ABU DHABI // The lawyer of a man accused of supporting ISIL has refuted a medical report that said the defendant was mentally ill but responsible for his actions.
A A B, 31, an Emirati, is accused of setting up online accounts on which he published ideas that created havoc, spread hate, harmed the unity of the state and affected the peacefulness of society.
At the Federal Supreme Court on Monday, Hamdan Al Zeyoudi, the defendant’s lawyer, referred to a medical report on psychosis that indicated that A A B might have difficulty differentiating between reality and imagination.
At a previous hearing the court heard a report from an expert at Zayed Military Hospital that indicated that the defendant had a mental illness but was still aware of his actions.
“The witness exceeded his capacity as an expert by giving the court legal testimony saying my client was responsible for his actions when the medical report said his judgements are unclear, his thoughts are incoherent and he suffers from psychosis,” the lawyer said.
The defendant, he said, had worked for the Armed Forces for seven years but his mental illness meant he struggled with his job, frequently missed work and had to attend several military hearings. “My client belongs in a mental institution, not a prison,” the lawyer said.
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