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Security case: Team to probe torture claims

This is one of the four decisions taken by the court at a hearing held in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday when 30 suspects, including 14 Emiratis and 11 Egyptians, stood trial.

A three-member committee from the Forensic Medicine Department will be delegated by the State Security Circuit of the Supreme Federal Court to probe torture claims by some of the 30 suspects of the international Muslim Brotherhood group standing trial in the UAE.

This is one of the four decisions taken by the court at a hearing held in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday when 30 suspects, including 14 Emiratis and 11 Egyptians, stood trial. Six suspects on the run are being tried in absentia.

The court, which scheduled the next hearing for November 12, allowed defence lawyers to meet their clients for an hour each without barriers. The court also decided to deliver the case files to the defendants and summon six witnesses for testimony.

The defendants denied all the charges pressed against them, saying their confessions were made under duress. The hearing began at 10.05am and lasted almost two and-a-half hours.

Three lawyers attended the hearing on Tuesday — Abdul Hameed Al Kimaiti who was assigned to defend all the suspects, Hamdan Al Zaioudi representing one suspect and Yasser Al Naqabi representing three suspects.

The hearings were witnessed by family members of the suspects; 25 journalists, of whom 20 from local media; three from Saudi Arabia; three from an Egyptian journalist syndicate and 14 persons representing civil society associations.

A memorandum by the Public Prosecution, which was submitted by the Senior Undersecretary of the State Security Prosecution, Saqr Saif, stated that the incident had been recorded as criminal and felony as per Articles 121, 155/2, 160/2, 170/1-2-3, 1/181, 182/2 of the Federal Penal Code and its amendments, as well as Articles 43 and 57 of Federal Law No 2 of 2008 on private associations and institutions of public interest.

According to the indictment sheet drafted by the State Security Prosecution, the third suspect had stolen documents, photographs and maps from a flash memory which was given to him by a state security official and member of a sports club with intent of adding photographs of the club’s activities. Instead, he stole the contents of the flash memory and copied it in his memory stick, though he knew it belonged to the state security.

The first, second, third, fifth, sixth, 14th, 15th, 16th, 20th and 30th suspects were charged with broadcasting the information recorded from the flash memory which contained defence secrets, and talked about it among themselves and with other people.

According to the chargesheet, the suspects from the first to 20 had established, incorporated, organised and run an international branch of the Brotherhood in the country without a licence from the UAE government. Suspects 21, 22, 23, 24 and 30 were aware of the crime, but did not inform the authorities concerned.

malzarooni@khaleejtimes.com