Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Federal Appeals Court sentenced an Indian, SSM, to 10 years imprisonment followed by deportation for spying for a foreign nation.
An employee at Zayed Port in Abu Dhabi, the accused was convicted for sharing sensitive information about movements of military ships in the port. The court ordered to confiscate his electronic equipment used in the crime, such as laptop, mobile phone, camera etc.
In a separate case, the court exonerated an Indian who was charged with taking pictures of sensitive buildings in Abu Dhabi.
In the third security related case, an Emirati accused surprised the court by confessing to joining Daesh and fighting with them in Syria. It was first time an accused was confessing to serious terror-related crimes that would attract long-term imprisonment.
He had escaped from police custody, but was rearrested and produced in court. He confessed to four crimes including joining Daesh and fighting for them, defending their ideology and urging others to join Daesh. His lawyer requested the court to allow him more time to study the case file and prepare his defence. The court adjourned the case to April 26.
The fourth case was also adjourned to April 26, in which the general prosecution accused two Emiratis – 37-year-old A.A.Y. and 24-year-old H.A.S. for communicating with Daesh and defending its ideology. The duo was trying to travel to Syria and arranged flight tickets from the UAE to Turkey, but security authorities arrested them before their travel.
In the fifth case, lawyer Khalifa Al Kitbi who was defending an Egyptian accused, MMS, 32, argued that the charge against his client of attempting to join Daesh in Syria was false. The general prosecution produced a letter from Egyptian security authorities, which said the accused had tried to join Daesh. When the court allowed the accused to speak, he claimed that two officials with the Egyptian security authorities had a personal grudge against him, which prompted them to issue the letter against him. The lawyer said there was no evidence to substantiate the charges against his client. The court adjourned the case for the final verdict.
The court also adjourned the sixth case to April 26 for the final verdict, in which an Iranian, SMS, was accused of smuggling a generator from the UAE to Iran. The general prosecution alleged that the generator could be used for Iran’s nuclear programme.
