العربي الديمقراطي The Latest From The Arab World
مقالات مشابهة
On Monday, the UAE tried 15 extremists charged with joining and financing the Syrian wing of al-Qaeda and a rebel group, the official WAM news agency reported.
Eleven of the fifteen defendants, whose nationalities have not been disclosed, appeared at the preliminary hearing in the Federal Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi, WAM reported. It is not clear why the other four defendants were not in court.
The defendants were accused of “joining and collecting funds for two terrorist groups abroad – al-Nusra Front and Ahrar al-Sham”, both of which are fighting Syrian President Bashar Assad. The al-Nusra Front is al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria; the Ahrar al-Sham is a powerful rebel group in Syria.
Additionally, the defendants were charged with manufacturing explosives, WAM said. One of them has been accused of possessing a firearm without having a permit, while another defendant allegedly “supervised and administrated a website that disseminates information on al-Qaida and spreads its ideology”.
The WAM also reported that the next hearing will be held on September 23rd.
The UAE has not experienced the protests sweeping through other Arab nations since 2011 collectively known as the Arab Spring. However, authorities have cracked down on dissent and democratic reform, drawing the criticism of human rights groups. They have mostly targeted extremists with alleged links to the al-Qaeda or the Muslim Brotherhood.
On June 23rd, the same court sentenced six Arabs to seven years in prison after finding them guilty of forming an al-Qaeda cell and raising financing for the al-Nusra Front. Dozens of Egyptians and Emirates have been thrown in prisons for forming cells of the Muslim Brotherhood, an organization outlawed in Egypt and alleged to have attempted to overthrow the Gulf monarchy. In March, UN expert Gabriela Knaul criticized “violations” and a “lack of transparency” in UAE court rulings, and urged an independent investigation into allegations of tortured prisoners.