An American consultant, jailed for a year in the United Arab Emirates for making a spoof video about his host country, is likely to be released within days, his family said on Tuesday. 
 
 Shezanne Cassim, 29, from Woodbury, near St Paul, Minnesota, has been moved from the federal prison in the desert outside Abu Dhabi where he was being held to a deportation centre nearby in preparation for being flown back to the United States. 
 
 “He is going to be released, we hope it’s this week, but we are not sure. He has been moved to a deportation centre in anticipation of being released within a few days,” said Susan Burns, a US lawyer who has been working on behalf of the Cassim family to secure the man’s liberty. 
 
 As part of the sentence he received in a UAE court, Cassim was ordered to be deported at the end of his prison term. Cassim’s family in Minnesota and local political representatives had been lobbying the State Department to help secure his early release. “His family is ecstatic,” said Burns. 
 
 But she added that it was “terrible” that the consultant would be deported “for posting a comedy video”. 
 
 Cassim was sentenced for allegedly threatening UAE security and endangering public order with an online satirical video mocking affluent Emirates youth who mimic gangster street behaviour while actually enjoying pampered lifestyles. 
 
 He was arrested and imprisoned last April, charged with breaking strict new UAE cybercrime laws, and on 23 December was sentenced to a year’s imprisonment, followed by deportation. 
 
 The video, Satwa Combat School, was posted to YouTube as a lighthearted parody, Cassim’s supporters say. The video began with a disclaimer stating it was fiction and not intended to offend anyone. Defenders of the young American said the video was intended “in the spirit of Saturday Night Live” and was not meant to be taken seriously or cause offence. 
 
 “I can’t tell you how relieved our family is by this turn of events,” said Cassim's brother, Shervon Cassim. “We are very excited, and we are grateful to everyone who worked to free Shez.” 
 
 Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar, who campaigned for Cassim's release, said the decision was "wonderful news" and the "right thing to do". She added: “Jailing this young man for months for posting a harmless video made absolutely no sense, especially in a country that prides itself on being a tolerant and just nation. 
 
 In contacts with the UAE ambassador to the US, and his American counterpart in Dubai, Klobuchar advocated for Cassim’s sentence to include his time served, which she said was a major factor in the UAE’s decision to release him. 
 
 Cassim moved to Dubai after graduating from the University of Minnesota in 2006 and began working for the international consultancy giant PricewaterhouseCoopers. He and several friends made the satirical video in October 2012 and state-owned UAE media said the group was accused of “defaming the image of United Arab Emirates society abroad”. 
 
 It is not yet clear what effect Cassim’s stretch in custody and now his deportation will have on his employment situation, or to what extent official American diplomacy helped with his early release. “We just don’t know yet,” said Burns. 
 
 But she added that his family and supporters were relieved that he would be freed. “His family can’t wait to see him again,” she said. 
 
 Cassim reported decent conditions in jail but had lost a lot of weight and become very despondent and anxious. 

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 An American imprisoned in the United Arab Emirates after posting a video that parodied Dubai teens will be released this week, a family spokeswoman said Tuesday. 
 
 Shezanne Cassim plans to fly back to the United States on Thursday, family spokeswoman Jennifer Gore said. There was no immediate response to the family's announcement from the UAE government, which has not replied to previous requests for comment on Cassim's case. 
 
 U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Tuesday that after getting credit against his one-year sentence for time served and "for good behavior," Cassim was moved to a deportation facility for processing. 
 
 "We understand processing will take a few days, at which point he will be returning to the United States," Psaki said, adding that U.S. diplomats have visited Cassim regularly in custody and should do so again Wednesday. 
 
 Cassim, 29, of Woodbury, Minnesota, moved to Dubai in 2006 after graduating from college to work for PricewaterhouseCoopers. His family says the 29-year-old was arrested in April after uploading a 19-minute video that pokes fun at a clique of Dubai teens influenced by hip-hop culture. 
 
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 In December, he was sentenced to a year in prison and a fine of about $2,700. The charges were not read in court, but the country's main English-language newspaper reported that Cassim was accused of defaming the UAE's image abroad. UAE officials would say only that Cassim "was charged under the UAE's penal code" and was "entitled to the fair trial protections contained in the UAE's constitution." 
 
 In the 1990s, the label "Satwa G" was coined for a group of suburban teens who were known to talk tougher than they really were. Cassim's video depicts a look at a "combat school" in the Dubai district of Satwa, where these "gangsters" are trained. The training includes how to throw sandals at targets, use clothing accessories as whips and how to call on the phone for backup. 
 
 Cassim's family said they weren't notified of the charges against him for five months. 
 
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 "He tries to put on a brave face," his brother, Shervon Cassim, said in December. "He said that he was doing fine, not to worry about him, but I could just sense that he's a little depressed. My impression is that he's going just a little bit crazy in his cell." 
 
 Shervon Cassim said his brother made the video "just for fun." 
 
 "He's a big fan of 'SNL,' 'Funny or Die,' all those shows, and he and his friends just wanted to make a funny sketch comedy in their spare time," Shervon Cassim said. "There was no indication in local law that making a comedy video, making fun of teenagers in the suburbs, was a threat to the UAE's national security." 
 
 The online comedy community Funny or Die, in fact, rallied to Cassim's support, launching a #FreeShez campaign to correspond with U.N. Human Rights Day on December 10. 
 
 Cassim ended up serving nine months -- more than half of those before being charged -- before his recent move to a deportation facility, his family said in a statement. The family said it reached out to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry before his Mideast trip last week, with U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar also pushing for his release. 
 
 "The disregard for freedom of expression, the arbitrary application of this cybercrime law, the constant delays revealed the UAE legal system as archaic and unfair by modern standards," said Susan Burns, the family's U.S.-based lawyer. "However, we are relieved that the UAE finally realized that Shezanne deserved to be released." 
 
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– The United Arab Emirates plans to release jailed American consultant (and amateur sketch comic) Shezanne Cassim this week. Cassim has already been moved from a federal prison to a desert deportation center near Abu Dhabi, the Guardian reports. A family spokesperson tells CNN that he should head back to the US on Thursday. "His family is ecstatic," says a US lawyer who has been working with them. Cassim and two other men were sentenced to a year in prison, a $2,700 fine, and deportation for creating a video making fun of wannabe gangsters in Dubai's suburbs. The lawyer said it was "terrible" that he'd still be deported "for posting a comedy video." UAE has so far not responded to reports of Cassim's impending release, though officials have been slow to respond to information about the case generally.