Leader of group facing terrorist charges in UAE denies knowing most co-defendants

ABU DHABI // The leader of a group on trial for plotting terrorist attacks in the country told the judge that most of the men on trial with him had no connection to his group.

“Most of the men on trial here, today, are people that I’ve never seen and have never met in my life,” said K M K, the former Emirati preacher of Al Manara mosque and the alleged mastermind behind the Shabab Al Manara group.

Forty-one men are on trial – three in their absence – in the State Security Division of the Federal Supreme Court on charges of planning terrorist attacks and to overthrow the government, charges that all members of the group have denied.

In an earlier hearing, the court saw a videotaped confession of K M K in which he said that there were only 10 founding members of the group.

Most of the defendants used that confession to disassociate themselves from the group’s activities.

When asked by Judge Mohammed Al Tunaiji on their intentions to plot terrorist attacks, K M K said that they were people of Sunnah and harming others is not part of their doctrine. K M K has since maintained the group carried out only peaceful activities and had no connection to terrorism.

In an earlier hearing, the judge assented to requests from the defendants and offered them a chance to defend themselves.

“This is your right to say what you want, to defend yourselves and add anything that you think your lawyers have missed,” the judge said.

“Keep in mind, however, that what you say might incriminate you so think carefully before you speak,” added the judge.

About half of the defendants took the time to defend themselves. Some submitted written notes to the judge, while others did not wish to add anything to their lawyers’ defence.

“I was in Grade 8 when I joined the summer camp organised by the group,” 20-year-old Emirati O Y J told the judge. “I was 14 at the time. Photography is a hobby of mine. I was never involved in any prohibited activities”.

He told the judge that he was shocked when public prosecution accused him of being included in the group’s list of charges as a member of its media committee.

Defendant A A B used his time to tell the judge that he was suffering from a rare form of amnesia and that he could not recall anything that happened before March 2014.

“I was hospitalised for more than 300 days at Sheikh Khalifa Medical City and Zayed Military Hospital. My diagnosis will prove to you my condition,” he told the judge.

The judge acknowledged A A B’s requests and asked the court to present the relevant documents from the hospital to be included in the defence.

Almost all of the defendants asked the judge to not consider the testimony of the investigators.

“For a witness to qualify he needs to have witnessed the crime. None of the witnesses we heard from have seen anything. Most of what they said was analysis and conclusions that they’ve derived on their own,” said A B K, the son of the leader of the group, who is on trial with three of his siblings.

The case was adjourned until Sunday to continue the defence of the 41 accused.