An Abu Dhabi court has adjourned the trial of 84 defendants accused of setting up a terrorist organisation to plot an attack on UAE soil.
The suspects are alleged to have been leading players in an organisation called the “Justice and Dignity Committee”, which sought to stir up public dissent with protests and demonstrations against the state and clashes with security services.
The defendants – most of whom authorities say are affiliated with the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood – are being tried at Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal, otherwise known as the State Security Court.
A number of hearings in the case have taken place since February, with the latest held on Thursday.
The court heard arguments from the defence this week before proceedings were adjourned until next month.
Legal counsel for the accused contested evidence from the prosecution, saying technical and financial reports relied heavily on analysis and “left room for doubt and uncertainty” over their role in the terrorist plan, state news agency Wam reported.
They called for their clients to be acquitted on the basis they had no criminal intent because of their lack of knowledge of the organisation's true intentions.
The court previously heard allegations of money laundering against five defendants and six companies used to finance the group.
The charges against the defendants, who have not been identified, refer directly to establishing “another clandestine organisation for the purpose of committing acts of violence and terrorism on UAE soil”, Wam previously reported.
The defendants are accused of trying to conceal the crime and evidence of it before they were arrested and charged, the agency said.
The case was adjourned until April 18 for defence pleas to be completed.
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Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
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Uefa Nations League: How it works
The Uefa Nations League, introduced last year, has reached its final stage, to be played over five days in northern Portugal. The format of its closing tournament is compact, spread over two semi-finals, with the first, Portugal versus Switzerland in Porto on Wednesday evening, and the second, England against the Netherlands, in Guimaraes, on Thursday.
The winners of each semi will then meet at Porto’s Dragao stadium on Sunday, with the losing semi-finalists contesting a third-place play-off in Guimaraes earlier that day.
Qualifying for the final stage was via League A of the inaugural Nations League, in which the top 12 European countries according to Uefa's co-efficient seeding system were divided into four groups, the teams playing each other twice between September and November. Portugal, who finished above Italy and Poland, successfully bid to host the finals.
