A Palestinian casting director working in the UAE is under investigation and could face deportation after a recruitment post she published about Emirati Women’s Day sparked widespread anger across the country, according to a report from iBusiness.News.

Saja Alhareedi, a freelance casting director based in the Emirates, put out a call on social media for models to appear in a campaign marking Emirati Women’s Day.

In the post, she said she was turning to non-Emirati candidates, writing that there was a “lack of natural” Emirati women and alleging that most had undergone cosmetic procedures.

She said the search would instead focus on women from other Gulf states and the wider Arab world who could pass as Emirati and speak the local dialect, saying she wanted candidates “who look Emirati and can speak in the Emirati dialect.”

“Due to the lack of natural Emirati women, we are opening the door for other Gulf candidates and other Arab girls who look Emirati and can speak in the Emirati dialect,” Alhareedi posted on social media.

The post spread rapidly, with large numbers of Emiratis calling online for Alhareedi to face consequences, including calls for her to be removed from the country.

The UAE’s National Media Authority, the federal body responsible for licensing and regulating media and advertising activity, responded by suspending her advertiser permit for three months.

She is now understood to be facing a separate legal process that could carry far heavier consequences, including deportation.

The case highlights how differently online speech is treated in the UAE compared with much of the West. Public criticism or mockery of Emiratis, state institutions, or national symbols falls under Federal Decree-Law No. 34 of 2021 on Combating Rumours and Cybercrimes, which replaced the country’s earlier 2012 cybercrime legislation.

The law is broad in scope, covering everything from spreading false information to online defamation and insults, and it applies equally to citizens, residents and visitors.

Under the law, insulting another person online — including attributing something to them that could expose them to ridicule or contempt — can bring a fine of between AED 250,000 and AED 500,000 (roughly $68,000 to $136,000), alongside possible imprisonment.

Where the material is judged to carry a discriminatory element, or where it targets the state’s reputation and institutions more broadly, penalties can rise sharply, including custodial sentences of up to five years. For non-citizens, a conviction routinely results in deportation, sometimes with a permanent re-entry ban attached.

Duncan Golding, a relocation and business set-up consultant, warned that insulting the UAE or its people “on social media or any public forum” can land expats in serious trouble, and said Brits in particular need to remember that rules abroad differ sharply from those at home.

“Insulting the UAE or its people, particularly on social media or any public forum, is likely to land expats in serious trouble,” Golding told iBusiness.News.

“Brits – tourists and expats alike – should remember that rules and laws differ abroad, and they should keep this in mind at all times to avoid facing administrative penalties or legal action.”