Life terms upheld for 5 terror cell members

Supreme Court verdict against defendants final and not subject to appeal

Five people had life sentences upheld by the UAE’s State Security Court on Monday. The Federal Supreme Court found them guilty of establishing a cell linked to Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.

The court turned down an appeal filed by Ali N.D., Fadi A.S. and Abul Rahman T.S., all Lebanese, against their life imprisonment and upheld the lower court’s ruling.

The court ordered that communications equipment used in the crime be confiscated.

The top court also upheld the 10 years’ jail sentence handed down to Hussain M.B. and Ahmad N.M., both Lebanese.

Ahmad NM was also fined Dh3,000 for possessing a firearm without a licence.

The court cleared Moustafa H.K., a Swede, and Hussain A.Z., Ali H.N., Mohsen Al Q., and Jihad M.A., all Lebanese, of all charges. Last year, three men were sentenced to life in prison for setting up a terrorist cell with links to Hezbollah.

The Federal Court of Appeals sentenced another two men to 10 years each in jail and acquitted five others.

Deportation ordered

The men, described as Arab, were convicted on charges of planning to commit terrorist crimes and acts of vandalism against vital installations in the country. The 11 defendants, all Lebanese except for a Swedish man of Lebanese origin, all of whom have lived and worked in the UAE for more than 15 years, were arrested in late 2017 and early 2018.

They were charged with establishing a cell linked to the Iran-backed Hezbollah group.

The court ordered deportation of the convicts after serving their sentences, confiscation of their communications equipment, computers and phones, in addition to charging them with all judicial expenses.

The State Security Prosecution charged members of the Hezbollah cell with spying on the intelligence of foreign countries to carry out terrorist acts in the UAE.