Yesterday, the Abu Dhabi Misdemeanor Court resumed hearing 16 cases of insult and defamation through social media, held by the religious preacher, Wasim Yusuf, against citizens and residents, and the court decided to postpone the case to the fifth session of next February for information and decision-making in five requests submitted by the defense of the accused, As well as requests for the defense of the victim.
The session witnessed the consideration of the case by a new court panel, and new lawyers volunteered to defend the accused, bringing the number of the current defense counsel to 24, while the victim’s defense, lawyer Mudhah al-Manhali, asked the court to reserve cases for the ruling, while prohibiting publication in the cases.
The defense of the defendants agreed to authorize lawyer Ibrahim Al-Tamimi to speak on behalf of the body, and Al-Tamimi submitted five requests to the court that included, including all the cases in one case due to the unity of the subject, as well as one pleading to the fact that the defense of all the defendants is one in all the cases, and allowing For new attorneys joining the Defend the Defense Authority by photographing case files, and allowing the presentation of new evidence consisting of electronic memory (flash) and attaching them to the case files that include pictures and video clips of the complainant, explaining that it is the main reason for the defendants' response to the complainant within the framework of freedom of opinion, while allowing their presentation Li court, call the victim to discuss and respond to the evidence and videos, in addition to paying a configurable Agency granted to the defense of the victim as it does not include opening reports to police or prosecutors, and is limited to representation before the court, with the postponement of the defense pending submission of evidence and decide on the requests.
After the defendants' defense rejected the petition against publication, pointing out that the issue is a public opinion issue, especially since the complainant has a media platform through which he can talk and say whatever he wants, which makes him vulnerable to criticism from the public.
It is worth noting that religious preacher Waseem Yusef was attacked on social media months ago because of his talk about "Sahih Al-Bukhari", and Yusuf said in a tweet last June via "Twitter" that 163 accounts on "Twitter" will be referred to the Public Prosecution, He pointed out that he worked to collect the tweets that were issued from these accounts.
He continued, saying: "I have endured a lot, but they have unfortunately continued. They practiced the most severe bullying, bad manners and insults. That is why I swear to God, I will not give up my right ... and the judiciary is between us."