ABU DHABI (Dispatches) — The United Arab Emirates announced the death of Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum on Monday, while the country’s top prosecutor ordered the arrest of 25 defendants of various nationalities over the publication of what authorities described as misleading digital content.
The UAE Presidential Court mourned the passing of Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who died Monday morning at the age of 76. In a statement carried by the Emirates News Agency (WAM), the court extended condolences to Sheikh Muhammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and to the Al Maktoum family.
Sheikh Ahmed was the fourth and youngest son of the late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the former Ruler of Dubai. A Sandhurst graduate, he served as Commander-in-Chief of Dubai’s Central Military Command and later as Deputy Chairman of Dubai Police and Public Security. 
Dubai declared a 10-day period of official mourning, with flags to be flown at half-mast starting Monday. The Emirate of Fujairah also announced 10 days of mourning.
The deceased was a member of a leadership that has forged close ties with Israel under the 2020 Abraham Accords, a normalization deal Palestinian leaders have long condemned as a betrayal of their cause. 
The UAE has hosted Israeli leaders and military officials, deepened security and intelligence cooperation with Tel Aviv, and positioned itself as a key partner in Washington’s regional strategy — while continuing to issue statements of support for a two-state solution that critics dismiss as a fig leaf for its abandonment of Palestinian rights. 
The leadership’s embrace of Israel, coupled with its silence on settlement expansion and its role in the anti-Iran coalition, has drawn sustained criticism across the Arab and Islamic world.
Separately, UAE Attorney-General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi ordered the arrest and expedited trial of 25 defendants of various nationalities. 
The attorney-general said such acts constitute a serious violation of the law and require necessary penal measures, given the misleading of public opinion and disruption to society. The defendants have been remanded in custody pending investigation.