UAE adjourns trial of 'several Muslim Brotherhood members' on terror-related charges

An Emirati appeal court has adjourned hearings for "several" alleged members of the Muslim Brotherhood who face terror-related charges, state media reported Friday.

The adjournment came after an Abu Dhabi Appeal Court session on Thursday, in which evidence from prosecution witnesses was heard about money laundering in relation to five suspects and the six companies that they manage, according to the WAM news agency.

The postponed hearings will take place on 7 and 8 February, the news outlet said.

Last week, the UAE's attorney general ordered 84 people to trial, most of them alleged members of the Muslim Brotherhood.

WAM quoted the country's attorney general, Hamad al-Shamsi, as saying that they were being trialled for "establishing another secret organisation for the purpose of committing acts of violence and terrorism on state territory".

It came a decade after a mass trial of some 94 lawyers, students, teachers, and other government critics, who were accused of ties to the group. Most of the trials resulted in jail time, and many of those trialled remain in detention.

Among those believed to be facing trial this time is prominent human rights activist Ahmed Mansoor, who has been in detention since 2017.

He was sentenced in 2018 to 10 years in prison for criticising the government and tarnishing the country's image on social media.

The 2013 mass trial and Mansoor's detention have been condemned by human rights groups including Amnesty International.

The UAE has long targeted the Muslim Brotherhood, a pan-Arab Islamist group considered a threat to the country's hereditary rulers.

It formally designated the Muslim Brotherhood and local affiliates as "terrorist groups" in 2014.