UAE jails Turkish national for promoting extremist groups on Facebook

The man, who used the name Ali Ozturk Mehmet on social media, colluded with the Al Nusra Front and another group in Syria, the court heard

The two Syrians are accused of supporting Al Nusra Front, pictured in this television news image, in Syria. AP

The UAE's Supreme Court has upheld a life sentence against a Turkish citizen for promoting Islamist groups in Syria and sending them money.

The court in Abu Dhabi jailed the 49-year-old man for "launching an extensive campaign on a Facebook account named 'Ali Ozturk Mehmet' without getting an official permit" to promote "the ideologies of the two terrorist groups and sending them funds through money transfer companies in the UAE", state news agency WAM reported.

According to the indictment, cited by Wam, the man was found guilty of "colluding" with former Al Qaeda affiliate Al Nusra Front and Ahrar Al Sham in Syria.

An Arab man was also found guilty of setting up and managing accounts on Twitter, Facebook, Telegram and WhatsApp "under the pseudonym 'Abu Mohamed Al Adnani' with the intent of promoting the fanatic ideologies of the Islamic State group", WAM said. He was sentenced to 10 years in jail.

The Turkish national was first accused by prosecutors last year of colluding with terrorist groups in Syria and was found guilty of fundraising activities in the UAE for the two groups.