Glamorous French influencer is arrested in Dubai days after filming herself saying ‘I’m scared’ as explosions rang out in the background

A French influencer has reportedly been arrested in Dubai, just days after he filmed himself saying he was scared as Iranian missiles lit up the sky around him.

“My knees are shaking,” Maeva Ghennam, 28, nervously admitted as she filmed an ad for her three million Instagram followers, showing explosions ringing nearby.

Ms. Ghennam was reportedly arrested along with three other French citizens for filming and disseminating war footage, news outlet France Info reported.

The influencer later said in a video: ‘I didn’t say anything wrong, I was scared. ‘I was very, very scared.’

News of his arrest comes as dozens of people have been detained in the United Arab Emirates for sharing images of Iran’s attacks to protect the country’s rulers’ supposedly carefree image.

A European tourist who shared a photo of a burning hotel in Dubai was arrested.

The father of three, who shared a photo of the world-famous Fairmont The Palm hotel after the drone attack in Iran, was detained on March 9.

Officials said he was taken to Al Qusais police for an hour or two and brought back, but he has not been seen since.

News of his arrest follows the detention of dozens of people in the United Arab Emirates who shared images of Iranian attacks.

News of his arrest comes as dozens of people have been detained in the United Arab Emirates for sharing images of Iran’s attacks. Video footage of Ms. Ghennam’s video showing Iranian missiles in the sky

In the latest crackdown, the tourist is being left at the ‘mercy’ of state security, which deprives him of access to a lawyer, the embassy or his phone, according to Radha Stirling of the human rights group, who was detained in Dubai.

He was forced to sleep on the floor and fed only rice, the group added.

The tourist told his family he deeply regretted publishing the footage and apologized to the United Arab Emirates, even though it was uploaded online before warnings were issued.

Last week, a 60-year-old British man was one of 21 people charged under cybercrime laws in connection with videos and social media posts about recent missile attacks.

The Londoner is accused of ‘publishing, broadcasting, republishing or disseminating rumors or provocative propaganda likely to prejudice public safety’.

When asked, the man said he deleted the video from his phone and did not intend to do anything wrong.

Ms Ghennam has since denied being arrested in an Instagram post, writing: ‘I don’t understand why there are so many articles about me regarding Dubai… I was never detained for this; “This story is false and I was not fined,” he insisted.

Over the weekend, UAE police released mugshots of 25 people arrested for sharing ‘war footage’ in the country.

The influencer has since denied being arrested

The arrests are part of a brutal crackdown on freedom of expression in the Emirate; Dubai officials are telling people that “massive explosions” in the sky as the UAE air defense system activates are “the sound that we are safe”.

The Dubai government tightly policed ​​social media and responded to the outbreak of war by threatening to jail anyone who shared information that would “cause panic among people.”

Videos of drone and missile strikes were regularly shared on social media in the early days of the conflict, but these have largely disappeared and been replaced by a series of posts praising the Dubai government.

In a post on Instagram, the UK embassy said UAE authorities had issued “several warnings” about photographing, publishing or sharing images and videos “documenting incident scenes or damage from falling bullets or shrapnel”.

The post continued: ‘Under UAE law, ‘sharing’ may include posting or transmitting content via messaging apps, as well as posting on social media platforms.

‘UAE law also restricts the photography of certain locations, including government buildings and diplomatic missions.’

Dubai has been the target of thousands of Iranian missiles and drones since the beginning of the war.

On Monday, an Iranian drone crashed into a fuel depot near Dubai Airport, causing a massive fire.

Flights were diverted and roads leading to the airport were closed as black smoke could be seen from several kilometers away.

Following Monday’s fire, authorities immediately took to social media to reassure the public that the attack caused “minimal damage” and that there were no injuries, describing the blaze as a “drone-related incident.”

The airport has been targeted several times before by a barrage of missiles and drones from Iran, but this is the first time the Dubai government has acknowledged that the damage was caused by a drone rather than debris from the intrusion.

The UAE said it had extensively monitored social media platforms in recent days to prevent the spread of “fabricated information and artificial content aimed at provoking public unrest and undermining overall stability”.

On Saturday, it was revealed that up to 100 people had been arrested by police in the UAE for filming drone or missile attacks.

Abu Dhabi Police alone arrested 45 people of multiple nationalities for filming at various locations and sharing clips on social media amid the ongoing unrest.