Wednesday, March 6, 2013

UAE trial: Ninety-four in court over 'coup plot'

    Wednesday, March 06, 2013   No comments


Ninety-four people, said to be members of an Islamist organisation, have gone on trial charged with plotting to overthrow the United Arab Emirates government.

The group - all Emiratis - was arrested in a series of raids last year.

The detainees include two prominent human rights lawyers, as well as judges, teachers, and student leaders.

If convicted, the group, believed to include 12 women, faces up to 15 years in jail, with no right of appeal.

The government alleges that they were part of a secret cell with links to the Muslim Brotherhood organisation.

Most of those arrested belong to the conservative religious society al Islah.

Critics say al Islah intends to replace the Emirati ruling families with a strict Islamist regime underpinned by sharia (Islamic) law, a charge human rights activists have challenged.

Nick McGeehan of Human Rights Watch (HRW) told the BBC: "We have seen no evidence in the public domain to substantiate that charge.

"As far as we are aware al Islah is a peaceful civil society that advocates a government based on more traditional Islamic precepts."

Human rights lawyers Mohammed al-Roken and Mohammed al-Mansoori are among those on trial.

Some of the defendants have been in detention for nearly a year but most were arrested in July and August 2012.

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