Abu Dhabi: The State Security Court at the UAE Federal Supreme Court on Monday announced verdicts in the case involving 19 men — five Emiratis and 14 Yemenis — charged with setting up and running a clandestine organisation affiliated with the terrorist Yemeni Muslim Brotherhood to overthrow the government and seize power in the UAE.
Four men were each handed three years in jail to be followed by deportation. Fourteen others were each sentenced to six months in jail and deportation after serving their term, while Tareq Hassan Hussain was acquitted of all charges.
The 19 defendants were tried for ties with the Yemen’s Muslim Brotherhood, raising funds for the group and aiding and abetting the terror group by not reporting it to the authorities.
Prosecutors told the court that though the defendants knew the organisation had been banned in the UAE, they set up an organisational structure of the terrorist group, including planning, finance, cultural, charity and media committees.
A prosecutor said the group elected a Shura (consultative) council of the organisation’s branch in the UAE, made up of 13 to 15 members, a speaker and deputy speaker.
“They met once annually and supervised the Yemeni Muslim Brotherhood in the UAE. They also cooperated with the terrorist Al Islah group, raised nearly Dh2 million and planned to overthrow the government and seize power in the country,” the prosecutor told the court.
The accused were tried under the UAE’s anti-terrorism law, which incriminates anyone committing acts of terror, whether directly or indirectly.
In another terror-related case, involving six men — a Palestinian, two Jordanians, a Syrian, an American of Arab origin and a Belgian of Arab descent — the first defendant was sentenced to five years in jail, four others were given a year in jail, while the sixth defendant was handed six months in prison.
The first defendant, Fadil Abdul Qadir Saleh, 22, a Syrian, was found guilty of providing logistical support to Al Nusra militia, including translation and converting audio files into text documents with the knowledge of the intention of the group to commit terrorist acts.
The man was also found guilty of setting up and running a Twitter account to promote the terrorist ideology of Al Nusra and Taliban terrorist groups.
He was found guilty of advocating Al Nusra militia and persuaded the five other defendants to join the terrorist Al Nusra Front.
The man was convicted of insulting the country and its leaders through verbal assault.
The five other men were convicted of knowingly or wilfully failing to report the offences of the first defendant.
Talal Derbas, 21, an American of Arab origin; Mohammad Gazi Mohammad, 23, a Jordanian’ Mohammad Sami Saeed, 22, a Palestinian; and Abdul Rahman Mazen Qani, 23, a Belgian of Arab descent, were sentenced to a year in jail, while Mohammad Essam Salama was sentenced to 15 months in jail.
Salama, 22, a Jordanian, was also found guilty of possessing a weapon.
In a third case, two men from Somalia were sentenced to five years in jail for promoting the terrorist ideology of a terrorist group in Syria and providing logistical support to the militia.
Ali Mahmoud Ali, 25, and Abdul Rahman Mahmoud Ali, 23, Somali brothers, were convicted of setting up and running a Twitter account to promote the terrorist ideology of Daesh and recruit people for the terrorist group.
The duo, who were employed in an oil company, were also found guilty of publishing rumours, seditious conspiracy against peace and security of the UAE and defaming the country and its leaders.
The court also ordered them deported after serving their prison term and confiscation of their computers and other equipment.
The court also ordered Salah Ahmad Ali Al Hosani, an Emirati, and Wasi Allah Ehsan Allah, a Pakistani, to be sent to a counselling centre for six months. The two were also ordered to be closely monitored and banned from travelling.
In another case, an Emirati woman of Lebanese origin, R.M.A., charged with spying for Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Iranian intelligence, had her hearing adjourned to June 27, when a verdict is expected to be issued.
