Abu Dhabi , UAE ( CNN ) -- A United Arab Emirates court convicted dozens Tuesday in a high-profile case against 94 people charged with plotting to overthrow the government . More than two dozen of those who stood trial were acquitted , according to state media . It was a trial that drew criticism from international rights groups , who accused UAE authorities of `` serious pretrial violations of fair trial rights . '' The Supreme Federal Court in Abu Dhabi sentenced eight people in absentia to 15 years in prison , while 56 of the suspects were handed 10-year prison sentences , five were sentenced to seven years in prison , and 25 , including all 12 women in the , case were acquitted . Financial assets belonging to some of those convicted have also been confiscated , according to the state news agency , WAM . The court also ordered the shutdown of a number of organizations and websites that seem to be associated with the accused . According to the country 's Ministry of Justice , the sentences in the state security trial that lasted four months can not be appealed . The 94 , all UAE nationals , were facing various charges including establishment of a clandestine organization aiming to overthrow the government . The charges , according to judicial authorities , stem from Article 180 of the country 's penal code , which bans `` establishing , instituting , founding , organizing , administering or joining an association , corporation , organization or any branch thereof , with the aim of overthrowing the regime of the State '' The group is also accused of having links to Egypt 's Muslim Brotherhood , an organization prohibited in the UAE . `` They launched , established and ran an organization seeking to oppose the basic principles of the UAE system of governance and to seize power , '' Attorney General Salem Saeed Kubaish said in a January statement published by state media . Recent statements by Human Rights Watch said many of the 94 are members of a local `` non-violent group that has been engaged in peaceful political debate in the UAE for many years and advocates greater adherence to Islamic precepts . '' Human Rights Watch , Amnesty International and other watchdog groups have described the mass trial as unfair . The groups have also accused authorities of abusing the detainees . According to Human Rights Watch , the defendants included two prominent human rights lawyers , as well as judges , teachers and student leaders . Rights groups have accused the country 's judicial authorities of carrying out a trial shrouded in secrecy by not allowing international journalists and observers to cover the hearings . Local media and observers have had access to trial sessions . Authorities have maintained that the trial has been a fair and transparent one . `` As per the UAE constitution and law , the Ministry of Justice stated that the court 's transparency , fairness and independence were upheld , with more than 500 observers in attendance at each court hearing , including family members of the defendants , representatives of the national media '' in addition to a local rights group , the Ministry of Justice said in a statement reported by WAM . It also said those attending were `` given all judicial and administrative guarantees to carry out their activities without restrictions within the provisions of law . '' Before handing down the verdicts , the judge read a statement defending the fairness of the proceedings . In the statement , also carried by the state news agency , the judge said that throughout the proceedings , the defendants were allowed to defend themselves and counter any of the evidence presented against them transparently , and the trial adjourned for the verdict only after both sides presented their cases . Many believe UAE authorities are clamping down on the freedom of expression in reaction to the Arab Spring that swept across the Middle East starting in early 2011 . Unelected ruling families in oil-rich Gulf countries such as Bahrain , Qatar , Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have sought to prevent popular uprisings . But countries such as Bahrain have also received criticism for their heavy-handed use of force . While there has been little protest in the majority Sunni and hugely wealthy UAE , some believe authorities were taking no chances .
Sixty - nine people are sentenced to prison , most of them in Syria . They allegedly set up an organization aimed at criticizing the government . Human rights groups claim it is a crackdown on protesters after the Arab Spring .