Dubai policeman’s state secrets case ‘fabricated’, defence lawyers say

A Dubai policeman is accused of giving out confidential information about fellow officers and other police employees to undercover intelligence agents serving as employees at the Consulate of Iran in Dubai.

ABU DHABI // State security officials “fabricated” their case against a Dubai policeman who is accused of passing on confidential and personal information about officers at the station where he worked, his lawyers told a court on Monday.

A B, 43, a first sergeant, received discounted medical treatment for his family at the Iranian Hospital in Dubai in return for the information, prosecutors say.

Ali Al Mannaei, A B’s lawyer, said his client was first monitored by the National State Security administration on suspicion of having terrorist links. However, these were not found. “This caused them to create an accusation. What is the evidence they have? No more than oral claims by the witness,” said Mr Al Mannaei.

The lawyer said the case files where A B’s confessions were written should be considered void as the language used proved it could not have been his client, who does not speak fluent Arabic.

“A B speaks in a weak local Arabic dialect, he speaks fluently in Farsi. The case files show his Arabic is impeccable, which is not the case,” he said.

Mr Al Mannaei also said that to be a spy, one must give detailed information, which A B did not provide.

“The employees at the consulate asked general questions. To be a spy it must affect the economy, politics, or military. A B works in organising sports events [in the Dubai Armed Forces Club]. What harm could that do to anyone?” he asked.

A B’s other lawyer, Aref Al Shamsi, said state security officers had monitored his client’s phone calls from as far back as 2006, yet these were not listed as evidence.

“The calls show that state security officers listened to all his phone calls. If the defendant had wanted to betray the state, he would have done so from the beginning, not waited eight years,” said Mr Al Shamsi.

“A B is a good citizen. The conversations he had with the employees at the consulate were only chitchat. He speaks Farsi, like them, and the conversations were general. All he did was take on what was assigned to him by his manager.

“All he got from the consulate was a 20 per cent discount on medical treatment. The discount ended after a short period of time. What value does this have to cause him to spy on his own country?” he asked.

A member of the public prosecution said that intelligence officers knew how to deal with people and were trained to obtain the information they needed without asking detailed questions.

“The nature of their conversations could be general, but the meaning and point behind it is different,” he said.

A B told the court he was “honoured to be an Emirati citizen serving the country, and honoured to raise the UAE’s flag in international sport activities”.

“I have many achievements, and I have many certificates and awards to prove it. The purpose of my work is to raise my country’s name high and not to spy. I did not create a relationship with the officers at the consulate and there is no clear evidence to prosecute me,” said A B.

He said his mother had been in hospital since his arrest nine months ago and he had not been able to see her, and he was responsible for daughters who needed him at home.

He pleaded with Judge Falah Al Hajeri to acquit him, saying he was unjustly wronged.

The verdict at the state security division of the Federal Supreme Court will be announced on March 2.