He had also allegedly attended the group's training camps.

A 29-year-old Emirati man, identified as S.H.S, was sentenced to life in prison by the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal on Wednesday for joining Daesh terror group and attending its training camps.

In another case, the court sentenced a 43-year-old Emirati woman, A.A, to 10 years in jail for joining Daesh and pledging allegiance to its leader on the group's website. The court also ordered to seize the devices used by the woman to post media materials and information promoting the ideologies of the terror group on social media.

The court, however, exonerated A.A's 39-year-old sister of the charges of helping the group.

Three Emirati youths were ordered to be placed in a counseling centre of the Ministry of Interior under surveillance after prosecution raised 'potential terrorist hazard' against them. The court also banned them from travelling outside the country for six months.

Insult on nation

A 51-year-old Emirati suspect stood trial at the court on Wednesday, accused of insulting the nation and senior officials. According to prosecution, the suspect called the Operations Room of the Sharjah Police and started swearing at them. However, the suspect denied the charges and the court reserved the case to pronounce a verdict to March 1.

In another case, the court listened to defence lawyer Ali Al Abbadi, who represented a Jordanian suspect accused of offending the UAE, its leaders and its foreign policy through posts on social media.

Al Abbadi demanded the acquittal of his client as the act was done in a sisterly country, not the UAE. "I challenge that the country's courts of law are not authorised to handle the lawsuit. My client was not in the UAE in 2012 when he posted offensive information against the UAE on social media accounts. Furthermore, this had happened before the cybercrime law was passed."

Concluding his defence, Al Hammadi said that his client came to the UAE to get a job here, and he pledged his loyalty to the UAE from the beginning. The court reserved the case to March 15 to pronounce a verdict.

Daesh in Yemen

In another case, the prosecution accused a 28-year-old Emirati suspect, M.S.A.N., of joining Daesh, saying he travelled to Yemen and joined the training camps of the terror group. He also funded the group in Yemen and helped them with money and devices to set up the camp, with being fully aware of the reality and intentions of the group, the prosecution said.

The accused, however, denied the charges, claiming that he had travelled to Yemen to get married and bring his wife and children with him. The court deferred the case to March 15 to give a verdict.

In two other cases, the state security prosecution accused two Emiratis of bringing in banned weapons (pistols), ammunitions, and gunshots without getting a prior official approval from a competent authority. A verdict on the case will be given on February 22

- malzarooni@khaleejtimes.com