Abu Dhabi // Thirty men accused of establishing and running a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood have gone on trial at the Federal Supreme Court.
Twenty of the accused are Egyptian, and six are being tried in their absence.
The remaining 10 are Emiratis, who were also convicted of sedition in July.
One of the Egyptians, M A, is accused of obtaining documents, images and maps copied from a computer to an external memory drive.
The drive was given to him by a board member of a sports club, an Emirati, for the purpose of copying images of the club’s activities.
The board member is also a First Warrant Officer in the Supreme Council for National Security, and prosecutors say the memory drive also contained confidential government data.
The group is accused of sharing this data among themselves and the members of the secret organisation who were convicted in July.
The Egyptians are accused of establishing and administering a branch of a secret organisation without the Government’s consent or licence, and of collecting donations and alms without a licence.
Four of the Emiratis are accused of being accomplices in that they knew about the secret organisation but did not report it to the authorities.
All the accused deny the charges and say they were forced into confessions and were mistreated in prison.
Judge Mohammed Al Jarrah Al Tunaiji told the accused and their lawyers: “I assure you all, you are in safe hands and we are here to verify the truth. Nothing will interfere in the proceedings of the case. This is my responsibility.”
A defence lawyer, Abdulhameed Al Kumaiti, asked that the media not report the case, on the ground that reporting would have a negative effect.
The judge denied the request. He said everyone was welcome to attend the trial, and Egyptian and Saudi media representatives were in court.
The defence team asked that doctors examine the accused in light of their claims to have been mistreated in prison. The judge agreed.
Mr Al Kumaiti asked to be allowed to meet the accused to discuss the case and to be able to provide each of them with the case files. The judge said lawyers could meet their clients for an hour each.
Another lawyer, Hamdan Al Zeyoodi, asked that his client A K be released on bail and allowed to wear traditional Emirati dress for the hearings.
A K was sentenced to 10 years in prison at the July sedition trial, in which 69 of 94 accused Emiratis were jailed for up to 15 years. The judge did not respond to his lawyer’s request.
Mr Al Kumaiti also asked that the First Warrant Officer who supplied the memory drive and the electronics officer who inspected it be called to give evidence in court.
Judge Al Jarrah Al Tunaiji summoned six witnesses for the next hearing, which will take place on November 12, and the trial was adjourned until then.
aalkhoori@thenational.ae
