UAE jails Qatari state security officials

The UAE Federal Court handed down harsh sentences to five Qatari state security officers on charges of “insulting the symbols of the state” on social media, local media reports said yesterday.

Ali Hamad Al-Hammadi, who was arrested in June 2014 in the UAE, was sentenced to ten years in prison and fined him one million dirhams ($272,000). He will be deported once he serves his term, Al-Ittihad newspaper reported.

Four other Qatari security officers were sentenced to life in absentia and fined one million dirhams ($272,000) each.

The five Qataris were convicted of abusing senior officials in the UAE, particularly through a Twitter campaign launched under pseudonyms.

The court also sentenced an Emirati national to three years in prison on the same charge.

The case reflects the ongoing tensions between the UAE and Qatar.

In March 2014, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain withdrew their ambassadors from Doha, accusing it of interfering in their affairs. The ambassadors were returned after an agreement was reached.