UAE court sentences terror suspect to 18 months in jail

Abu Dhabi: A US citizen of Lebanese origin has been sentenced to 18 months jail followed by deportation after being found guilty of supporting terrorism.

Naji Hamdan, who has been in custody in the UAE for 14 months, was charged with supporting terrorism and having links with Iraqi militant group Ansar Al Sunna because he entered an Islamic website and donated money to an Islamic charity.

The charges, however, carry a penalty of 10 to 15 years in jail to be followed by deportation.

Hamdan denied charges when he first appeared in court in June, after earlier confessing after he was detained by state security a year ago.

The confessions attributed to Hamdan were given under duress, his lawyer Abdul Qader Al Haithami told the Federal Supreme Court.

Public prosecutors say that Hamdan donated US$2,000 to finance firing two rockets on Israel.

His lawyer said other evidence used against Hamdan was that he copied an item from the Islamic website and sent it to another website. The lawyer also questioned the jurisdiction of the court because the defendant committed no crime in the UAE.