Man sentenced to death in Abu Dhabi for joining terror group

Abu Dhabi: The Federal Supreme Court on Monday sentenced to death a Yemeni man found guilty of joining Daesh and Al Qaida.

Zayed Yaslam Ali was sentenced in absentia. UAE laws stipulate that defendants sentenced in absentia are granted a retrial when they appear in court.

Emiratis Mohammad Rashid Abdullah Al Yamahi and Munif Awad Naser Al Hamimi, 18, were sentenced to 10 years and two years respectively for setting up and running a website to promote the ideology of the terrorist organisation.

The court, presided over by judge Mohammad Jarrah Al Tunaiji, ordered that computers, cameras and money, which belonged to the defendants, be confiscated and the website be shut down permanently.

In another case, Mohammad Ebrahim Butan, an Indian, was sentenced to 10 years and fined Dh500,000 for spying and passing on sensitive information to intelligence officers in his embassy.

He was charged with spying for a foreign country, passing on secret information about movement of military vessels docked at Zayed and Khalifa ports.

The court adjourned the case to December 28 to hear testimonies of witnesses on request from the defendant’s lawyer.

In two other cases, Emiratis Mohammad Taleb Mohammad Salem Al Simari and Mohammad Saad Mohammad Al Marzouqi were acquitted on all charges of joining Al Islah, an affiliate of Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, declared a terrorist organisation in the UAE, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

In another case, an Emirati man was charged with joining the Al Qaida-linked Abu Al Fida Front in Yemen and fighting along with its members there. Investigations also showed that he was trained in terrorist acts. The judge set December 28 to issue a ruling.

In another case, an Arab man charged with joining terrorist organisations working with the Muslim Brotherhood, had his case adjourned to January 4 to hear testimonies of witnesses.

He was also charged with funding terrorist organisations operating in Libya such as Tripoli Martyrs Brigade and Libya Dawn Brigade.

In the last hearing, an Emirati, TAA, had his case adjourned to December 28 to allow his lawyer time to study documents and present witnesses.

The lawyer asked that charges be adjusted from an offense to a misdemeanour in connection with cybercrimes.