Man fined Dh0.5m, jailed for promoting Daesh online

He was found guilty of promoting Daesh over the Internet and recruiting people to the group.

The State Security Circuit of the Federal Supreme Court on Monday sentenced a GCC man, identified as S.A.M., to seven years in jail and fined him Dh500,000 after he was found guilty of promoting Daesh over the Internet and recruiting people to the group.
The court ordered him to be deported after his jail term and to confiscate the devices that contained photos and offensive articles. The hearing was chaired by Judge Falah Al Hajeri.
In another case, attorney Dr Fahd Al Sabhan argued that the case against his client, who is accused of 'hostile act against a foreign country', didn't come under the jurisdiction of the State Security Circuit.
In the case known as 'Emirati Al Ummah party' or Hezb Al Ummah Al Emirati, the Public Prosecution accused the suspect of posting offensive comments against a foreign country on social media.
Lawyer Al Sabhan told the court that the statements published by his client could not be labelled as an offence to a foreign country, rather it should be considered as an insult, cursing or swearing.
"What my client did is not listed under the articles of the federal punitive code for crimes that touch on the domestic or external security of the country. Therefore, the case should be considered by an ordinary court of law," the lawyer said.
The prosecution claimed that the suspect posted the offensive statements on Twitter in 2012, but my client was not arrested or interrogated till 2015, he said.
"All said acts were not committed by my client, who published these comments on a social media account, which was misapprehended and described as hostile acts," the attorney told the court, adding that the statements that were attributed to his client could not hurt the political relations between the UAE and other countries.
"What my client published is listed under the freedom of speech, which is guaranteed by the country's constitution, and does not express the viewpoint of the government of the UAE," the lawyer said.
He claimed that the suspect did not create an account on Twitter to instigate or stir up the public opinion against the country by posting false information or photos.
Al Sabhan said it had not been proven that his client had secretly cooperated with a banned Emirati clandestine organisation, which was banned in 2012. The court adjourned the case to December 5.
- malzarooni@khaleejtimes.com

• Abu Dhabi