Dozens of people are sentenced to life in prison in a mass trial in the UAE criticized abroad

Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A mass trial in the United Arab Emirates of dissidents that was widely criticized abroad has sentenced 43 people to life in prison, while others received other prison terms. The sentences Wednesday by the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal came in a case described by the UAE government as involving the Muslim Brotherhood, a pan-Islamic organization declared a terrorist group by the Emirates. Activists, however, decried the case as targeting dissidents, something that drew attention and protests at the United Nations COP28 climate talks held in Dubai in November. The state-run WAM news agency reported Wednesday’s verdicts. Five defendants received 15-year sentences while five others received 10-year sentences. Another 24 defendants had their cases dismissed.