UAE Human Rights Authority Official bans freedom of expression on Twitter
In a precedent that reflects the nature of his repressive role, the head of the Human Rights Authority in the UAE, Maqsoud Cruz, has banned freedom of expression on his Twitter account by restricting the right to public comment.
It is noted that two days ago, Cruz, for the first time since his appointment to his position in December 2021, began tweeting on his Twitter account about human rights, publishing two brief tweets.
Cruz wrote in a tweet, “Being human,” and in the second, “Where there are human beings, there are rights,” but the strange thing is that he restricted access to comment on his tweets.
Observers confirmed that Cruz’s behavior reflects the nature of his repressive role and his fears of responses denouncing the dire human rights situation in the UAE.
UN and human rights reports and multiple denunciations confirm the deterioration of human rights in the UAE due to the violations practised by Abu Dhabi internally and externally.
The Human Rights Commission was established in August 2021, headed by Maqsoud Cruz – a member of the Emirati army – without taking steps related to the human rights situation in the UAE.
The authorities have not yet published the authority’s law issued about a year ago and did not clarify its powers, amid confirmation that it is a “miserable attempt” by the Abu Dhabi authorities to whitewash its media image.
The UAE commission ignored the statements of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Marie Lawlor, in which she condemned the detention of human rights defenders without legal justification and left them without a response, contenting themselves with the commission’s promotional work.
The commission was satisfied with holding press conferences and media meetings as part of activities under the public relations and media category without practising any activities related to its name. It did not collect information about prisoners of conscience, for example, and did not refer to them from near or far.
The commission did not inspect the penal facilities or hold any meeting with human rights organizations to obtain information, nor did it publish an email to receive complaints.
It also did not conduct any field research, such as visiting prisoners and listening to them and did not try to communicate with the families of the detainees and learn about their suffering in the absence of their children.
The Emirati announcement of establishing the authority raised many questions about the fundamental role it would play. However, the real goal behind its establishment is to whitewash the violations of the authority and cover up its crimes and serve the organs of power, not to protect the rights of citizens and residents on state land, which is reinforced its business.
The Freedom House index, which evaluates the extent to which countries are democratic and open, ranks the UAE as “not free”. Researchers wrote that the country has “one of the most restrictive press laws in the Arab world.” In addition, “domestic human rights activists are at risk of arrest, prosecution and ill-treatment in custody,” according to the report.
