UAE court sentences son of a defendant in secret organisation case to 10-month imprisonment

The Court of Misdemeanor in Abu Dhabi has sentenced a son of one of the defendants in the secret organisation case to 10-month imprisonment over the charges of dishonestly spreading the court hearing proceedings of members of the secret organisation through the social networking site "Twitter".

The court also acquitted the accused of two charges on the use of force and violence against the police tasked with the maintenance of order in the courtroom.

According to the Department of Judiciary Abu Dhabi, the accused's conduct does not fall under freedom of opinion inscribed in the constitution of the state, because the freedom as stated by the constitution, is not absolute but is constrained by the laws and regulations in order to preserve the public security and the rights of individuals.

Regarding the incorrect court proceedings published by the defendant through the social media network, the department confirmed he published arguments about court proceedings and circumstances surrounding the arrest of the accused with dishonesty and bad faith, putting social peace at risk and abusing the state institutions, notably the judicial system.

On the defendant's use of force and violence in resisting the police and not obeying the orders during the break between the sessions when the defendants were allowed to meet their lawyers and their families, the court found that the evidence presented by the prosecution is not sufficient to  condemn the accused. The department explained that the benefit of the doubt is in favour of the accused, and therefore ruled not guilty in both charges.

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