July 28, 2014 | Quote

UAE Stiffens Counterterror Laws

The UAE’s action mirrors a trend in the West, which has added legal tools to fight terrorism since 9/11, said David Andrew Weinberg, senior fellow and Gulf Affairs expert at the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Weinberg also said the proposed law seems comparable to others in GCC nations. Other gulf states have introduced legislation outlawing citizens from fighting in foreign wars. In Bahrain, joining an overseas conflict can draw a five-year prison sentence; in Saudi Arabia, between three and 20 years.

“However,” he said, “the sentences in this new law seem much harsher than the West’s laws for countering terrorism.”

“The UAE is right to be concerned about terrorism,” Weinberg said. “However, part of the legacy of this law will come in terms of how it is implemented and what is ultimately labeled terrorism in practice.”

He said that if the list of terrorist groups to be drawn up under this law is seen by the UAE’s neighbors or other countries as politically motivated, that could undermine the law’s perceived legitimacy.

Weinberg also noted that GCC governments have used counterterrorism laws against non-terrorist defendants as well.

He said the American and European response to the new counterterrorism law is likely to be mixed.

“On the one hand, these countries have been encouraging the UAE for years to update its legislation on terrorism and terrorism finance. On the other hand, Western officials will likely convey their concern that counterterrorism laws in the UAE not be used unjustly,” he said.