United Arab Emirates security court jails blogger
A United Arab Emirates court on Sunday sentenced a blogger and four other democracy activists to prison terms after finding them guilty of charges including insulting the Gulf state’s leaders.The State Security Court handed the blogger, Ahmed Mansoor, a three-year prison sentence and the four others each received two years. They have no recourse to appeal.The court also ordered the shutting down of the Hiwar (Dialogue) internet forum used by the activists.Mansoor had been arrested in April along with Nasser bin Gaith, who lectures at the Abu Dhabi branch of the Sorbonne University, and activists Fahid Salim Dalk, Hassan Ali Khamis and Ahmed Abdul Khaleq.They were accused of using the internet to insult leaders of the United Arab Emirates, calling for a boycott of September’s Federal National Council elections and for anti-government demonstrations.Their trial had been criticised as “grossly unfair” by a coalition of seven rights watchdogs including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch earlier this month.In a joint statement, the rights groups had called for “all five to be released immediately and unconditionally.”But the Federal Supreme Court, acting in its role as the special security court, pressed ahead announcing its verdict.The five defendants had refused to show up in court, saying in a message delivered by a police officer that the court “did not enable them to defend themselves.”
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