DUBAI // Prosecutors yesterday asked the Dubai Misdemeanours Appeal Court to overturn the acquittals of AA, a Jordanian businessman, and SB, an Emirati lawyer, on charges of trying to sell nuclear-grade zirconium without permission from authorities.
The defendants were cleared by the misdemeanours court in February.
Both re-entered pleas of not guilty yesterday while the prosecution asked the court to call two witnesses so they could be cross-examined again.
The case has been adjourned until May 7 to allow time for the witnesses to be summoned.
The sale of zirconium, a substance used in nuclear reactors, is controlled by an international treaty which forbids the importing of equipment, substances or machines used in manufacturing explosives.
SB was charged with acting as a go-between in the sale of 240 kilograms of the material.
Speaking after the not guilty verdict in February, SB's lawyer, Saeed al Ghailani, said the testimony of a nuclear expert who suggested the zirconium was not nuclear-grade had swayed the case in his client's favour.
The prosecution yesterday announced its intention to again cross-examine the nuclear expert before the appeal court.
hbathish@thenational.ae
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Schedule:
All matches at the Harare Sports Club
1st ODI, Wed Apr 10
2nd ODI, Fri Apr 12
3rd ODI, Sun Apr 14
4th ODI, Sun Apr 16
UAE squad
Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
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Peter Moor (captain), Solomon Mire, Brian Chari, Regis Chakabva, Sean Williams, Timycen Maruma, Sikandar Raza, Donald Tiripano, Kyle Jarvis, Tendai Chatara, Chris Mpofu, Craig Ervine, Brandon Mavuta, Ainsley Ndlovu, Tony Munyonga, Elton Chigumbura
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Five famous companies founded by teens
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- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.