Man found guilty of passing on information about naval ships

A man on trial for espionage has been sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of passing on information about naval ships docked in Khalifa Port.

ABU DHABI // A port supervisor on trial for espionage has been sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of passing information to his country’s embassy about naval ships docked in Khalifa Port.

The Federal Supreme Court was told on Sunday that Manar Abbas, 54, passed on sensitive information on the location and movements of naval ships at his workplace to intelligence officers at the embassy in Abu Dhabi.

The ships belonged to Pakistan and European countries.

Investigators in the case said that giving such information to other states could harm the national interests of the UAE and its diplomatic relations with other countries.

Prosecution and witness testimonies during the trial were not able to demonstrate if Abbas received anything in return for the information.

Judge Mohammed Al Jarrah Al Tenaiji ruled that Abbas be deported after completing his jail sentence.

Last month, in a separate case, an administrator at Zayed port was sentenced to 10 years in jail and fined Dh500,000 by the Federal Supreme Court for leaking classified information about the movement of navy ships traveling to and from the capital to his embassy.