Man on trial for spreading terror ideologies online

abu dhabi — A GCC national stood trial at the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeals on Wednesday, accused of spreading terrorist ideologies through various social media platforms.

In one of the two state security related cases heard by the court, S.S.M.S. has been charged with posting information and articles that promoted ideologies of terror outfits such as Daesh and Ansar Al Shariah on social media. The state security prosecution charged the suspect with posting false and incorrect information that offended the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Egypt, which could endanger the relations between the UAE and both the countries.

The court heard the prosecution witness, who testified that the suspect had created groups on social media under different names and posted offensive articles there with the intent to hurt the reputation and relations of the UAE with Saudi Arabia and Egypt on the other hand.

The witness told the court that the suspect was promoting the ideologies of the terror outfits and urged young people to join them. The suspect is accused of posting articles that offended the country’s foreign policy, which violated the UAE’s cyber laws.

The witness, who is an investigation officer, told the court that he presented a detailed report about the materials found in the suspect’s cell phones and personal computer. The witness based his report on the criminal laboratory report, which revealed the involvement of the suspect in the offensive social media posts.

The court allowed the suspect to cross-examine the witness. The defendant made it clear to the court that the statement by the witness at the court contradicted with the one he gave in the investigation records.

The court adjourned the case to September 27 to listen to the testimony of the second prosecution witness, who failed to appear in court on Wednesday.