Photos: American architect imprisoned in UAE after 'accidentally' snapping photo of restricted building

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News: Grandfather released from Arab Emirates jail after taking picture of 'no photography' sign

The elderly professor languishing in an Abu Dhabi jail for taking photos in a restricted area has been convicted and fined and is on his way back home to the U.S.

Architect Dr Alan Black, 70, was jailed for a month and investigated by state security services in the United Arab Emirates despite protesting his innocence and suffering life-threatening health problems.

The professor, an avid amateur photographer, said he had been taking pictures of Abu Dhabi on one of his morning walkabouts while attending a conference in the city.

But on Monday an Abu Dhabi court brought charges of taking photos in a restricted area - a crime which can be punished by up to five years in jail - and fined him $136 before releasing him yesterday. 

A 70-year-old American architect who came to the United Arab Emirates to speak at a conference on creative thinking was arrested last month for taking a photograph of a subject deemed off-limits by authorities, his family has revealed today

Robert Alan Black, from Athens, Georgia, is the latest foreigner to be arrested for breaking laws limiting what can be photographed in the oil-rich Gulf country. The country is an important American ally that boasts cutting-edge architecture, including a vertical disc-shaped office building and the world's tallest tower.

Black's daughter, Jessica Beasley, said she is concerned about her father's health in jail and believes any inappropriate pictures that the Athens, Georgia, man may have taken were unintentional.

She said she spoke to him by phone twice briefly since his arrest on October 21.

'He took a photo where he was not supposed to. He's very remorseful,' she said her father told her from al-Wathba prison in the Emirati capital, Abu Dhabi.

Black is an architect by training and is an avid photographer of buildings, said friend Rosemary Rein. She and Black were in Abu Dhabi to speak at the Creative Thinkers Conference. 

He suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, Beasley said. She said an American consular official has visited him and confirmed he is receiving medical treatment.

The US Embassy was unable to comment on the case Monday due to privacy limitations. Abu Dhabi police officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

A number of foreigners have been prosecuted by a state security court in recent years for taking pictures of subjects deemed prohibited by Emirati authorities, such as palaces or embassies.

In several cases, the defendants denied knowingly breaking the law or said they were intending to photograph a nearby structure rather than the prohibited facility. Photographing or filming restricted areas can be punishable by fines and jail time under Emirati law. 

Family and friends don't know what charges Black could face or when his case will be heard, and he has yet to see an attorney, Rein said.

An Emirati court last year sentenced eight people, including an American, to up to a year in prison for their role in producing a satirical video about youth culture in Dubai that prosecutors said defamed the country's image. 

The American, Shezanne Cassim, was released within weeks of the verdict, after having already serving nine months behind bars. 

Culled From  Daily Mail