UAE security trial: Reaction from Human Rights Association

Abu Dhabi: Members of the Emirates Human Rights Association viewed the court’s decision on Tuesday to convict 69 suspects accused of plotting to overthrow the government and destabilising national security as fair and just.

Two of its members attended all the trial’s sessions since it began in March. They oversaw the court proceedings and the procedures carried out.

Twenty-five of the suspects, mainly female suspects, were acquitted of all charges, while 56 suspects were sentenced to 10 years, eight suspects were sentenced in absentia to 15 years, and five were handed a prison sentence between three to seven years.

“I believe that the verdict was fair and that the court dealt with the case in a very fair manner as 25 of the suspects were found not guilty. For those [69] to receive such harsh penalties means that the judge must have found hard evidence against them,” said Jameela Rashid Al Hamli, Board Member of the Emirates Human Rights Association.

“Most likely the evidence against them was mentioned in details in the argument behind the ruling, which we have not seen until now, and that is what convinced the judge that the accused deserved this verdict. We trust the judicial system, its fairness and transparency. The judge dealt with this case humanely as he accepted many of the suspects’ requests during the hearings that we attended, and ordered the requests to be carried out,” she said, noting that all suspects were given the opportunity to defend themselves.

Mohammad Al Ka’abi, another board member of the association who was present during every session of the trial, explained that the verdict reflects the independence of the judicial system and proves that the outcome was not influenced by any government body.

“During the trial, all the suspects were allowed to defend themselves freely and the judge listened to them all, as a group and individually. The judge based the verdict on the evidence, and this was clearly and fairly applied since a group of the suspects were found innocent of all the charges,” he added.