high-profile case in which five political activists were arrested on charges of breaking United Arab Emirates law of defamation by insulting heads of state, namely UAE president Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, vice president Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and Abu Dhabi crown prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan through running an anti-government website that express anti-government views. The trial of the UAE Five attracted international publicity and protest from a number of human rights groups, including Amnesty International, which named the five men prisoners of conscience. The defendants were convicted and given two- to three-year prison sentences on 27 November 2011. In 2020, a UK court ruled that Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum had kidnapped and imprisoned his daughters, Shamsa and Latifa. In early 2020s, the UAE began overhauling its criminal and civil laws. It legalized alcohol, stopped allowing lighter punishments for honor killings, enacted harsher punishments for rape and sexual harassment, allowed foreigners to follow their home country family laws for marriage and inheritance rather than local Sharia, reduced penalties for drugs, reduced penalties for having a child while unmarried, and allowed unmarried couples to live together. Economic changes have allowed foreigners to own businesses without a UAE partner, and at the beginning of 2022 moved to a Saturday-Sunday weekend with Friday as a working half-day. Homosexuality remained illegal, and though a new 21+ age rating will allow uncensored movies to be shown, freedom of speech is not guaranteed, and government critics continue to have other human rights concerns. On 14 May 2022, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was elected as the UAE's new president after the death of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. See also History of Asia History of the Middle East History of Dubai and Timeline of Dubai History of Oman Timeline of Abu Dhabi List of presidents of the United Arab Emirates List of prime ministers of the United Arab Emirates National Center for Documentation and Research Politics of the United Arab Emirates References Further reading The Evolution of the Armed Forces of the United Arab Emirates by Athol Yates https://www.helion.co.uk/military-history-books/the-evolution-of-the-armed-forces-of-the-united-arab-emirates-.php External links The 1820 General Maritime Treaty Timeline of the United Arab Emirates History from Bronze Age to present day