Man Imprisoned In UAE Over Alleged Spying For India; His Mother Moves Kerala High Court Seeking Support

A woman has moved the Kerala High Court seeking directions to the Centre to provide the necessary support to her son who has been imprisoned in UAE since August 2015. The man was arrested for allegedly spying for the Indian government. 

Justice P.B Suresh Kumar directed the counsel for Central Government to get instructions in the matter when the matter was taken up today.

The plea by Shahubanath Beevi also cited that her son was subjected to third-degree torture and harassment and yet was not provided any support from the Indian Embassy in UAE or the Centre. 

Advocate Jose Abraham represented the petitioner in the matter and sought the Centre to provide immediate legal aid and assistance to support her son. 

The petitioner prayed for assistance for her son, Shihani Meera Sahib Jamal Mohammed, who has been undergoing imprisonment in the Abu Dhabi Central Prison, citing that these are blatant violations of human rights.

His close relatives including his wife were not permitted to meet him, no legal assistance was provided to defend his case, and he was even made to wear stun belts that delivered high voltage shocks in prison, the petition read. 

Due to the absence of effective legal support, he was convicted fr ten years' imprisonment and an unspecified amount of fine towards legal expense and deportation after that. 

Mohammed was reportedly acting for the Indian Embassy officials in the UAE since 2005 when he was arrested on charges of spying for the Indian Government through certain top-ranking officials of the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi. 

Subsequently, the petitioner sent several representations to relevant authorities seeking assistance and proper legal aid from the Government of India.

The primary contention of the petitioner is that despite being charged with the offence of spying for the Indian government, the government turned a deaf ear to the repeated requests from the petitioner's family. 

Additionally, it was submitted that the petitioner's son had received numerous appreciation letters from representatives of several embassies for his meritorious service earlier and had no previous history of any sort of criminal antecedents whatsoever.

The petition asserted that it was the bounded duty of the Government of India to save its innocent citizens from the clutches of a blind and merciless justice system by whatever means available. 

It was also highlighted in the petition that media reports indicate that there are several Indians currently undergoing imprisonment in various UAE jails convicted of "spying" for Indian Intelligence Agencies.

It's a sad fact that Indian Intelligence agencies under the cover of embassy officials entice poor Indians employed in sensitive UAE Govt. institutions to get various types of information about those institutions. Whenever those Indian workers are caught by police, the Indian agents simply escape under the cover of diplomatic immunity, the petition read. 

Accordingly, the petitioner sought the indulgence of the authorities to extend the benefit of legal aid to the Petitioner through the Indian Community Welfare Fund ("ICWF") according to the revised guidelines.  

On the aforementioned grounds, the petitioner sought the following prayers:

i.Issue a Writ of Mandamus or any other appropriate Writ, Order, Direction declaring that the Petitioner is entitled to legal aid.

ii Issue a Writ of Mandamus or any other appropriate Writ, Order, Direction or command to the Centre to extend necessary support to the petitioner's son legally, diplomatically and politically;

iii. Issue a Writ of Mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction or command to the Centre to consider and pass an appropriate order on the Representation already filed within a reasonable period.

iv. Any other relief/order/ direction which the Hon'ble Court may deem fit and just in the light of the facts and circumstances of this case. 

Case Title: Shahubanath Beevi vs Union of India

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