Man accused of helping Iran produce WMDs
Abu Dhabi Federal Appeals Court to issue verdict on August 9
The Abu Dhabi Federal Appeals Court yesterday adjourned the hearing in the case of a man accused of aiding Iran to produce weapons of mass destruction to August 9, when a ruling will be issued.
The 59-year-old Iranian, H.M.R.H., was charged with attempting to re-export equipment to Iran which, prosecutors said, were aimed to aid them in producing weapons of mass destruction, in violation of UN sanctions which were imposed on Tehran.
The lawyer of the defendant told the court that the charges were void. “The man was a manager of an oilfield service company, which signed a deal with a Chinese company to import equipment from the United States to perform maintenance in an oilfield in Iran,” a lawyer said.
The lawyer added the defendant applied for a permit to re-export the equipment to Iran, but the application was turned down. However, the defendant exported the device to Iran without permission.
The lawyer added the defendant did not violate the UN sanctions, because the device was not covered by the embargo. “The device is used in oilfields and not in the manufacturing of mass destruction weapons,” the lawyer told the court.
In April, an Iranian man was sentenced to 10 years behind bars in the UAE for attempting to aid his country’s nuclear programme, in violation of international sanctions. The Abu Dhabi Federal Appeals Court also ordered the man to be deported upon completion of his sentence.
In the April case, the businessman, publicly identified as S.M.A.R., was convicted of attempting to smuggle an electric motor and other devices to Iran which, prosecutors said, were aimed to aid them in producing nuclear weapons.
The man was officially convicted of “violating the international ban on nuclear weapons”. Sanctions on Iran were lifted following a deal between Tehran and other nations in 2015, but the court did not publicly release information as to when the attempted smuggling took place.
Terror cases
In a second case heard yesterday, two Pakistanis charged with joining Al Qaida and attempting to join Ahrar Al Sham, a terrorist group in Syria, had their hearing adjourned to July 26, when a ruling will be issued.
The defence lawyers told the court that the men, who were also accused of promoting the ideology of these organisations, had done so in 2012 and 2013, when the UAE counter-terrorism law was not enforced.
An Emirati, M.A.H., charged with posing a possible terror threat, had his hearing adjourned to July 26. Prosecutors demanded the man to stay at a counselling centre affiliated with the Ministry of Interior. The man was charged with promoting the ideology of terrorist groups, charges denied by the defendant.