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Al Qaeda suspects refute charges, cry ‘exploitation’

Prosecution says ‘incriminating’ documents found; trial postponed

The Federal Supreme Court on Monday adjourned the case of nine Arabs on trial for forming a cell of the terror organisation Al Qaeda to June 2. The suspects denied the charges.

The presiding judge of the court, Judge Falah Al Hajiri, read out the arraignment sheet, which accuses the suspects of joining Al Nusra Front, an organisation accused of fighting the Syrian government. They are also accused of forming a cell of the organisation inside the UAE to promote its purposes and goals, and to recruit new members. The suspects allegedly participated in activities linked to Al Qaeda and collected funds to support its activities. They also allegedly supervised and ran the website of Sinam al-Islam forum, which is said to publish information about Al Qaeda with the intent of promoting its ideas, recruiting new members and sending them to carry out terrorist activities outside the UAE.

The suspects face additional charges of supporting Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The police reportedly recovered 2,828 images showing the procedure to make rockets and bomb belts. About 176 files, reportedly containing information on how to recruit individuals to terror organisations, were also recovered.

The suspects denied the charges claiming that the files which were found in their possession “belonged to the prime suspect”, who is on the run. The 44-year-old prime suspect, they said, is the oldest among them, and “exploited them when he uploaded the files in their computers by claiming that his computer was not working”.

The first prosecution witness told the court that the accused tried to solicit support from Emiratis for funds. He also claimed that a different group “conducted studies” to blow up targets in Dubai. This group, he said, visited tents in Al Warqa and a mosque in Jumeirah for recruiting people.

The second and third witnesses explained how they monitored the suspects, who earlier reportedly confessed to the charges levelled against them by the public prosecution.

Six defence lawyers appeared in court, two of whom were delegated by the court. A representative from the Tunisian Embassy in the UAE was also present as five of the accused are Tunisians.

malzarooni@khaleejtimes.com