Three Emirati Citizens Sentenced to Long Prison Terms for Spying for Iran

The Abu Dhabi Court of Appeals sentenced an Emirati military officer, referred to as 'H.A.M.M', to 15 years in prison for transferring military information to the Iranian embassy in Abu Dhabi. The court also ordered all correspondence of the accused to be confiscated and mandated that he pay all court costs. A 46-year-old Sudanese woman was also sentenced to 10 years in prison for collaborating with this Emirati citizen and contacting Iranian agents. The Abu Dhabi Court of Appeals has also issued severe sentences for defendants from Jordan, Bahrain, and Yemen. Another 35-year-old Emirati citizen was sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined 100,000 dirhams for spying for Iran. In a separate case, another citizen of the United Arab Emirates was sentenced to seven years in prison for espionage for Iran. In recent months, various cases regarding 'spying for Iran' have emerged in countries such as Kuwait, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates. The Kuwaiti Supreme Court on June 18 reduced the death sentence of a Shia citizen accused of conspiracy against the country and collaboration with Iran to life imprisonment. The death sentence of Hassan Abdulhadi Ali, who was accused of forming a 26-member cell to attack targets in the UAE, was commuted to life imprisonment. Members of this 'Shia' group were accused of spying for Iran and hiding large quantities of weapons, explosives, and ammunition. In Bahrain, 12 citizens were sentenced to life imprisonment for 'supporting terrorist activities and receiving training from the Revolutionary Guards' earlier this year. The sentences for six of the 12 individuals sentenced to life imprisonment were issued in absentia. The Bahrain Court of Appeals also upheld a 10-year prison sentence for one of its citizens accused of spying for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.