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No political prisoner in UAE: Dubai police

INT62International/Rights/CrimeNo political prisoner in UAE: Dubai policeDubai, Sep 24 IANS There is not a single political prisoner in any jail in the United Arab Emirates UAE, according to a senior official of Dubai Police.Khalis Mattar Al Mazeina, deputy commandant of Dubai Police, said the UAE was a totally free of political crimes and the country does not have a single political prisoner.He said the police in this west Asian metropolis were keeping abreast of the latest technological advances to fight crime.As criminal acts became globalised, he said modern telecommunications were used in facilitating international criminal networks.As such, he said, the police in Dubai were constantly upgrading strategies to keep pace with the developments. "The opening up of Dubai as an international hub is a positive development in our perspective," the official Emirates News Agency WAM quoted Al Mazeina as saying at a Ramadan gathering. "It has helped us gain more experience and to interact with policing professionals from different places of the world," he said. According to the official, crimes do take place in Dubai but the number is much lesser than other similar cities in the world. "But compared to any other city similar in the size and composition of its population, Dubai fairs extremely well," he said. As for the trend of crimes among some Asian nationalities being more than others, he said this was only because their percentage among the total population was also higher."You cannot reduce crimes committed by people to their nationalities. I believe that the diversity of cultures and nationalities does not constitute a threat to the law and order mechanism," he said.Coming to workers' strikes in the city's booming construction industry, Al Mazeina said the police never tackled such things in a heavy-handed manner. "We do not intervene so long as the agitations are within the framework of the law. Even when we intervene, we show maximum empathy towards the aggrieved parties. But of course, we cannot allow anyone to take the law into his hands," he said. He also stated that the Dubai Police was working closely with various developers to make sure that the newly developed areas in the city had proper security arrangements. "We are determined to keep pace with the latest trends in crime, be they economic offences or criminal offences. The transfer of the scenes of crime from one place to another is happening at a much faster pace these days than earlier. We are on top of these trends and making sure that Dubai is as well-protected as practically as possible," he said.As for the role of the press, he said Dubai Police did not seek to suppress freedom of the media in the country. Media organisations present in the country were absolutely free to pursue their policies in terms of reporting and analysing the happenings here, he added.--Indo-Asian News Serviceab/sk525 Words24091815