13 jailed for espionage in UAE

Thirteen people have been found guilty of espionage and promoting extremist organisations in the UAE, sources revealed today.

The Abu Dhabi Court of Appeal issued judgments in six security cases yesterday, with jail terms ranging from 18 months to 15 years handed down to the defendants.

Fines were also issues ranging from 6,000 dirhams ($1,600) to one million dirhams ($270,000) in addition to court fees and the cost of deportation after their jail term has been served.

The court sentenced a 28-year-old military officer to 15 years in prison for spying for Iran. He was convicted of passing classified military information to Iranian agents working at the Iranian embassy in Abu Dhabi.

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The court also sentenced a 46-year-old Sudanese woman to ten years’ imprisonment and deportation on charges of assisting the Emirati military official to transfer classified information to Iranian clients.

Four Jordanians were also jailed for ten years each after being found guilty of setting up pages on social media platforms which strengthen support for terrorist groups which threaten the UAE’s interests. The men were fined one million dirhams each.