The defendants appeared in good health conditions with no marks of torture on their bodies, the association whose members attended the hearing said in a statement issued on Thursday.
However, some defendants said they were tortured and treated inhumanely when they were arrested. Defendants Rashid Mohammed Al Rokn and Abdullah Al Hajri said they had been forcibly hidden for five months before being referred to the Public Prosecution.
All defendants denied the charges levelled against them and their lawyers asked for their immediate release.
The association called on the Attorney-General to speed up the investigations into these allegations. It also urged the Attorney-General to implement the court bench’s order to transfer the accused to proper prison cells and let them enjoy all rights enjoyed by other inmates like the rights to make telephone calls and meet family members and their assigned lawyers.
It also demanded the Attorney-General to provide full protection to defendant Ahmed Ghaith Al Swaidi and his family as requested by him while saying during the hearing that “I am against the organisation and demanded it be disbanded”.
Overall, the procedures followed by the court during the hearing were smooth and transaparent, it said.
“Presiding Judge Falah Al Hajri gave all defendants the opportunity to talk, appoint defence lawyers and raise their demands.”
Many Emirati civil society institutions related to human rights, local media as well as about 160 family members of the defendants were present at the hearing.
The court bench also listened to the Public Prosecution, which demanded severest penalties for the defendants as per the laws of the country, the statement said.
