Abu Dhabi: A top UAE court on Monday ordered an Emirati and two Comoro Islands citizens to be sent to a counselling centre of the Ministry of Interior for six months for posing a potential terror threat to the country. The men were also banned from travelling for the same period.
The Federal Supreme Court, presided over by judge Shihab Al Hammadi, found Taha Saeed Abdullah Al Mashjari, Emirati, 27; Ebrahim Morad Nawab Al Beloushi, 25, and Khalifa Mohammad Abdullah Al Beloushi, 21, from the Comoro Islands, guilty of posing a potential terror threat to the country as they held the terrorist ideology of Al Qaida, Daesh and other terrorist organisations.
The men will be monitored and banned from travelling for six months to track any changes in their ideology and behaviour, according to the court.
Prosecutors told the court that the defendants travelled to a number of countries to meet people wanted for belonging to terrorist organisations.
“The men attempted to communicate with members of terrorist organisations operating in Iraq and Syria. They searched websites of a number of terrorist groups and downloaded video clips showing terrorist operations committed by these organisations and poems praising their crimes,” a prosecutor said.
The prosecutor added that the men admitted downloading “jihadist” songs inciting people to commit violence and to fight in Iraq and Syria.
According to UAE’s anti-terror law, convicted terrorists face life imprisonment and fines of up to Dh100 million.
The law defines a terrorist offence as “any action or inaction made a crime by this law and every action or inaction made a crime by any other law if they are carried out for a terrorist cause”.
A terrorist intent is established by a direct or indirect terrorist action or when an offender is aware of the consequences of such actions or inaction. The government established counselling centres where convicted terrorists will receive intensive religious and welfare counselling in jails in a programme targeted against future threats posed by those holding extremist views.
Counselling centres
The counselling centres provide intensive religious and welfare counselling in jails in a programme targeted against future threats posed by those holding extremist views, according to the UAE anti-terror law.
The law states that a potential terror threat is established if a person holds extremist or terrorist ideology which may cause the person to commit a terrorist crime. Such a person is sent to a counselling centre on request from the prosecution.
