Photographing accidents illegal: Official

The General Directorate of Traffic has warned of the legal consequences of capturing accident photos by unauthorised persons. While talking to Qatar TV, Capt Khalid Abdullah al-Kuwari, Traffic Investigation Officer at the General Traffic Department, said capturing pictures is subject to imprisonment and a fine.Article 333 of the Penal Code stipulates that a person who illegally intrudes into another person’s private life and without their consent shall be punished by imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years in prison and/or a fine not exceeding QR10,000."The law allows people who cause a traffic accident to photograph and upload on Metrash 2 to prove and record the accident,” he clarified.Capt al-Kuwari explained that filming an accident with good intentions to raise awareness may expose people to legal accountability because there may be harm to the victims due to injuries or deaths."There are organisations specialised in awareness, such as the Public Relations Department of the Ministry of Interior and the Traffic Awareness and Safety Department of the General Directorate of Traffic,” he said.Capt al-Kuwari noted there is no need to photograph people even when reporting a traffic violation via Metrash. "It’s enough to photograph the license plate and the damage to the car, and then the traffic investigation investigators will communicate with the reporting persons to find out the causes of the accident,” he added.