Abu Dhabi: The Federal Appeals Court sentenced 30-year-old Emirati A.M.H.J. to life in prison for the attempted murder of a foreigner working for a government entity when the former ran over him with his vehicle.
A.M.H.J. was also accused of planning to carry out terrorist acts and bombing landmarks in the country, creating accounts on social media platforms that promoted terrorist ideologies, pledging allegiance to terror outfit Daesh and its leader, Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, as well as travelling to Syria to join Daesh terrorist camps.
The court ordered the confiscation of the vehicle used by the defendant in trying to kill a foreigner employee, along with all seized communication devices, computers and mobile phones and other equipment belonging to the accused, as per the investigations of the state security.
In other cases, the court sentenced a 19-year-old Emirati woman, M.S.S.A., to five years in prison for pledging allegiance to Daesh on its website, creating social media accounts that promoted terrorist ideologies, attempting to travel abroad to join the terrorist group, as well as funding the group via its secretive members.
The court also ordered the confiscation of all equipment used in carrying out the crime.
An Arab, M.F.S., was sentenced to six months in jail for insulting the country, its leaders, security officials and judiciary, by using defaming and degrading rhetoric in public. The court ordered the accused to pay court fees.
Emirati J.S.S was given a six-month jail term and fined Dh3,000 for smuggling weapons and ammunition into the country and possessing them.
The court also ordered the transfer of H.A.M.H., S.A.A.Z. and N.R.A. to the Ministry of Interior’s counselling centres and banning them from travel for six months, for posing a terrorist threat.
Comoros Island citizens H.H.B., K.H.M. and Y.A. were all acquitted by the court and the charges of joining terrorist groups against them dropped.
The court also looked into a number of other cases where the accusations ranged from smuggling weapons and ammunition into the country, offending the country and its officials on social media networks, and trespassing into highly secured places.
The court adjourned the cases and reserved other cases to issue verdicts in March.
In the final case [heard for the day], Emirati academic N.A.K.B. was accused of communicating with clandestine organisations affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, creating social media accounts on Twitter and Facebook and publishing photos and articles that insulted state officials, the country’s internal and foreign policy, that would undermine the bilateral relations with Egypt.
Attorney Dr Fahad Al Sabhan defended N.A.K.B. in the case and said investigation, prosecution and inspection procedures were invalid.
Al Sabhan said the prosecution was judging his client based on his political ideas and opinions, claiming that his client’s opinions were moderate and did not promote any extremist or terrorist ideologies.
He said: “My client is an academic and university professor and has liberal thoughts that are not aligned with Muslim Brotherhood ideologies, and therefore accusing him with contacting Muslim Brotherhood members and trying to promote their ideologies is a false accusation.”
Al Sabhan pointed out that when his client created an account on Twitter, he had no intention of inciting or promoting any terrorist ideology, and that the prosecution did not provide any substantial evidence proving that. In addition, there is not a single article or photo that indicates that his client tried to promote any terrorist ideology.
Regarding publishing photos and articles on Egypt on social media platforms, Al Sabhan said, “The articles do not incite violence nor promote any terrorist ideologies. On the contrary, they are personal comments that do not undermine relations between Egypt and the UAE, and therefore, my client did not commit any terrorist act as per the law,” he said.
Al Sabhan concluded by saying that there is no official complaint by Egypt against his client stating his actions harm the relations between both countries, and therefore, the accusation of harming relations between the two countries is false.
The lawyer requested the acquittal of his client.
A verdict is set to be issued on March 29.
Appeals
Rulings issued by the Federal Appeals court can be appealed before the Federal Supreme Court.
A change was introduced to a law to give a fair trial affording all essential judicial guarantees to defendants.
The Federal Supreme Court’s powers to decide on crimes relating to the UAE’s internal and external security, forgery of official records and counterfeiting of currency were mandated to the Federal Court of Appeals.
The Federal Supreme Court, the highest federal judicial authority, continues to look into various disputes among members of the UAE Union, or between one or more emirates and the federal government, the constitutionality of federal and other laws and legislations, conflicts of jurisdiction between the federal and local judicial authorities in the country, conflict of jurisdiction between the judicial authority in one emirate and another and interpreting the provisions of the constitution.
