Black record for UAE in arresting and handing over dissidents to their countries
The arrest and extradition of a dissident Iranian journalist to his regime is not a precedent in the history of the UAE, but a new episode in a long series of treachery and .
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards announced the arrest of journalist Ruhollah Zam, who played a key role in sparking protests against the regime through the application of social media Telegram after his arrest from Dubai airport.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards said that the arrest of the opposition journalist was “after being drawn” to the country from France, through a complex intelligence operation, while sources confirmed his arrest by the UAE authorities at Dubai airport before being handed over to Tehran.
Iranian state television quoted the IRGC intelligence as saying it had “deceived” a foreign intelligence apparatus and then pushed Zam back into the country and arrested him in an operation described as “Mahdi” and “Hussein” soldiers.
Sources reported that Ruhollah Zam was on his way to Sydney, Australia, but the plane landed in Dubai, to be arrested by the UAE authorities, and handed over to Tehran.
Iranian and Emirati sources have not confirmed the news, but the accelerated openness between the two countries recently, most likely the authenticity of the news, according to activists.
For his part, Mahmoud Vaizi, Director of the Office of the Presidential Office in Iran, the arrest of Iranian authorities journalist, “Ruhullah Zam Zam,” where he posted a tweet on his Twitter account, blessing the arrest and said that “demonstrates the security capabilities and comprehensive intelligence monitoring of the Revolutionary Guard.”
The Iranian official accused Ruhollah Zam of “seeking to create a gap between the government and the people in any pretext, especially in these days when the country crossed from a major storm according to the statements of the President of the Republic and now awaited days of hope and efficiency.”
For his part, the Egyptian writer “Gamal Sultan” revealed through his account on Twitter, that the Iranian journalist was on a transit trip from France to Australia via Dubai and handed over by the UAE to the Iranian authorities.
He added that the detained journalist is subject to the death penalty in his country, pointing out that the Iranian media speaks with great ecstasy about the “complex process” to draw and rhythm.
This came amid reports of a security rapprochement between the UAE and Iran recently against the backdrop of the first withdrawal of its troops from Yemen, and nearly two months after the border departments of the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding to strengthen joint cooperation after a meeting between officials of the two sides in Tehran.
The UAE has already left Egypt with former Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq, who fled to the country in June 2012 for fear of being convicted in a number of corruption cases. However, Abu Dhabi later arrested him and forcibly sent him to Cairo, having dared to announce his intention to run in the Egyptian presidential election.
Authorities in the UAE have also detained women’s rights activist Lujane Hathloul, forcibly extradited her to Saudi Arabia, where she remains imprisoned, and has been tortured for defending human rights.
