The court sentenced Naji Hamdan to 18 months in prison, but he should be freed soon because the sentence counts time served and he was detained last year. Hamdan, an American of Lebanese origin, faced three terrorism-related charges, including having ties with an al-Qaeda group in Iraq. The court's chief justice, Khalifa al-Muhairi, gave no details on his decision such as whether the 43-year-old Hamdan was convicted of all three charges. Hamdan had denied the accusations.
“I'm disappointed because I was not acquitted,” Hamdan told The Associated Press as he was led away by security forces after the verdict. Hamdan's lawyer, Abdul Khader al-Haithami, claims his client suffered torture and threats in detention and was forced to sign a confession “to whatever they wanted to hear.” Rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, also have accused US authorities of pushing the case in the Emirates because they lacked enough evidence for American courts. The ACLU asked a US court to press for a halt to the case, but a US judge ruled in August that there was no authority to interfere in a foreign criminal prosecution.
