Elderly Detainees in the UAE Face Brutality and Medical Deprivation
Elderly detainees in UAE prisons are suffering from torture and medical neglect without care, prompting human rights groups to describe what they are being subjected to as hell.
According to the UAE Detainees Advocacy Center, the UAE authorities continue to detain at least 31 Emirati citizens over the age of 60, who are living a reality of torture and medical neglect inside the notorious Al Razeen prison.
Contrasting Realities: Care for the Elderly vs. Suffering in Detention
Near Al Mamzar Beach in Dubai is the “Senior Citizens Happiness Center,” which was established by the UAE government in 2018 to be a model of distinguished care for the elderly.
The center, which has received international accreditation for standards of excellence in long-term care, is promoted in the media as a model to be emulated in the region.
But just two hours away by car is Al Razeen prison in the heart of the Abu Dhabi desert, where senior Emirati citizens are held in harsh conditions that have nothing to do with care.
Inside this prison, which is considered one of the 10 worst prisons in the world, detainees are subjected to deliberate medical neglect and endure conditions of deprivation and continuous suffering.
Among the detainees is Hamad Al-Ruqait (73 years old), the former director of the Endowments Department at the Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs, who suffers from chronic diseases such as high blood pressure, gout, and vitamin deficiency.
Instead of receiving treatment, he is subjected to medical neglect, like the rest of the detainees who are deprived of their most basic rights, including family visits, the right to exercise or even see the sun.
The center said that the administration of Al-Razeen prison deliberately exacerbates their suffering; in the summer, the air conditioners are broken, while in the winter they are prevented from obtaining warm clothes or blankets, which exposes them to the risk of freezing.
He added that health care is limited to painkillers only, which has led to the exacerbation of chronic diseases in many of them.
A Call for Urgent Intervention
While centres such as “Senior Citizens Happiness” receive media coverage highlighting their exemplary care, elderly detainees in Al-Razeen live in complete neglect, embodying a stark contradiction between what is advertised and what actually happens. The UAE Detainees Advocacy Centre called on the international community and human rights organisations to urgently intervene to stop these violations and ensure elderly detainees’ rights to healthcare and to live in dignity, especially in light of the harsh conditions they suffer in Al-Razeen prison.
