Sentence is death for ISIL fighter

ABU DHABI // A teenager has been sentenced to death by the Federal Supreme Court for fighting for ISIL.

Emirati Khalfan Sultan Al Suwaidi, 19, was found guilty of travelling to Syria and participating in terrorist activities with the group.

Al Suwaidi was tried and sentenced in his absence as his whereabouts is unknown.

Two other Emiratis, Fares Mohammed Dukhan, 24, and Mohammed Abdullah Awad, 22, were given seven-year jail terms for their involvement with the terrorist group.

They were both found guilty of planning to join ISIL with the help of Al Suwaidi.

Dukhan travelled to Turkey with the intention of joining the terrorist group but surrendered to authorities. His lawyer asked that Dukhan be shown leniency for turning himself in.

Abdullah Ali Al Zaabi, 22, was sentenced to three years for aiding and abetting the three men. He was tried as a co-conspirator after dropping them at the airport and not informing the authorities of their intentions. Al Zaabi’s lawyer argued that his client did not drive them to the airport but only to Ibn Battuta Mall metro station.

UAE law gives those sentenced in absentia the right of a retrial if they later appear.

Eleven people – eight Emiratis, a Syrian, a Mauritanian and a Bahraini – are on trial at the court for links with ISIL.

The UAE’s anti-terrorism laws allow for the death sentence, life imprisonment and fines from Dh1 million to Dh100m for those found guilty.

The judge also ordered that Al Suwaidi’s, Dukhan’s, Awad’s and Al Zaabi’s belongings be seized.