Dubai: The trial of the 94 Emiratis lasted for a duration of 13 hearings over a period of three months since they were referred to the Federal Supreme Court in January.

From March until May, presiding judge Falah Al Hajiri oversaw the evidence provided by the Public Prosecution, in addition to hearing the pleas from defence lawyers and the suspects themselves.

In the first session, the Public Prosecution announced the charges against the suspects, who were accused of establishing and running the clandestine organisation Al Islah that aimed to overthrow the government and destabilise security, and with communicating with leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and Qatar. They were also accused of exploiting UAE nationals in an attempt to make them join the group, as well as inciting public opinion.

The suspects denied all charges.

Judge Al Hajri then released the 13 female suspects on bail.

During the second session, the judge heard from witnesses provided by the Public Prosecution, who testified that the organisation started plotting its activities in 2010. Judge Al Hajiri also requested reporters not to publish the names of the defendants or witnesses, or others who may be mentioned during the hearings.

In the next three sessions, the judge ordered the seized material evidence to be referred to the forensic laboratory of the Dubai Police Criminal Investigation Department, who would then issue a report on the audio files of the suspects. The court also heard the arguments from the Public Prosecutions and testimonies from further witnesses.

In the sixth hearing, Al Hajiri decided to allow one of the female suspects to go abroad for treatment as her health condition required special medical attention.

During the seventh session, the Dubai forensics team confirmed that the voices on the audio-visual evidence matched those of the accused. The court also heard from witnesses provided by the defence team.

Over the next two sessions, the court ordered copies of the case files to be handed to the suspects and heard from the remaining defence witnesses. The court also heard the closing statements from the Public Prosecution, who demanded the maximum sentence to be carried out against the suspects.

In the 10th and 11th sessions, the court heard from 20 suspects who represented themselves and who denied all the charges, including their involvement in any activity that would endanger the security and stability of the country, or that would destabilise the country’s political system.

The remaining suspects who represented themselves were all heard in the 12th session, in addition to the appeals made by the defence lawyers that carried on until the 13th and final hearing. The defence team focused on the invalidity of the prosecution witnesses’ testimonies and the illegal procedure on which the arrests were made, claiming that the trial was being held to judge the suspects’ opinions and not their actions.