ABU DHABI // Evidence shows men affiliated with a terrorist group intended to fight civilians in Syria, and gave moral and financial support to the organisation, the State Security Court heard on Tuesday.
Fifteen men are on trial for establishing a UAE cell, and joining and convincing others to join Al Qaeda subsidiaries Jabhat Al Nusra and Ahrar Al Sham in Syria. Four of them are being tried in their absence.
Last week, four witnesses testified about the evidence found on the men.
Witness O S, 28, a State Security officer, said A B, 28, who has a Comoros Islands passport, set up the group in the UAE last year, to fight alongside terrorist groups and take part in terrorist acts against the regime in Syria.
He said the defendants belonged to two categories – fighters who travelled to Syria, and a logistics group that collected donations.
A B and Syrians M E, 36, and S A, 39, also established a route from the Emirates through Turkey to Syria, the witness said.
He said Emiratis O M, 26, and A R, 33, were trained by ISIL while in Syria and later joined the extremists, but it was not clear for how long.
The witness also told of the defendants’ roles.
“M E travelled with the fighters from the UAE to Turkey and then delivered them to someone at the Turkish end to ease their safe entry into Syria,” he said.
“He had sent various amounts of money that came from donations to Syria continuously, either personally through travel or by using monetary exchange centres.
“S A acted as the communications channel between M E and A B, and he had a part in also finding the route of travel. He was also in charge of sending the equipment from the UAE to Syria by sea shipments.”
The State Security officer said the equipment was mainly replacement car engines.
He said M B, 24, also from the Comoros Islands, confessed to building a bomb by using gunpowder from fireworks.
A R and A B, one of the men still at large, helped him. The three built and successfully set off the bomb in the UAE.
The officer said several of the men knew others who had travelled to Syria to fight the regime. He said knowing this and not reporting it to authorities was also a crime.
The men being tried in their absence – H E, 26; I H, 31; A B, 25; and A G, 35 – were among the first from the group to join Al Nusra, and have yet to return to the UAE.
Judge Mohammed Al Jarrah Al Tenaiji asked the witness to verify how much money was sent to Syria and who received it.
“The group previously said they had raised the amounts for those who were needy in Syria. What information do you have on this matter?” Judge Al Tenaiji asked.
The witness said that according to A B’s confessions, the money was used to support the fighters and for humanitarian aid to refugees. He did not give any amounts in court.
Naser Al Shamsi, representing M E, asked the witness to provide evidence of his client’s membership with Al Nusra.
“Terrorist organisations work in complete secrecy,” the State Security officer said.
“They do not leave a track behind. We have confessions from the defendants.”
The hearing was adjourned to October 19 when Public Prosecution will give its case.
aalkhoori@thenational.ae
