Islamists jailed in UAE for sending Dh10m to Brotherhood

A Qatari activist was convicted of collecting funds in the UAE and channelling them to the mother organisation in Egypt.

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ABU DHABI // An Islamist from Qatar and his two Emirati co-conspirators who collected Dh10 million and channelled the funds to the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt have been sent to prison for up to seven years.

The Qatari, Mahmoud Al Jaidah, 52, and the Emiratis Abdulwahed Al Shehhi, 32, and Saeed Al Buraimi, 42, were convicted at the Federal Supreme Court of aiding the illegal organisation in the UAE.

Al Jaidah was also found guilty of giving funds to Emirati members of the Muslim Brotherhood who fled the UAE last year. Last July those men were convicted in their absence of sedition and trying to overthrow the Government.

Al Shehhi was convicted of delivering money that Al Jaidah handed over to the fugitive members of the group, and Al Buraimi was convicted of communicating with Al Jaidah through social media to discuss how the organisation was being run in the UAE.

The Qatari was sentenced to seven years in jail and the two Emiratis to five.

A fourth man, T T, 61, was acquitted on charges of administering the educational committee of the Brotherhood in Dubai.

Judge Falah Al Hajeri ordered the confiscation of Dh151,150 in funds intended for the Muslim Brotherhood and found in Al Buraimi’s house, and of electronic devices that led to the prosecution.

The men were arrested on February 26 last year. All four denied the charges and their trial began last November.

The Qatari ambassador to the UAE, Faris Al Nuaimi, representatives of the media, family members and the Emirates Human Rights Association attended court for the verdict.

Jameela Al Hamli, a board member of the Emirates Human Rights Association who attended four hearings, described the first as “tense and chaotic”.

She said the accused were upset and asked to be transferred from solitary confinement to a regular prison, and Judge Al Hajeri had ordered their immediate transfer.

Ms Al Hamli said Al Jaidah had complained in court that he was ill and required medication. The judge ordered medical reports on his condition and had him transferred to hospital for treatment.

aalkhoori@thenational.ae