Dubai: A lawyer accused four men of beating his client in a police station because he tweeted what the attackers deemed ‘unpatriotic opinions' on Twitter.
The four Emiratis earlier pleaded not guilty and denied charges of assault of the 47-year-old Emirati manager when they appeared before the Dubai Court of First Instance.
"My client, J.F, is a well known personality and famous writer in Dubai. The defendants intended to beat him up because of his opinions on Twitter.
"A day before the beating incident, one of the defendants tweeted that J.F. was not nationalistic enough and that he should be stripped of his nationality because of his opinions. He also threatened my client and tweeted to him that he would teach him a lesson. That evidently proves that the assault was intentional and not a random fight," said J.F's advocate, Dr Mohammad Al Rokn, in court yesterday.
Prosecutors accused the four suspects, 29-year-old A.S, 23-year-old B.N, 24-year-old M.M and 39-year-old K.M, of beating J.F and his younger brother. Forensic reports confirmed that the two brothers sustained injuries caused by the assault.
‘Dangerous'
Arguing before Presiding Judge Zakaria Abdul Aziz, Al Rokn said: "The claimant in civil right [J.F] is from a decent and reputable family in Dubai. He was beaten because he expressed his opinion on Twitter.
"One of the defendants sent tweets to my client and threatened him and used foul language as well. The suspects came from Abu Dhabi to beat up J.F. inside the police station. Three of them work in the armed forces and they are aware that their action is an act punishable by law and they even violated the rules of [the] armed forces. They are dangerous law breakers and should be punished for what they did."
The defendants' lawyer, Eman Al Rifai, asked the court to acquit her clients citing lack of corroborated evidence. "We ask the court to dismiss the civil lawsuit and acquit my clients," said Al Rifai.
"The suspects enjoy a criminal record and it isn't the first time that they have broken the law. I urge the court to hand them the toughest punishment," argued Dr Al Rokn.
He submitted a civil lawsuit demanding Dh20,000 in temporary compensation for emotional and physical damages.
Court records said J.F. had had an accident and he and his brother had gone to get a report from the police station. The defendants followed them inside and assaulted them.
A verdict will be heard on May 24.
