Qatar hatched several plots to defame UAE

Speculation is rife that the GCC countries, which have isolated Qatar, may demand tough measures from Qatar

Qatar has always been a safe haven for a number of extremists who are wanted in Arab and GCC countries.

Speculation is rife that the GCC countries, which have isolated Qatar, may demand tough measures from Qatar in return for restoring normal relations. This might mean that Doha will have to extradite all terrorists and saboteurs from its territory.

Yousuf Al Qaradawi, a leading light of the Brotherhood movement, has been living in Qatar since 1960 and holds a Qatari citizenship. He has extensive control over the education sector, and raised a new generation of people in the country which includes the present leadership of Qatar. Al Qaradawi was handed death penalty in the case of storming of prisons in Egypt in 2011.

The list of dangerous leaders hosted by Qatar includes personalities such as Omar Darraj, secretary general of the Freedom and Justice Party, whose name figures in the list of terrorists.

It also includes Wajdi Ghonaim, who got the death sentence for fomenting hostility against Christians in Egypt.

Tariq Al Zomor, who got life sentence for inciting violence and Mohammed Abul Maqsood, deputy chairman of the Shariah Authority of the Brotherhood are among the many extremist leaders who found a home in Qatar.

These elements have attacked and criticised the countries that confronted Doha's evil policies at every available opportunity.

The last edition of Al Masri weekly, published by Al Qaeda in Arabian Peninsula, attacked the countries that it says had launched a campaign against Qatar and its Amir.

The same rag has carried several articles criticising the UAE and Saudi Arabia. The so-called weekly, which is nothing but a mouthpiece of Qatar, published these anti-Saudi articles days before blockade was imposed by Arab countries. It means it knew what was coming.

The same edition also contains a report aired by Al Jazeera TV Channel discrediting the UAE Army on the basis of views of a person belonging to a Brotherhood organisation funded by Qatar. The case, which was known as "Bu Askour" case in which a Qatari intelligence officer was implicated in offending the UAE, is just a tip of an iceberg of the Qatari machinations against the UAE.

The UAE security officers managed to arrest a Qatari physician on arrival at the Dubai international airport and recovered $1 million meant for the members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood group in the UAE.

Those members whom he wanted to help were detained and court verdicts were issued against them after being found guilty of attempting to overthrow the UAE rulers.

The first case goes back when the UAE security officers apprehended Qatari First Lieutenant Hamad Ali Mohammad Al Hammadi, an intelligence officer, who along with four other Qatari intelligence officers, posted information, rumours and photos on the social media platforms to ridicule and defame the UAE rulers through a fake account under the name of "Bu Askour".

The UAE prosecution charged the Qatari intelligence officer with entering the UAE via Al Ghuwaifat border checkpoint and buying four cell phones and five SIM cards with an intent to use them to damage the reputation of the UAE by creating bogus accounts on social media platforms.

In video recorded confessions, the suspect said Qatari intelligence apparatus had been supervising the social media accounts that were abusing the UAE and its symbols.

Al Hammadi admitted that he belonged to the Qatar's Intelligence apparatus and got orders from his superiors to execute specific jobs.

He has been identified as the man behind the offensive posts and was arrested on arrival at the airport on July 27, 2014.

The second case dates back to March 2014 when the state security circuit of the Supreme Federal Court sentenced Dr Mahmoud AbdulRahman Al Jaida, Director of the Medical Services of the Qatar Petroleum Company, to seven years in jail after he was convicted of cooperating with a secret illegal organisation.

He was arrested at the Dubai airport on February 26, 2013, while he was carrying $1 million he wanted to distribute to members of the banned group.

The top court also looked into a case in which a Kuwaiti citizen was accused of supporting the banned group by helping its fugitive members to appear on a TV channel run by him with an intent to spread their ideology. The Kuwaiti suspect had communicated with members of the banned group and took part in facilitating the raising of funds, which was necessary to establish a new satellite TV channel.

The prosecution said that the Emirati witness A.T, 29, a first lieutenant at the UAE state security apparatus, had testified that there was a connection between the suspect, who is working as an executive director at a media company in Riyadh, with leaders and members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood group in the UAE including AbdulRaheem Al Zarooni, Ali Al Hammadi, AbdulSalam Darweesh, and Ahmed Al Mansoori and others.

malzarooni@khaleejtimes.com 

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