Client was ‘forced to admit bribe-taking’, Abu Dhabi court hears

ABU DHABI // A man has appeared at Criminal Court accused of taking a Dh750,000 bribe.

The man’s lawyer argued that a video of his confession was inadmissible and that his statement may have been made under duress.

S S, from Jordan – who has served more than two years in prison – worked for an engineering company handling projects for the Armed Forces GHQ, and stands accused of taking a bribe worth Dh750,000 from a company to settle a tender.

The case was originally heard at the Military Court, where his lawyer presented medical evidence that showed her client had suffered torture. The court chose to ignore it. S S was jailed for two years and ordered to pay Dh750,000.

The case was then referred to the criminal court at Abu Dhabi Judicial Department – while his co-defendant, accused of taking a Dh500,000 bribe, was referred to court in Ras Al Khaimah.

The reasons for the retrial were not made clear in court documents.

Police said the two confessed their crimes on video.

S S’s lawyer, Hadiya Al Hammadi, said the video could not be considered evidence because it was not conducted under free will, as the two men were in custody.

The court asked S S about cash that was found with him when he was arrested. He said it was for the rental of a house.

He denied bribery and said his confession was made under torture.

The manager of the company from whom S S allegedly took the bribe told the court he did not deal with S S directly because they had many projects worth hundreds of millions of dirhams, whereas the Armed Forces projects were up to Dh10 million and other managers dealt with those.

Mrs Al Hammadi asked the witness if he made any accusation or complaints against S S – he said he had not.

She asked if S S knew about the prices of the tenders and whether the witness paid S S any money – he said he had not.

The lawyer added that the arrest procedures were also invalid because the permit was issued on November 18, and the policeman in charge of the arrest said he caught S S with Dh100,000 the next day and yet did not arrest him.

S S was not arrested until November 21, she said.

She asked that her client be released on bail because he had spent two and a half years in jail already, which was longer than the original sentence, and added that he was a 65 years of age.

The court refused the request and the case was adjourned.

hdajani@thenational.ae