ABU DHABI – The United Arab Emirates’ top court sentenced a Qatari doctor to seven years in prison on Monday, March. 3, for supporting supporting al-Islah, a group banned in the UAE for its link to the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Federal Supreme Court in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi found Mahmoud al-Jaidah guilty of cooperating with an “illegal organization” that aimed to overthrow the government, according to state news agency WAM. He will be deported after serving his sentence.

UAE authorities detained al-Jaidah at Dubai airport while transiting through the Emirate on his way from Thailand to Qatar on Feb. 26, 2013.

Al-Jaidah was additionally convicted of receiving and transferring the funds to members of the organization. The list of accusations also included receiving funds from abroad and using the funds to sustain himself. However, Al-Jaidah’s family maintain that he had no active role with the Brotherhood.

Two other defendants, both Emiratis, were convicted of ties to the group and were each sentenced to five years behind bars. They were identified as Abdul Wahid Hassan al-Badi al-Shehhi and Saeed Abdullah al-Buraimi. A fourth Emirati being tried on related charges was acquitted.

The court session was attended by the Qatari Ambassador to the UAE Fares bin Roumi Mohammed Al Nuaimi, relatives of the Al-Jaidah, media and the civil society representatives.

In January, the same court convicted 30 men, most of them Egyptian, of setting up an illegal Brotherhood branch in the UAE. They received prison terms ranging from three months to five years.

Another 69 people, including a cousin of one of the UAE’s ruling sheiks, were last year sentenced to up to 15 years in prison after being convicted of links to Al-Islah.