UAE court sentences Emirati to 3 years, Dh5 million fine for using social media to incite child marriages in Morocco

Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeals' State Security Chamber, today sentenced Emirati national Saif Salem Saif Ali Al Maqbali to three years in prison and imposed a fine of Dh5 million.

The court also ordered the deletion of the offensive video, the closure of the defendant’s social media accounts, and the confiscation of the mobile phone used in committing the offence.

The UAE Attorney-General had referred the defendant to an expedited trial after investigations revealed that he had published a video containing incitement and calls for marriage to underage girls in the Kingdom of Morocco, falsely claiming that Moroccan laws permit such practices.

Investigations further confirmed that the defendant used rhetoric capable of provoking sedition, hatred and societal discrimination, while offending the fraternal relations between the Emirati and Moroccan peoples, constituting a serious violation of the laws and deeply rooted societal values of the UAE.