UAE sentences former Khashoggi lawyer to 3 years in prison
Dubai, Jul 17: The United Arab Emirates has sentenced an American citizen and the former lawyer of Jamal Khashoggi the dissident Saudi journalist who was killed at Saudi Arabia's consulate in Istanbul in 2018 to three years in prison on charges of money laundering and tax evasion.
The lawyer, US citizen Asim Ghafoor, was also ordered to pay a fine of USD 816,748 stemming from his in absentia conviction, the UAE's state-run WAM news agency reported late on Saturday, adding that he would be deported after completing his sentence.
Ghafoor's lawyer dismissed the charges as absolutely not accurate at all.
I'm just hoping for a fair trial. I hope there's no political motivation here, his US-based lawyer Faisal Gill said. He had never heard anything about these charges and all of a sudden he's put in jail.
The UAE framed Ghafoor's arrest as a coordinated move with the US to combat transnational crimes.
Emirati state-run media said American authorities had requested the UAE's help with an investigation into Ghafoor's alleged tax evasion and suspicious money transfers in the Emirates.
Gill cast doubt on that claim, saying, "If the US had anything against him, why wouldn't they just deal with it in the US?"
The autocratic Gulf Arab sheikhdom announced the prison sentence a day after Washington-based human rights watchdog Democracy for the Arab World Now, DAWN, raised alarm about its board member's arrest from Dubai International Airport.
DAWN said that Ghafoor, a close friend of Khashoggi who previously represented him and his fiance, Hatice Cengiz, was in transit to Istanbul on Thursday to attend a wedding when plainclothes Emirati security agents scooped him up and sent him to an Abu Dhabi detention facility before he could change planes.
The US Embassy in Abu Dhabi did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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India moving towards becoming global economic powerhouse: Kovind
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Amritsar (PTI): Former president Ram Nath Kovind on Friday said that with digital transformation, economic reforms and a strong focus on the ease of doing business, India is moving towards becoming a global economic powerhouse.
He was speaking after inaugurating the 19th edition of the Punjab International Trade Expo (PITEX) in Amritsar.
The former president said that this 19th edition of PITEX is being organised at a time when India is recognised as one of the fastest-growing large economies in the world.
Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the event organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) the former president, while referring to Punjab, said the state is a living example of courage, sacrifice and enterprise.
"The spiritual light of Sri Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) inspires peace and humanity across the world. The heritage of Punjab is deep and inspiring," Kovind said, according to a statement issued by the PITEX.
The former president congratulated the PHDCCI for hosting the 19th edition of PITEX and suggested that the chamber should expand PITEX outside Punjab.
He proposed that a similar event should also be held in New Delhi.
