Court jails man for promoting terror group

A UAE domestic worker who used a string of social media accounts to spread the ideology of terror group ISIS has been jailed for ten years and ordered to pay two million dirhams in fine. The Filipino man, 30, identified as Hassan DAA, was convicted of joining the organisation and promoting its activities through seven social media accounts, five on Facebook and on each on Twitter and instant messaging service, Telegram.

The man will be deported at the end of his sentence, Abu Dhabi Court of Appeal heard on Wednesday. Social media sites he operated that published information promoting the organisation and urged people to support it financially have been shut down. Computers, mobile phones, laptops and cameras belonging to the defendant were also seized. The court ruled that he should pay all expenses related to the case.

The man’s defence lawyer, whose name was not disclosed by the court, had argued the defendant did not have the technical skills or time to operate the network of social media accounts. “Creating those seven accounts requires a team of people who are highly skilled and have the time to manage them,” said the lawyer. “And this is not possible for my client who is busy serving at his sponsor’s house, and does not even have the ability to manage such accounts.”