Home / United Arab Emirates / Hate crime
Hate crimePossibly — unconfirmed
Reported range, not yet confirmed against official text. Do not rely on this — awaiting confirmation.
Statutory range — reported, not yet confirmed
Art. 5(1) - blasphemy acts, Art. 4 clauses (2), (3), (5)Possibly — unconfirmed
- Imprisonment
- Imprisonment of at least 1 year (no maximum stated in article)
- Fine
- AED 250,000 - AED 1,000,000
Insulting religions / rituals / sanctities; infringing divine books; destroying / damaging houses of worship, cemeteries, graves. Imprisonment AND fine, or either one.
Art. 5(2) - blasphemy acts, Art. 4 clauses (1), (4)Possibly — unconfirmed
- Imprisonment
- Imprisonment of at least 2 years (no maximum stated in article)
- Fine
- AED 500,000 - AED 2,000,000
Slandering / insulting the Divine Essence; insulting / mocking / defaming a prophet or messenger, their wives, family or companions. Text states imprisonment AND fine (no 'or either' in this clause).
Art. 6 - discriminationPossibly — unconfirmed
- Imprisonment
- Imprisonment of at least 1 year (no maximum stated in article)
- Fine
- AED 500,000 - AED 1,000,000
Any act causing any form of discrimination on the basis of religion, creed, sect, race, colour, ethnic origin, gender or sex. Text states imprisonment AND fine.
Art. 7 - hate speechPossibly — unconfirmed
- Imprisonment
- Imprisonment of at least 1 year (no maximum stated in article)
- Fine
- AED 500,000 - AED 1,000,000
Any act inciting hate speech (any statement or action that might incite discord, strife or discrimination). Imprisonment AND fine, or either one.
Art. 8 - inciting tribal strifePossibly — unconfirmed
- Imprisonment
- Imprisonment of at least 6 months (no maximum stated in article)
- Fine
- AED 50,000 minimum (no maximum stated in article)
Using expression / means to incite tribal strife with the intention of inciting hatred between individuals and groups. Imprisonment AND fine, or either one.
Art. 9(2) - Arts. 5-7 offences leading to a breach of public peacePossibly — unconfirmed
- Imprisonment
- Temporary imprisonment up to 5 years
- Fine
- AED 500,000 minimum (no maximum stated in article)
Aggravated tier: where the Art. 9(1) circumstances (public employee / religious capacity / house of worship) apply AND the acts lead to a breach of public peace. Art. 9(1) alone states no range - it is an aggravating-circumstance mechanism only.
Art. 10(1) - takfir (accusing individuals or groups of infidelity)Possibly — unconfirmed
- Imprisonment
- Temporary imprisonment (term not specified in article)
- Fine
- —
Exploiting religion to accuse individuals or groups of infidelity to achieve private interests or illegal purposes. Penal Code Art. 69 default for temporary imprisonment is 3-15 years, but the article itself states no term.
Art. 10(2) - takfir with incitement to murderPossibly — unconfirmed
- Imprisonment
- Death penalty
- Fine
- —
Death penalty applies if the accusation of infidelity is proven with incitement to murder, and the crime occurs as a result of that.
Art. 11 - producing / promoting hate materialPossibly — unconfirmed
- Imprisonment
- Imprisonment of at least 2 years (no maximum stated in article)
- Fine
- AED 500,000 - AED 2,000,000
Producing, manufacturing, promoting, selling or offering for sale products, goods, publications, recordings, films, software, smart applications or other materials likely to express blasphemy, discrimination or hate speech. Imprisonment AND fine, or either one.
Art. 12 - possessing hate material / meansPossibly — unconfirmed
- Imprisonment
- Imprisonment of at least 1 year (no maximum stated in article)
- Fine
- AED 50,000 - AED 200,000
Obtaining / possessing such materials prepared for distribution or information to others, or possessing printing / recording / broadcasting means for committing a Decree-Law offence, with knowledge. Imprisonment AND fine, or either one.
Art. 13 - establishing / organising / managing a hate groupPossibly — unconfirmed
- Imprisonment
- Imprisonment of at least 10 years (no maximum stated in article)
- Fine
- —
Establishing, instituting, organising or managing an association, centre, body, organisation or group for blasphemy, discrimination, or provoking / encouraging / promoting hate speech. Mirror wording partly garbled - confirm against official text.
Art. 14 - joining / participating in / assisting a hate groupPossibly — unconfirmed
- Imprisonment
- Imprisonment up to 7 years
- Fine
- —
Joining, participating in or assisting an Art. 13 entity, with knowledge of its objectives.
Art. 15 - hate conference / meetingPossibly — unconfirmed
- Imprisonment
- Imprisonment of at least 5 years (no maximum stated in article)
- Fine
- —
Holding or organising a conference or meeting in the State whose purpose is to disdain religions, discriminate or incite hate speech; same penalty for knowing participants.
Art. 16 - funding hate offencesPossibly — unconfirmed
- Imprisonment
- Imprisonment (term not specified in article)
- Fine
- AED 250,000 - AED 1,000,000
Offering, requesting, accepting, obtaining, delivering or receiving money or material support, directly or indirectly, with the intention of committing an act punishable under the Decree-Law. Imprisonment AND fine.
Penal Code Art. 425 - defamation (qazf)Possibly — unconfirmed
- Imprisonment
- Imprisonment up to 2 years
- Fine
- Fine up to AED 20,000
Publicly attributing to another person an incident exposing them to punishment or public contempt. Imprisonment OR fine. Secondary-source corroboration only - confirm against official text. Aggravated form (public employee / family honour / unlawful purpose, or publication) raises the penalty - no separate verified range stated here.
Penal Code Art. 426 - insult (sabb)Possibly — unconfirmed
- Imprisonment
- Imprisonment up to 1 year
- Fine
- Fine up to AED 20,000
Publicly insulting another person in a way violating honour or reputation, without attributing a specific incident. Imprisonment OR fine. Secondary-source corroboration only - confirm against official text. Aggravated form (public employee / family honour / unlawful purpose): imprisonment up to 2 years AND fine AED 20,000 - AED 50,000, or either one (secondary source).
Last verified 2026-10-19. Art. 9(1) (public employee / religious capacity / house of worship) is an AGGRAVATING CIRCUMSTANCE mechanism only - it states no new range of its own and is not shown as a tier. Where an article says 'temporary imprisonment' with no numbers (Art. 10(1)), the Penal Code Art. 69 default (3-15 years) is noted in the tier but the article itself states no term. Arts. 425-426 (Penal Code insult / defamation) are corroborated by multiple secondary sources only - NOT yet confirmed against official text. Art. 13 wording is garbled in the mirror text read ('or violation of one of them') - confirm against the official portal text before publishing.