Dubai: Six Iranians were sentenced to life in jail on Wednesday for assaulting British-Iranian businessman Abbas Yazdanpanah, drugging, kidnapping and then smuggling him out of the UAE on a boat in June 2013.

Dubai prosecutors sought the toughest punishment applicable against the six abductors for their involvement in the high-profile kidnap case of Yazdanpanah, who was smuggled out on a boat from Sharjah to Iran.

Three accused, 32-year-old R.A., 52-year-old K.G. and 55-year-old N.A., had pleaded not guilty before the Dubai Court of First Instance. Meanwhile, H.B., B.N. and I.N., who are said to be the main abductors, were tried in absentia since they remain at large.

According to Wednesday’s ruling, presiding judge Fahd Al Shamsi sentenced H.B., B.N. and I.N. in absentia. As the UAE criminal procedures law, the trio are entitled to a retrial.

Meanwhile R.A., K.G. and N.A., who were present during the trial, has 15 days to appeal the primary ruling.

Chief Prosecutor Khalid Al Zarouni, of Dubai Public Prosecution, argued before the court that the abductors carried out a shocking and gruesome crime. “They did not only do so, but they intentionally hampered the UAE’s reputation. This country is a safe haven for its residents. This is an uncommon crime and the abductors intended to breach the security and break the law. Law enforcement officers’ vigilance and alertness exposed the law-breakers and forwarded them to justice,” Al Zarouni told the court.

According to records, interrogations revealed that a main Iranian suspect, identified as S.H., who died in custody, had preplanned the kidnapping.

Al Zarouni gave a detailed explanation of the role of each and every defendant [R.A., K.G. and N.A.] in the Briton’s kidnapping, maintaining that prosecutors’ evidence is substantiated and strong enough to land them behind bars for life.

“The victim hails from a well-known Iranian family. He was forced to leave for Britain where he lived for some time before he moved to Dubai with his wife and children for business purposes. He was a keynote witness before the International Court of Justice in a case involving a well-connected Iranian gas company. He gave a statement via video conference on June 25, 2013 and he was scheduled to testify the next day.

“When Yazdanpanah’s statement went against the interests of those connected to that company, S.H. and his six accomplices kidnapped the victim. The suspects rented a villa in Al Baraha, rented three cars and purchased various tools that they used in the abduction. They monitored the victim for nearly five months before they [R.A., H.B., B.N. and I.N.] attacked him outside his office. Medical pills and syringes were found in the victim’s car that the defendants had used to drug the victim. The suspects wrapped him in a plastic sheet and took him to a ship that sailed to Iran,” Al Zarouni told the court.

Presiding judge Al Shamsi said the defendants will be deported following the completion of their punishments.

Prosecutors accused the defendants of stealing the businessman’s bank and health cards in addition to his driving licence and other personal belongings. They also assaulted and endangered his life when they drugged him.

During the trial, the victim’s British wife had demanded to know her husband’s whereabouts.

“I want to know where my husband is… my children and I are suffering and I want to know what is happening. The Iranian government paid R.A. to kidnap my husband,” she told the court in an earlier hearing.

The court-appointed lawyers who defended R.A. and K.G. asked the court to acquit their clients due to lack of corroborated evidence.