Three deny supporting terror group

Three men accused of joining a Somali branch of Al Qaeda appear at the state security court.

ABU DHABI // Three men denied joining and supporting the Somali offshoot of Al Qaeda at the state security court yesterday.

AH and AA, both Sudanese, and MM, Somali, are accused of joining and raising funds for Al Shabaab.

Another Sudanese man, MA, is accused of allowing AH, his cousin, to stay at his home despite being aware of his alleged terrorist activities.

MA is the only one of the four with legal representation. The court asked the others if they were able to appoint their own lawyers but they said they were not.

The Chief Justice of the State Security Court, Shehab Al Hammadi, advised the men to appoint lawyers before the court heard from them.

"It is better for you and for your responses in court to have a lawyer," he told them. MA's lawyer, Mohammed Al Khazraji, offered to defend all four but said he would have to check their case files first to ensure there was no conflict of interest.

The judge asked AA how old he was and he replied that he was 25.

"You seem younger than the others so the court has to confirm that you are all above 18," the judge explained. The case was adjourned until March 26.