Photographer jailed for bridge snap

An amateur photographer was jailed, relieved of his passport and fined Dh1,000 (US$270) for taking prohibited pictures on Khalifa Bridge.

ABU DHABI // 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. [e-mail]