Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Federal Appeals Court on Wednesday sentenced an Emirati man, A.M.R.M., to 10 years in jail and fined him Dh1 million for running social media accounts to publish fake news and articles tarnishing the UAE’s image, its institutions and foreign policy.
The court also ordered the confiscation of the man’s laptops and cell phones and ordered his accounts to be closed.
In another case, an Emirati, F.A.A.N., was sentenced to five years in prison and had his social media accounts shut down and equipment confiscated for joining a branch of Al Islah terrorist group, an affiliate of the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood group based in Egypt.
The man was found guilty of promoting the terrorist group’s ideology and recruiting young people to join it.
In a third case, an Emirati, H.A.S., was charged with attempting to join the terrorist organisation Daesh and promoting its ideology through social media tools, twitter and Facebook.
The defendant denied all charges and asked the court to allow him a medical check-up as he said he was suffering from anxiety and sleep disorders.
The defendant’s lawyer, Ali Al Mannaee, asked that hearing be adjourned to July 19 to present his defence.
The court accepted the postponement of the hearing and ordered the prosecutors to provide the defendant’s lawyer with copies of the requisite documents and to summon witnesses and look into his medical concerns.
