ABU DHABI // Lawyers representing a man accused of joining and collecting donations for the local Muslim Brotherhood branch have claimed there is no hard evidence against him.
The lawyers told the State Security Court on Monday that the case against M S was only based on oral testimonies.
Lawyer Jassim Al Naqbi, who was speaking on behalf of his brother and legal partner Yasser, said the evidence in the case files showed the defendant was only carrying out charity work.
He said: “All the evidence is based on testimonies. And what raises my suspicion is all the evidence found shows the defendant was doing charity work only.
"He participated in goodwill activities, and he was not part of secret meetings like the previous case," he said, referring to the conviction of 69 members of the Brotherhood in July 2012 for establishing a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood in the country with the aim of overtaking the Government.
“What is clear is that the defendant took part in charitable activities. Do we prosecute him for that?”
He said the files showed M S had been a member of Al Islah – the name of the UAE’s Brotherhood branch – since he was 14.
However, the court cannot prosecute him for something he did many years ago, the lawyer argued.
M S’s other lawyer, Hamdan Al Zeyoodi, said: “The witness said the last communication he had with the group was in 2011. All activities he took part in before the verdict came out in 2012 cannot be criminalised.”
He noted investigators said M S had been a member of a charity organisation, and had taken money from them to deliver to the Brotherhood.
However, Mr Al Zeyoodi argued it was impossible for the defendant to take sums of money from an official entity without anyone noticing.
“When aid is provided officially within a country, there is an efficient financial system. Having a volunteer take money from an official charity and provide it to another illegal organisation in not logical,” he said.
He said the defendant was not a member of any charity organisation.
The lawyer said M S had been studying in Russia for 13 years and only returned to the UAE in 2006. He said the defendant could not have been part of any committee during that time.
Both lawyers requested the court to communicate with the charity organisation that M S was alleged to have been part of to find out if money was missing from its funds.
The lawyers asked their client to be acquitted.
A prosecuting lawyer said the defendant had admitted to the crime during the investigation.
“The defendant confessed he was a part of the Brotherhood and specialised in the charity committee where he collected alms and donations from members of organisations and other charities. The money was used to fund activities for young students and a portion was sent to the other international branches,” he said.
“The witness, A K, also said their investigations showed the defendant took charge of collecting the donations to support the organisation, both at home and abroad.”
He asked for the maximum penalty to be enforced.
Judge Falah Al Hajeri also gave the defendant the chance to defend himself.
M S said: “I attended Quran memorisation classes and religious lectures in high school with a few friends, and I attended public activities and events with them, but there was no organisation involved. I admit to taking part in charities, but I did that for Allah. I did not mean to insult the leaders or harm the country.”
He also said he was not a member of any charity organisation, as was alleged.
The verdict will be announced on February 9.
aalkhoori@thenational.ae