UAE sedition trial: Three jailed in Brotherhood case

The State Security Circuit at the Federal Supreme Court on Monday sentenced the prime suspect in the UAE sedition case to seven years in jail. Qatari Mahmoud Abdul Rahman Al Jaidah, 52, was found guilty with being a member of a clandestine cell of the banned Muslim Brotherhood that plotted to seize power here. He will be deported from the country after serving his sentence.

Presiding Judge Falah Al Hajri sentenced UAE nationals Abdul Wahid Hassan Saeed Al Shehi, 32, and Saeed Abdullah Ismail Al Bereimi, 42, to five years each in prison. The court also ordered the confiscation of Dh151,150 seized from Al Bereimi’s house.

The fourth accused in the case, 61-year-old Emirati Tahir Mohammed Yousuf Al Tamimi, has been cleared of the charges levelled against him.

The Abu Dhabi Public Prosecution had accused Al Jaidah of cooperating and taking part in a secret organisation, which was banned vide a court order issued in case number 79/2012 — a state security related crime.

In its bill of indictment, the prosecution accused the four men of belonging to a covert organisation that worked against the major principles on which the UAE regime is based.

Prime suspect Al Jaidah was charged with collecting money from abroad and funding a cell of the Muslim Brotherhood in the UAE. The second accused was charged with receiving money from the organisation and handing it over to the prime suspect. This money was used for helping the fugitive members of the organisation, who managed to flee the country.

The third accused was charged with overseeing the student’s sector and the educational panel members of the organisation in Sharjah. He also financially assisted the families of the organisation’s detained members and paid their legal expenses.

The fourth accused was charged with managing the organisation’s affairs in Dubai as well as the membership of the educational committee at the organisation.

malzarooni@khaleejtimes.com