

Beginning this month, the Abu Dhabi International Sculpture Symposium will bring together artists from around the world to remedy the city’s dearth of public art.

Seventeen artists have been chosen to craft sculptures from marble, granite, steel and fibreglass. They will create their pieces between February 25 and April 7 at the Armed Forces Officers Club.

The finished products will become permanent installations.

The symposium is part of the capital’s bid to place itself on the global art stage.

“It will be an annual event,” said Dr Sulaiman al Jassim, vice president of Zayed University, one of the sponsors of the symposium.

“In the coming years, there will be tens of the sculptures in public places, parks and schools that will add more beauty to Abu Dhabi.”

A first of its kind for the UAE, the symposium follows in the footsteps of similar events in Russia, New Zealand and the US.

Artists visiting Abu Dhabi will include Billy Lee from the UK, Hwang Seung-Woo from South Korea, Jon Barlow Hudson from the US and the Egyptian-Australian artist Konstantin Dimopoulos.

The symposium will also feature an Emirati artist, Hassan Sharif, whose work has focused on criticising consumerism.

Salwa Zeidan, the owner of the Salwa Zeidan Gallery in Abu Dhabi and one of the judges of the event, said the symposium received more than 400 applications to participate. The selection committee was hard-pressed to narrow the participants to a manageable 17 people, and requirements were strict.

“Not only did they have to be very good artists, but they had to be very good people as well,” she said.

Ms Zeidan said artists had to participate in at least seven other symposiums internationally. Then, each had to submit three abstract and contemporary concepts.

Islam does not allow the depiction of humans and animals, as it is forbidden to show anything believed to have a soul.

Abu Dhabi Municipality said it is evaluating “highly visible locations” for the sculptures. Likely locales would include the Corniche, government buildings and parks.

“This highlights our main objective: to be a new and exciting art capital of the modern world,” said Abeer al Mutawa, the adviser of community services with the municipality.

The city will also be adapting the landscape and shrubbery to better display some of the pieces.

The first public sculpture created for Abu Dhabi was unveiled in front of the Amiri Court of the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince during the summer of 2008. In it, large bronze figures spell out the word “tolerance”, with each letter representing a different religion or spirituality.