UAE Court Jails Most Of 94 Islamists Accused In Coup Plot Trial

A top United Arab Emirates court on Tuesday convicted 64 Islamists and acquitted 25 others on charges of plotting to overthrow the government, official Abu Dhabi television reported.

The Federal Supreme Court sentenced 56 of the 94 defendants to between seven and 10 years in prison, and jailed eight others tried in absentia for 15 years, the report said.

The fate of the remaining five was not immediately clear, according to Reuters.

The defendants had denied the charges.

UAE attorney general Salem Kobaish in February said the defendants would be tried for “having created and led a movement aimed at opposing the basic foundations on which the state’s political system is built and at seizing power”.

The group had formed a “secret organization” which was in contact with individuals and organizations “abroad”, including the Brotherhood, and had also created or invested in real estate firms to finance their organization, he said, according to AFP.