Charges against UAE teenager dropped

The Federal Supreme Court in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) dropped Monday morning charges against Moza Abdouli, 18, who was accused of “insulting” UAE leaders and government in a tweet she published when she was only 15.

Moza Abdouli appeared before the State Security Chamber of the Federal Supreme Court in the UAE on 30 May for the verdict in her case. The charges against her were related to posts on her Twitter account following her father’s death on 3 March 2013 in Syria. In her tweets, Moza ‘Abdouli, aged 15 at the time, mourned the loss of her father. Her last tweet was posted on 7 March 2013. 

 Moza ‘Abdouli appeared in court for the first time in early April 2016 when she was officially charged. Two other trial sessions took place on 2 and 16 May. She should not have been brought before an adult court as her alleged offences took place when she was under the age of 18. She had been held in an undisclosed location since her arrest on 19 November 2015 until her first appearance in court. She was taken from her home in the village of alTayba in the north eastern Emirate of Fujairah, along with her sister Amina ‘Abdouli and her brother Mos’ab ‘Abdouli, by plain clothed State Security members who did not show warrants and who searched the house before detaining them.

Waleed ‘Abdouli (34), teacher Amina ‘Abdouli (33), former high school student Moza ‘Abdouli (18), and their brother Mos’ab ‘Abdouli (25) are the children of Mohammed Ahmed ‘Abdouli who was the head of the banned Emirati Umma Party and a former Colonel of the UAE army. He was arrested in 2005 and detained for about two years without trial. He later travelled to Syria where he was the military adviser to the commander of operations of the non-state armed group, Ahrar al-Sham, and was killed in March 2013 in the town of al-Raqqa.