ABU DHABI - The United Arab Emirates has tightened the law on
online dissent, imposing jail terms for anyone who derides or caricatures the
Gulf Arab country's rulers or state institutions on the web.
The UAE did
not undergo the popular uprisings that toppled four Arab heads of state last
year, but it has shown little tolerance towards dissent and more than 60 members
of an Islamist group have been detained since the start of the year.
The
amendments to an existing law on Internet crime were issued in a decree by
President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan, the state news agency WAM
reported on Monday.