Asim Ghafoor, the former lawyer of Jamal Khashoggi, got a three-year jail term in the UAE. He was sentenced on charges of alleged money laundering and tax evasion, said the source.
Khashoggi Lawyer Arrested
The US has denied claims by UAE officials that it asked for the arrest of the attorney for the murder of the journalist, reported Middle East Eye.
While en route to Istanbul to attend a family wedding, Ghafoor was arrested Thursday at Dubai Airport. Later, he was found guilty. Additionally, he is a board member of the US-based rights group Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN). According to the rights group, the attorney was arrested after what appeared to be a politically motivated conviction in absentia.
According to his attorney Faisal Gill, the Emirati court denied Ghafoor's request to be released on bail while he filed an appeal against his claimed conviction on accusations of money laundering and tax evasion last Monday, noted the Associated Press.
The UAE had earlier claimed that the arrest had been planned in conjunction with the US as part of an initiative to combat transnational crimes and that the Americans had requested help initiating a probe into the lawyer.
A senior US administration official was asked what the government would do, especially with the president's upcoming state visit to meet with UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed while attending the Arab summit in Saudi Arabia.
However, the US State Department in Washington rejected this and maintained that the US had no interest in detaining Jamal Khashoggi's former lawyer.
Saudi operatives assassinated Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 at the country's consulate in Istanbul, allegedly with the approval of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to intelligence, which the prince has flatly opposed being connected.
Sources say the DAWN lawyer warned Khashoggi's fiancee, Hatice Cengiz, through a text message that two plainclothes UAE security agents took him on Thursday while he was at the airport waiting to board his flight, citing 24ssports.
Arrest Could Be Political Retribution
The group asked the Biden administration to ask the Arab state to release Ghafoor, which got a pledge from an unknown State Department official that securing release was in progress.
Sarah Leah Whitson, DAWN's executive director, stated that an absentia conviction was against his rights and lack of due process. She added that the United Arab Emirates has a political motivation to jail the lawyer for his association with DAWN and Khashoggi.
A senior US administration official was asked what the government would do, especially with the president's upcoming state visit to meet with President Mohammed bin Zayed.
Reuters said that the official spoke of the issue of diplomatic access and denied any link to Khashoggi's case. The US had also raised the problem with human rights in Saudi Arabia, including the UAE. These states have jailed those not in line with state policy. The ex-lawyer of Jamal Khashoggi was taken to Abu Dhabi as their government claimed Washington's involvement.
