Emirati gets seven years jail on spying charge

A retired UAE national has been jailed for seven years after being convicted of spying for an unnamed foreign country, official media in the Gulf state said.

Salem Musa Fayrouz Khamis, who worked for the UAE armed forces before his retirement, was handed down the sentence by the Federal Supreme Court after he reportedly confessed to passing “information that would harm national security and damage the country's relations with friendly countries” to an unnamed foreign nation, according to WAM news agency.

Khamis was arrested after a tip-off to security forces and a search of his vehicle uncovered documents containing information about the UAE armed forces and their deployments.

Under investigation, Khamis was said to have revealed he was introduced to two individuals from an unnamed consulate in 2008 and was asked to help resolve an issue regarding the Iranian wife of one of the collaborators.

He was subsequently asked to handover confidential military information and in return for payment. Khamis also admitted to referring the consulate contacts to another UAE national, who also worked for the armed forces, who might be interested in collaborating.

“After reviewing incriminating evidence submitted by the Public Prosecution, and upon the defendant's confession that he provided military information that could have damaged the country's military and political position, the Supreme Court issued its verdict to imprison him for seven years,” WAM reported.