In the backdrop of severed ties with Qatar, the United Arab Emirates has banned its citizens from expressing sympathy towards the former, punishing 'offenders' with a jail term of up to 15 years.
"Strict and firm action will be taken against anyone who shows sympathy or any form of bias towards Qatar, or against anyone who objects to the position of the United Arab Emirates, whether it be through the means of social media, or any type of written, visual or verbal form," the Gulf news has quoted UAE's Attorney General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi as saying.
In a statement released on Wednesday, UAE's Attorney General Hamad Saif al-Shamsi said sympathising with Qatar was a cybercrime punishable by law.
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In what is seen as one of the biggest Middle East crisis, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt severed diplomatic ties and transport links with Qatar on Monday, accusing it of supporting "extremism".
The decision plunged Qatar into chaos and ignited the biggest diplomatic crisis in the Gulf since the 1991 war against Iraq.
Qatar, home to about 10,000 US troops and the host of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, criticized the move as a "violation of its sovereignty." It long has denied supporting militant groups and described the crisis as being fueled by "absolute fabrications" stemming from a recent hack of its state-run news agency.
