State media reported that the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal has convicted individuals of “creating a terrorist organisation.”
The mass trial, criticized by United Nations experts and human rights groups, involved over 80 human rights defenders and political dissidents known as the “UAE 84.”
Last January, the UAE’s prosecutor general referred the defendants to the court on charges related to establishing the “Justice and Dignity Committee,” accused of planning acts of violence and terrorism within the UAE.
Most defendants were linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, which has been designated as a terrorist organization in the UAE since 2014, along with its local affiliate, the al-Islah party.
According to the official WAM news agency, the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal recently “sentenced 43 defendants to life imprisonment for the crime of creating, establishing, and managing a terrorist organisation.”
Additionally, 10 defendants received sentences ranging from 10 to 15 years for charges of “co-operating with al-Islah” and money laundering. One defendant was acquitted, and 24 cases were deemed inadmissible.
Many of the defendants had already spent over a decade in prison following the “UAE 94” trial in 2013, according to HRW and Amnesty International, despite having completed their original sentences.
The latest charges were described by UAE authorities as “materially distinct” from those in 2013, notably including accusations related to financing a “terrorist organisation.”
Amnesty International criticized the lack of transparency in the trial, noting that details were only known through leaks, with the government keeping the indictment, charges, defense lawyers, and defendant names secret.
HRW identified prominent activists among those sentenced, including Nasser bin Ghaith, Abdulsalam Darwish al-Marzouqi, Sultan Bin Kayed al-Qasimi, and Ahmed Mansoor.
In response to the sentencing, Amnesty International called on the UAE to “urgently revoke this unlawful verdict” and release those sentenced, condemning the trial as a “shameless parody of justice” that violated fundamental legal principles.
Khalid Ibrahim from the Gulf Center for Human Rights expressed dismay, stating, “It is a real tragedy that so many activists and human rights defenders will remain in prison for decades, deprived of watching their children grow up, for no other reason than calling for a better future for Emiratis.”
Despite its economic prosperity and technological advancements, the UAE maintains strict limitations on political activities, lacking official opposition and banning political parties.
In 2013, nearly 70 Islamists were sentenced to jail over allegations of plotting to overthrow the government.
Source-BBC
