UAE court upholds 10-year jail term for activist

ABU DHABI (AA) - An Emirati court has upheld a 10-year jail term handed down against Ahmed Mansour al-Shehhi, an activist convicted earlier for tarnishing the country’s “status and prestige” on social media, Amnesty International reported Monday.

According to the rights watchdog, the verdict -- handed down by the United Arab Emirates’ Supreme Federal Court -- is "final and cannot be appealed".

On May 31, al-Shehhi was convicted of “belittling the status and prestige of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and its leaders”.

He was also convicted of “seeking to damage the UAE’s relationship with its neighbors through the publication on social media of false reports and information”.

The court also fined the activist 1 million Emirati dirhams (roughly $272,000).

Amnesty International said the court's decision to uphold al-Shehhi’s conviction “confirms that there is no place for freedom of expression in the UAE”.

The rights NGO went on to call for the activist’s “immediate” release.