Sedition trial uae

He continues to regard the trial as a new experience for the country, an "exceptional and complex trial" that generated a lot of questions. As a result, there had been bad publicity, and maybe the reputation was tarnished. Now that the trial is over, the UAE could explain its story with the facts once again in a better light. Many who attended the trial used Twitter to disseminate information, but some of it appeared to be lacking facts.

Dr Abdulla said there were many "unfair accusations". Mishaal Al Gergawi, a writer and commentator on current affairs, said many people who had not attended the trial had made inaccurate claims about it, while those who attended had written about the proceedings in a clear and accurate way.

One would only reach this conclusion when applying the rules of the former on the latter," he said. Mr Al Gergawi said the UAE was not prepared to accelerate its political participation process under the pressure of groups such as Al Islah. UAE sedition trial: the case that gripped the nation UAE sedition trial: From the day in early March when the first hearing took place, the sedition case has been a hot topic from mainstream media to Twitter.

Ayesha Al Khoori. Abu Dhabi's Fertiglobe set to play 'big role' in global energy transition. The charge of sedition, inciting resistance or insurrection against central authorities, stems from colonial-era laws designed to thwart dissent against the British crown, and had not been used in Hong Kong since the mids until recently, three legal scholars interviewed by Reuters say. Last month's sedition charges were the first to be brought against the media since , according to those scholars.

Some legal scholars say recent court judgements have empowered authorities to use the controversial national security law NSL imposed on the city by Beijing in , to bolster colonial-era laws, including sedition.

The security law, enacted after sometimes-violent, pro-democracy protests rocked the city in , gives police extra powers of search, seizure and surveillance and makes it tougher for those arrested to get bail. Only judges selected for national security duties will handle cases under the law. The sedition law allows officials to directly target the published content of media operations and does not require prosecutors to prove that an offending article or speech was intended to be seditious, according to three lawyers.

A barrister whose career has straddled Hong Kong's handover from Britain to China in , said: "We can see that at a stroke, the NSL has re-tooled these old laws that were largely forgotten. You could say we are now drinking bitter, old colonial wine from new, authoritarian bottles. Asked whether the security legislation had enhanced the powers of colonial-era laws such as sedition, the Hong Kong Department of Justice declined to comment but said the prosecution of offences endangering national security was "based on admissible evidence".

The actions against Stand News targeted "illegal acts" and had "nothing to do with freedom of the press", he added. The latest moves extend a media clampdown over the past year that included the shutdown of Apple Daily and the imposition of fresh staff guidelines on public broadcaster RTHK to ensure all content complies with the national security law.

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Guardian interviewed family members who disputed the government charges. One family member said that the accused were discussing more democracy in the UAE, not plotting to overthrow the government. The local media also failed to mention that about two dozen international human rights organizations were told they could not attend the trial, including a former Supreme Court justice from Norway.

The only professional groups at the trial were the ones approved by the government. Last year during Federal National Council elections, the UAE government said it wanted its citizens to be more aware and engaged about public affairs. Second, societies tend to benefit from impartial news coverage of trials. Over the years, the policymakers have reasoned that the public benefits more from transparent trials — covered with a press free from government restrictions — than from any collateral harm.

And a properly functioning judiciary is an international hallmark of good governance, ensuring that no one branch of government can become too powerful and over-reach its bounds. Many foreign observers suspect that the UAE authorities are doing just that — overstepping the boundaries of necessity with these prosecutions.