Minn. man in Dubai sentenced to prison for YouTube video

Shezanne Cassim
Shezanne Cassim of Woodbury, Minn. A rights group and family attorney said Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2013, that Shezanne, 29, posted a parody video about youth culture in Dubai. Shezanne is the first foreigner arrested under tougher measures governing Internet use in the United Arab Emirates, according to the London-based Emirates Center for Human Rights.
Courtesy Shervon Cassim / Via AP

A University of Minnesota graduate who posted a spoof YouTube video about youth culture was sentenced to prison in the United Arab Emirates.

More from MPR News' Tim Nelson:

The family of Shazzane Cassim learned he's been sentenced to a year in prison by a court in Dubai, after being held in that country already for eight months.

Authorities say he posted a video that violates a UAE cybercrime law...

It isn't clear yet whether the sentence will include the time Cassim has already been held. Burns says his family hoped that lawyers in the United Arab Emirates would get his sentence reduced and get him out of the country quickly.

Susan Burns, a Minnesota attorney for the family, joins The Daily Circuit to discuss the case.

Create a More Connected Minnesota

MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.