ABU DHABI // Mohammed Agha stood in front of three judges presiding over a theft case and told them, clearly and assertively: “I am innocent, I did not do that.”
He stressed he was present at a construction site by accident when police arrested his colleagues on suspicion of stealing cables and selling them on the black market.
But he is not the defendant. His words are not his own. He is a court translator.
Mr Agha, 56, is one of 53 experts brought into the court to bolster the ranks of skilled linguists, who must ensure accurate communication between judge and defendant. In addition to language, officials say, they must also understand the legal environment.
The department’s translators come from cultural and linguistic backgrounds that match the demands of the culturally diverse city of Abu Dhabi.
As a group, they speak Arabic, English, Urdu, Russian, Farsi, Nepalese, Bengali, Tagalog, Pashto, Malay, Indonesian, Mandarin, Malayalam, Sinhala, Tamil, Oromo and Amharic.
Mr Agha said he worked in the first-person form because he believed it conveyed more effectively the essence of the accused’s defence.
“A court translator is an original member of the judiciary,” said Mr Agha, who translates for the Abu Dhabi Court of Misdemeanours. “He speaks on behalf of the judges and the defendants.”
Even a minor error by a court translator, several translators pointed out, could mean additional prison time for a defendant. In 2008, for example, a Sudanese judge in Sharjah adjourned the hearing of Shahid King Bolsen, an American charged with murder, after the English-to-Arabic translator said Bolsen pleaded guilty to first degree murder. The judge, who was fluent in English, understood Bolsen was in fact pleading guilty to accidentally killing a man.
Abdullah Mohammed, 25, a translator for Abu Dhabi Criminal Court of First Instance, last week checked with a witness several times as to whether his testimony meant a defendant had criminal intent or whether it was merely the witness’s impression.
“It would make a lot of difference [to the court] if you mean to say the defendant knew the documents were forged or that is just your impression,” Mr Mohammed explained.
In an interview, he offered another example, saying there was a significant difference between pleading guilty to attempting to steal cables and stealing cables.
“If the defendant is arrested while he is carrying the cables with the intent to take them away and later benefit from them, that is considered attempted theft,” Mr Mohammed said.
“If he is arrested after he has already taken them away, then that is theft and the punishment would of course be tougher.”
Translators are often tasked with moderating court proceedings if defendants digress instead of entering a plea.
Another issue a translator should be aware of, he said, was that defendants often did not know the meaning of legal terms and might confess to a charge unwittingly. A translator should simplify the term for a defendant and translate its meaning rather than restate the technical term.
“I would translate the definition of the legal term rather than the term itself,” Mr Mohammed said.
In a recent case, an Emirati woman charged with consensual sex after a man blackmailed her into the act said she confessed to “consensual sex” until her lawyer explained the meaning to her.
She then said she was coerced and had unwittingly confessed to consensual sex before prosecutors without understanding the term.
Mr Mohammed said in a case where a defendant spoke a language in which he was not fluent, he would ask for another interpreter to take over.
hhassan@thenational.ae
ONCE UPON A TIME IN GAZA
Starring: Nader Abd Alhay, Majd Eid, Ramzi Maqdisi
Directors: Tarzan and Arab Nasser
Rating: 4.5/5
AS%20WE%20EXIST
%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20Kaoutar%20Harchi%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPublisher%3A%20Other%20Press%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPages%3A%20176%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAvailable%3A%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The biog
Favourite book: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Favourite holiday destination: Spain
Favourite film: Bohemian Rhapsody
Favourite place to visit in the UAE: The beach or Satwa
Children: Stepdaughter Tyler 27, daughter Quito 22 and son Dali 19
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
Honeymoonish
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Elie%20El%20Samaan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENour%20Al%20Ghandour%2C%20Mahmoud%20Boushahri%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
500 People from Gaza enter France
115 Special programme for artists
25 Evacuation of injured and sick
Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
The lowdown
Bohemian Rhapsody
Director: Bryan Singer
Starring: Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee
Rating: 3/5
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Company name: Farmin
Date started: March 2019
Founder: Dr Ali Al Hammadi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: AgriTech
Initial investment: None to date
Partners/Incubators: UAE Space Agency/Krypto Labs
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
