Final verdict upon al-Najjar's case will be issued on March 15

Abu Dhabi Court of Appeal will issue its final verdict regarding the Jordanian journalist Tayseer al-Najjar's case on March 15, according to local media.

Al-Najjar, a poet and a journalist specialising in culture for the Abu Dhabi al-Dar newspaper, was brought to court on February 15, 2017 over a Facebook post that he published while in Jordan, in which he expressed his solidarity with the resistance in Gaza and criticized the UAE's position on the issue.

Al-Najjar was arrested by the State Security Apparatus on December 13, 2015, when he was about to travel to Jordan for vacation.

 He was then forcibly disappeared for a three months’ period, during which his whereabouts remained unknown. In addition, he was deprived of access to a lawyer and family visits.

Since then, he has been detained in the Al Wathba prison where he was exposed to several human rights violations and torture, causing him serious health problems.