Dubai: An 82-year-old sentenced to a year in jail for practicing sorcery for money claimed in court that he only read Quran to cure patients.

The Dubai Appeal Court confirmed the primary judgment, one year in jail, against M.S, who doesn't carry personal identification documents.

Presiding Judge Mustafa Al Shennawi, who convicted M.S. of practicing sorcery for unlawful benefit, said the accused will be deported after serving his punishment.

Prosecutors accused M.S. of practicing sorcery and performing magic to gain money unlawfully.

M.S.'s lawyer Abdullah Al Taher argued in court that his client was innocent.

"My client has never practiced sorcery or magic. He is an elderly man who has been living in the UAE for 50 years. He is famous for reading verses from the Quran to cure patients but he doesn't and has never practiced sorcery," Al Taher contended before Presiding Judge Al Shennawi.

However the appellate court rejected M.S.'s appeal to acquit him or have his sentence reduced.

Advocate Al Taher told Gulf News that he is considering appealing the judgment before the Cassation Court after the Eid Al Fitr holidays.

A 49-year-old Emirati witness testified before the appellate court: "M.S. is my relative and I've known him since I was eight. Patients come from distant places and visit him so he could read for them Quran and cure their diseases. Patients who used to visit him where the ones who wrote the talismans… M.S. did not write any Quranic verses on the talismans which were confiscated by the police."

Cured

Another defence witness testified: "The defendant is my relative. I've never heard that he practiced sorcery or dealt with magic. Patients visited him at home and [he] cured them by reading verses from the Holy Book. The patients wrote the talismans."

Al Taher said police raided his client's house without a warrant. "The court should dismiss the case because the law enforcement procedures were carried out unlawfully against M.S. Dubai Police's forensic report confirmed the Quranic verses which were written on the confiscated talismans were not written with blood... but they were written with red ink. This invalidates the technical evidence submitted against my client," concluded the lawyer.