Trial of five bloggers to resume in Supreme

A group of bloggers, facing prison terms on charges of endangering the UAE's security and undermining the public order, pleaded not guilty to all the charges Tuesday. The trial started in Abu Dhabi behind closed doors at the Federal Supreme Court, presided over by Chief Justice Shihab Abdul Rahman Al Hammadi. Scores of Emiratis, holding banners and flags and wearing green and red vests shouted slogans to support the UAE leaders and condemning the bloggers outside the Federal Supreme Court. Ahmad Mansour Al Shehi, Nasser Ahmad Khalfan Bin Gaith, Fahd Salem Mohammad Salem Dalk, Hassan Ali Al Khamis, all Emiratis, and Ahmad Abdul Khaleq Ahmad, who does not carry identification papers, are on trial on charges of endangering national security and undermining the public order. Abdul Hamid Al Kumaiti, lawyer for the defendants, said the defence asked the court to ban publishing stories about the trial to ensure no pressure is exerted on the court. A decision has yet to be issued on whether a ban will be imposed on publishing. The next hearing of the case will be on July 18. Emiratis who started gathering outside the court early in the morning shouted: "We are all Khalifa, Khalifa is a red line" and denounced Al Shehi and his group as "traitors." "We are the happiest people on earth as no country in the world except the UAE allocates funds to help its citizens to get married, get houses and not to mention education, health care and other services," said Mohammad Hamad Al Mazroui, an Emirati poet. Faisal Ali, a secondary school student, said: "We want to make an example of Ahmad Mansour Al Shehi and his group. Our gathering today is meant to condemn" the defendants whom he described as "traitors." The UAE detained the five bloggers — all of whom had put their signatures to a political reform petition in March on charges of "perpetrating acts that pose a threat to state security". Al Shehi led an online political forum, while Bin Gaith is an economics professor and a frequent guest lecturer at the Abu Dhabi branch of Paris' Sorbonne university. Both were arrested in Dubai in early April. Among the first to gather outside the court were a father and his four children, the The family left their house in Baniyas at 6am to reaffirm loyalty to the country and its leaders, said the father Jaber Bin Shannan Al Ahbabi, 30, a data entry officer. Musfir, the youngest boy of Al Ahbabis, said: "I love papa Khalifa." His sister Gala and elder brothers Aiyedh and Salem echoed Musfir's sentiment. The police cordoned off the court and did not allow the public to see the defendants as they entered the court or as they departed. No supporters or members of the families of the bloggers were seen outside the court. From / Gulf News