ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Using sweeping security codes passed after the Sept. 11 attacks, the United Arab Emirates’ highest court convicted an American citizen Monday on terrorism-related charges amid claims that torture was used to extract his confession.
The four-month trial of Naji Hamdan also was carried out without making public details of the accusations.
The court sentenced Hamdan, an American of Lebanese origin, to 18 months in prison after he faced three terrorism-related charges, including having ties to an al-Qaeda group in Iraq. But Hamdan — who denied the allegations — should be freed soon because the sentence takes into account the time he spent in custody since his arrest last year. He will then be deported.
Hamdan’s attorney contended his client was forced to sign a confession “to whatever they wanted to hear.”
