International Campaign: UAE Cybercrime Legislation Limits Public Freedoms

The International Campaign for Freedom in the UAE (ICFUAE) confirmed that the Cybercrime and Anti-Terrorism Law in the UAE restricts public freedoms, including the right to freedom of expression.
“The campaign asserted that the 11-year imprisonment of Nasser bin Ghaith, a human rights advocate in the UAE, exemplifies the broad interpretation of cybercrime and anti-terrorism legislation. Merely expressing an opinion could be misconstrued as criminal or terrorist activity, thereby stifling the freedom of expression.”
The campaign urged the Abu Dhabi authorities to promptly and unconditionally release Nasser bin Ghaith. Dr. Bin Ghaith was convicted by the Abu Dhabi Court of Appeal on March 29, 2017, and received a ten-year prison sentence.
Last January, nine United Nations experts expressed their concern about the new “false” terrorism charges directed against civil society in the “UAE 87” trial. More importantly, they considered these accusations “a profoundly regressive step, especially since the UAE is currently a member of the Counter-Terrorism Committee of the UN Security Council.”
The experts said that some defendants are presently enduring enforced disappearance and torture, actions which contravene fair trial rights. These violations encompass limitations on accessing legal counsel, coerced confessions, and the absence of access to judicial processes.
The United Nations experts reiterated their concern about the arbitrary application of anti-terrorism laws and the serious violations of the right to freedom of expression.
They noted that this law does not appear to “meet the required level of legality, necessity, proportionality, and non-discrimination under international law.”
Abu Dhabi is covertly conducting the second-largest political mass trial in the country’s history, labeled by the media as the “UAE 84,” without any media attention. Dr. Nasser bin Ghaith and several other detainees, even those whose sentences have expired, are included in this secretive process.

In this mass trial, the accused face charges under the 2014 Anti-Terrorism Law for allegedly founding, aiding, abetting, and funding a terrorist entity. Convictions for these offenses can result in harsh punishments such as capital punishment or life imprisonment.
In addition to the individuals from the “UAE 94” group, the latest mass trial includes defendants like Dr. Nasser bin Ghaith and Ahmed Mansoor, both detained in 2015 and 2017, respectively.
Both prominent human rights defenders were sentenced to ten years in prison for their peaceful activism. They are also currently being tried under the anti-terrorism law.
These hearings are being held with a lack of transparency, and the authorities have not published any comprehensive information about the trial, although the Emirates News Agency (WAM) acknowledged that the UAE Attorney General referred 84 defendants to the Federal Court of Appeal in Abu Dhabi.
The charges brought against the 84 defendants disregard the principle of double jeopardy, which prohibits trying an individual twice for the same offense. This principle is outlined in the Arab Charter on Human Rights, which explicitly prohibits subjecting individuals to multiple trials for actions stemming from the same or similar circumstances.