The Federal Supreme Court docket of the UAE has partially overturned a earlier judgment within the high-profile “Terrorist Justice and Dignity Organisation” case, issuing life sentences to 24 defendants for collaborating with and financing the Al-Islah Terrorist Organisation.
The court sentenced the defendants to life imprisonment for collaborating with the “Terrorist Justice and Dignity Organisation,” and offering funds to the “Al-Islah Terrorist Organisation,”, along with ordering the confiscation of all funds and gadgets seized in reference to these crimes.
Legal professional Basic, Chancellor Dr. Hamad Saif Al Shamsi, had partially appealed the appellate courtroom’s ruling that dismissed the prison case towards the defendants for collaborating with the “Terrorist Justice and Dignity Organisation” and financing the “Al-Islah Terrorist Group,” citing their prior trial in Case No. 79 of 2012 – State Safety.
UAE courts
The Legal professional Basic argued that the ruling was legally flawed in its utility of the regulation, and may due to this fact be overturned.
He emphasised that the courtroom ought to have utilized the penalties prescribed for the extra severe offences of financing and collaborating with a terrorist organisation, whereas accounting for any portion of the sentence already served beneath the earlier ruling.
The courtroom’s resolution to dismiss the prison case for these two offenses based mostly on a closing ruling issued in Case No. 79 of 2012 – State Safety Crimes – was misplaced.
The prior judgement solely convicted the defendants of a single crime, specifically the institution and administration of the “Al-Islah Group” as stipulated in Article 180/1 of the Penal Code, and didn’t tackle the separate crimes of financing a terrorist organisation and collaborating with it, each of that are stipulated in Federal Legislation No. 1 of 2004 on Combating Terrorist Crimes, and carry impartial and extra extreme penalties.
The Federal Supreme Court docket reviewed the Legal professional Basic’s enchantment, and in its session on Thursday, June 26, dominated to partially overturn the judgment and reconvict 24 defendants, sentencing them to life imprisonment.
The courtroom based mostly its resolution on the clear authorized distinction between the incidents within the two circumstances, which invalidates any declare that they share the identical trigger or subject material.
Every incident constitutes an impartial prison act topic to its personal punishment beneath the regulation.
Accordingly, the earlier ruling in Case No. 79 of 2012 – State Safety Crimes – doesn’t carry authorized weight that might stop the prosecution of the defendants for the costs of financing and collaboration within the current case.
For the reason that challenged judgment neglected this precept and dismissed the prison case based mostly on the prior ruling, regardless of the distinction in trigger and subject material, the judgment erred in its utility of the regulation.
This necessitated the partial overturning of those particular prices, restricted to the defendants named within the Legal professional Basic’s enchantment.
The State Safety Chamber of the Abu Dhabi Federal Court docket of Enchantment had beforehand convicted, in Case No. 87 of 2023, identified publicly because the “Terrorist Justice and Dignity Group” case, 53 defendants who had been leaders and members of the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood group, along with six corporations.
Sentences ranged from life and momentary imprisonment to fines totalling AED20m ($5.4m), whereas one defendant was acquitted.
Following Thursday’s ruling by the State Safety Chamber of the Federal Supreme Court docket, the whole variety of convicted people on this case has risen to 83 out of 84 referred to trial.