Case against Hazare supporters dropped in Dubai

The Dubai Public Prosecution has dropped a case against five Indian nationals who were arrested on the charges of violating the UAE national security laws after organising a walk in support of social activist Anna Hazare, a news report has said.

The five Indians were held by the Dubai Police for organising a 3km walk in the city without obtaining permission from the local authorities.

The walk was organised on the night of August 20 to express solidarity with the hunger strike by Hazare demanding a strong anti-corruption law in India. The five Indians have, however, not been identified.

According to a lawyer of the accused, all charges against them have been dropped by the Public Prosecution as their intention was bona fide and they had not done anything against the state.

"The case will not be referred to the court for a trial," advocate Hashik T K, who represented three of the accused, told Khaleej Times.

All five were granted bail in the first week of September after the General Public Prosecution Office considered the facts of the case that the intention of the accused was neither to violate the local laws nor to disturb peace here.

The prosecution also considered the facts that the men had no criminal background and they were expressing their moral support to a good cause back home.

They had surrendered their passports and deposited Dh5,000 to comply with the bail conditions and were ordered not to leave the country before the investigation is over and they are cleared of the charges.

"Their passports will be returned soon. All of them are very happy about the prosecution's decision," Hashik was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

Earlier, their first request for a bail was rejected on August 25 as the prosecution cited that the preliminary investigation into the case had not been completed.

Subsequently, the accused spent nine more days behind bars since the courts were closed due to Eid holidays.

The men were detained by the Dubai Police after one of them organised the "peaceful walk" by mobilising public support through Facebook.

Participants in the walk including children wore "Anna cap" and carried the Indian flag and posters supporting Hazare.