Abu Dhabi: A top court here on Monday upheld 15-year jail sentence for a man convicted of joining terrorist groups.
The Emirati man, A.A.A.B.,46, was convicted of joining two terrorist organisations -- Al Nusra Front in Syria and Al Qaida -- communicating with members of both the organisations through social networking sites, and transferring funds to individuals linked to the group.
The court also found him guilty of collaborating with the UAE’s outlawed Al Islah organisation, which calls for opposing the fundamental principles of the UAE’s government system to seize power.
The court also found him guilty of transferring money to members of the organisation who fled the country, thus violating Law No. (7) of 2014 on combating terrorism.
The court, which turned down his appeal against the lower court’s ruling, confiscated his electronic devices and ordered him to pay judicial costs.
In another case, the State Security Court sentenced ARS, a 21-year-old Emirati, and A.A.M.S., a 58-year-old UAE national, and A.R.A.Q, a 27-year-old Emirati national, to three years in jail and fined each of them Dh50,000.
In the same case, the court also sentenced S.S.D, a 21-year-old UAE national to seven years in prison after they were convicted of attempting to smuggle arms and ammunition into the country from a neighbouring country without a license to possess such materials and disclosing security and military secrets.
The court convicted the three defendants of smuggling weapons and ammunition from a neighbouring country, while the fourth defendant, a civil servant, was sentenced to seven years for informing the rest of the defendants that they were monitored by security services.
