UAE jails woman on charges of allegedly spying for Hizballah

A Lebanese-Emirati television host has been jailed in Abu Dhabi for allegedly passing information about senior leaders to the Lebanese militant group Hizballah. 

An Abu Dhabi court has jailed the wife of a prominent Emirati for 10 years after convicting her of allegedly spying for Lebanon's Hizballah movement.

The Emirati woman of Lebanese origin was found guilty of "handing over classified information about top leaders, including how political and economic decisions are made at the highest authorities in the country, to two members of the intelligence wing of Hizballah," Gulf News reported on Tuesday.

She had also provided "sensitive information" on meetings of senior officials in the United Arab Emirates, exploiting her marriage to "a very important person and her relationships with men and women in political circles close to the decision-making authority in the country," the daily added.

Local media said the woman was a 48-year-old television presenter they identified by her initials R.M.A.

They did not elaborate on her husband's position but said he had been unaware of her activities.

The UAE and other Gulf Arab states have blacklisted Hizballah as a "terrorist" group.

In April, the court sentenced three Lebanese, including a Canadian dual national, to six months in prison on charges of forming a local affiliate of Hizballah.