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UAE court convicts 30 Muslim Brotherhood men
UAE court convicts 30 Muslim Brotherhood men Staff Reporter / 22 January 2014 State Security Circuit at the Federal Supreme Court orders the convicts to be jailed for terms ranging from three months to five years. Thirty people accused of links to the Muslim Brotherhood, and charged with setting up a branch of the organisation in the UAE, were sentenced by the State Security Circuit at the Federal Supreme Court to jail terms ranging from three months to five years. The verdicts were issued in the presence of 24 accused. Six others were sentenced in absentia. Fair trial, says human rights association In a statement, the Emirates Human Rights Association said it had followed up the trials of 20 Egyptians and 10 Emiratis, who were allegedly involved in the Egyptian Muslims brotherhood cell, at the Supreme Federal court in Abu Dhabi. “The prosecutions were held in a transparent, clear and open aura,” the statement said, noting that the defendants, throughout the trial, were defending themselves and through lawyers. The trial was attended by representatives from Egypt’s embassy and Egyptian Journalists Syndicate. In reply to a question on the arrest and torture, Jameela Al Hamili, member of the board of directors of the association said the procedures of arrest are legal, and no complaint on torture was sent. news@khaleejtimes.com Earlier, the court heard statements from the accused, the defence team and witnesses and reviewed the reports of experts. The court also ordered the dissolution of the Brotherhood in the UAE, closure of all its offices, as well as confiscation of seized equipment. It also ordered the deportation of the foreign national accused after completion of their jail terms. According to a copy of the verdict which has been obtained by Khaleej Times , Medhat Rajab Abdellah Ammar was sentenced to five years in jail, while Saleh Faraj Daifallah Al Malhatani, Salah Mohammed Rizq Al Mashad, Ibrahim Abdel Aziz Ibrahim Ahmed, Murad Mohammed Hamid Othman Badawi, Othman Abdel Rahman Suliman Matkees, Al Sayyid Awaad Hifni Moussa, Hamada Abdel Aziz Abdel Maqsood and Saleh Mohammed Saleh Al Dhufairti were each sentenced to four years in prison. Ahmed Mahmoud Taha was acquitted of the charges. Ahmed Labeeb Jaffar , Hassan Mohammed Hassan Ahmed, Khalid Mohammed Abdullah Al Shaiba Al Nuaimi, Hamad Hassan Ali Reqait, Ali Saeed Al Ghandi, Rashid Omran Al Shamsi, Mohammed Ali Saleh Al Mansour, Tariq Ibrahim Abdel Rahim Al Qasim and Hussein Ali Abdullah Al Najjar were ordered to serve a year in prison. Ahmed Rashid Al Taboor Al Nuaimi, Hassan Mohammed Hassan Ahmed, Khalid Mohammed Abdullah Al Shaiba Al Nuaimi, Hamad Hassan Ali Reqait and Saleh Mohammed Saleh Al Dhufairi each received three months, while another defendant Hamad Hassan Ali Reqait was let off with a fine of Dh3,000. The foreign nationals accused in the plan are to be deported after serving out their jail terms. The sitting judge, in his ruling said: “Inspired by the rules of the Islamic Shariah, and guided by the principles of the law, the court has given the defendants to prove their innocene and has conducted the trial with utmost transparency as per the UAE constitution and international conventions.” “This court had issued its verdict studying the documents and results of investigations, as well listening to the statements of the defendants,” the judge said. The Public Prosecution stressed that the accused intended to set up a branch affiliated to the Egypt-based Muslim Brotherhood. “They structured the organisation and set up a general administrative centre under which there are central committees and offices, which are located all over the country.” The Muslim Brotherhood members collected monthly subscription fee, the prosecution told the court. Their actions posed a threat to state security, the prosecution said, and added that their investigation was held in a fair manner. Defence lawyers, meanwhile, challenged the role of the investigators and alleged the evidence gathered did not prove any wrongdoing. “The charges against the accused have been cooked up, and charges of theft are not true because there is no tangible evidence,” the defence lawyers told the court. — news@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Now travel all over Dubai at just Dh270 per month
Now travel all over Dubai at just Dh270 per month Lily B. Libo-on / 21 January 2014 Travellers can top up their blue NoL card once on salary day with Dh270 and they can travel all over Dubai the entire month. Travelling around Dubai can sometimes be tiresome for regular travellers, who have to be out on the road early. The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has introduced a solution to their travel woes in the form of a personalised blue NoL card. Travellers can now stop worrying about setting aside cash for their daily fares. In fact, they can save Dh150 per month by using this card. They just have to top up their blue NoL card once on salary day with Dh270 and they can travel all over Dubai. Similarly, students can travel all over Dubai with a personalised blue NoL card for just Dh170 a month. Emirati senior citizens are eligible for a 50 per cent discount on the card, while people with special needs can travel with it free of cost; they just need to pay Dh70 as an application fee. When travelling by the Dubai Metro, there are four tiers. The daily fare for travellers using the silver NoL card is capped at Dh14, which is applicable on all four tiers. On Tier zero (T0), less than or equal to 3km costs Dh1.80; on Tier 1 (T1) it costs Dh2.30; Tier 2 (T2) costs Dh4.10; and Tier 3 (T3) costs a maximum of Dh5.80. After they use up the maximum Dh14 daily cap, they are travelling free of charge. Blue NoL card holders have more privileges embedded in a more secure card. Louloua Yousif Al Asmakh, Deputy Director and Clearing and Settlement Manager, UAFC Department, RTA, said by just paying Dh70 as an application fee, the blue NoL card will be secured with the holder’s name, photo and signature. “If the holder loses the card, the balance of the card can be protected by calling the RTA to hold or block it so the finder cannot use it. Anyone can apply for a blue NoL card at any RTA ticket offices inside the Dubai Metro stations or through its website, www.NoL.ae.” The card will be delivered to the applicants within 10 to 14 days. Blue NoL cards come in different special designs. Applicants can choose from any of the five designs at an additional cost of Dh30. -lily@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Gold importers come under tax scanner in India
Gold importers come under tax scanner in India Issac John / 20 January 2014 Analysts said the latest move, which comes in the wake of a rise in the import tariff value of gold to $407 per 10 grams last week by India, is expected to incentivise the illegal transportation of gold into India. Financial details of Indians bringing in gold from abroad after duty payment will henceforth be shared by customs authorities with Income Tax department. The dramatic joint move by customs and tax authorities is aimed at curbing suspicious ferrying of gold into India by carriers — mostly low income expatriate workers in the Gulf — deployed by organised gang of ‘indirect’ importers. Analysts said the latest move, which comes in the wake of a rise in the import tariff value of gold to $407 per 10 grams last week by India, is expected to incentivise the illegal transportation of gold into India, the largest yellow metal consumer in the world with imports surging to 830 tonnes in 2012-13. Under the current rule, an Indian who has been living abroad for over six months can legally bring in a kilo of gold after payment of duty. The duty, which is charged at the rate of 10 per cent of the value, is payable in currency of the nation where the gold was bought. Besides, a man can also bring in gold jewellery worth Rs50,000 and women Rs100,000, without payment of any duty, provided they live abroad for more than a year. Indirect gold importers in India have been paying Rs50,000 to Rs75,000 and free air tickets to each carrier for importing one kilo of gold. A smuggler is able to make a profit of Rs75,000 on every kilo of gold even after paying the duty and the commission to the carriers. The smuggled gold is being sold to jewellery makers in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. According to reports, gold that was brought in after paying the required duty totalled 80kg in a week last month at Kerala’s Calicut airport alone. However, the new move to put the person bringing the gold under the income tax net may deter many from acting as carriers. Officials in the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) said at least 3,000kg of gold has been legally brought into the country after payment of customs duty during 2013-14. “There is a possibility of an organised gang of hawala operatives who could be exploiting these people after paying money. The PAN card details of these flyers are being shared with Income Tax department to ascertain source of their income and avoid possibility of any wrongdoing,” a senior DRI official said. Informed source say that the carriers may have to pay wealth tax if they declare that the gold brought by them is for themselves. If they say the gold is sold they will be forced to pay the sales tax. In that case, they will also have to produce the documents for the sale. issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading