Trio accused of trying to join terror groups

abu dhabi — The Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeals on Wednesday handled six cases related to state security and heard two pleadings by the defence lawyers.

The court reserved four cases on the public prosecution’s request, transferring the defendants to a counselling centre of the Ministry of Interior.

The court heard defence attorney Salem Saeed, who defended his Emirati client, facing charges by the public and state security prosecution of attempting to join Daesh in Syria, and keeping in touch with the group to facilitate his travel to Syria to join the outfit.

The lawyer said his client was arrested for possessing and consuming narcotics, and that he was an addict, but not an aspiring terrorist. “My client did not try to join any terror outfit; it was the public prosecution which accused him on the basis of deliriums caused by the state of addiction.” He added investigation did not present any evidence that his client was communicating with any terror group.

The attorney also submitted a medical certificate issued by the addiction treatment centre and demanded to summon the physician as a defence witness. The court will give a verdict on June 13.

In the second case, the same lawyer defended his client KH.S.A.S., an Emirati aged 30, charged by the state security prosecution with attempting to join not one, but two terror outfits — Al Qaeda and Daesh — in Syria and Iraq, while he was studying in the US. Other charges against him included attempts to promoting the ideologies of the two terror organisations between some Emirati students in the US.

The lawyer claimed the court is not competent to handle the case since the incident happened outside the country. He said the prosecution failed to produce any concrete evidence that might denote that his client had communicated with the terror groups.

“My client is an excelling student and completed his university education successfully in the US. The students he met were no more than schoolmates,” Saeed stated, demanding the acquittal of his client. This case was also reserved for a ruling to June 13.

In another lawsuit, the court looked into the indictment sheet of the state security prosecution against a 40-year-old Emirati suspect, S.Th.M.M., who is accused of creating social media accounts to post information that promoted the ideologies of terror groups Daesh and Ansar Al Shariah.

The defendant is accused of misusing social media to attack and insult the leaders of Saudi Arabia and the UAE and offend the UAE’s foreign policy.

malzarooni@khaleejtimes.com