UAE upholds life sentence for Emirati accused of plotting terror crimes

A top UAE court has upheld the life sentence for an Emirati who has been accused of planning to commit a terrorist act.

The State Security court of the UAE Federal Supreme Court rejected the appeal by the a 30-year-old UAE national and upheld the ruling by the Abu Dhabi Federal Appeal court, official news agency WAM reported.

The Abu Dhabi court had convicted the Emirati of attempted murder with the intent of committing a terrorist act, attempting to join the terrorist group Al Nusra Front in Syria and travelling to Turkey to achieve this goal.

It also found him guilty of planning to commit terrorist crimes and attempting to blow up sensitive areas by using explosives and live ammunition.

He was also convicted of establishing accounts on social media including on Twitter and Facebook, to promote the ideas of Al Qaida and ISIL and encouraging youth to join these terrorist organisations.

In a separate case, the State Security court upheld the innocence of a 37-year-old from Comoros, and two Emiratis who were accused of joining the terrorist organisation Al Nusra Front in Syria, possessing an unlicenced weapon and spreading information through Whatsapp with the aim of promoting the ideas of ISIL.

The court rejected the appeal from the prosecutor on a previous ruling by the Abu Dhabi Federal Appeal court which found that the defendants were not guilty.

In a third case, the court set the date as June 5, 2017, to announce its ruling on the case of an Emirati woman who was sentenced to a five-year jail term after being convicted of attempting to join ISIL, communicating with elements working for the organisation through social media, providing money to the organisation and establishing accounts on social media to promote the ideas of the terrorist organisation, WAM reported.

The 25-year-old presented her appeal at the Federal Supreme court after a ruling against her by the Abu Dhabi Federal Appeal court.

She also demanded that the court transfer her from Al Wathba Prison to another punitive establishment due to her psychological and health conditions.

The Federal Supreme court has instructed the prosecutor to review her request, in consideration of her health conditions, WAM reported.