Emirates Prisons… Horrific Model of Torture against Prisoners of Conscience

As the world commemorated the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, the UAE tops the list of the worst records of torture and violations against human rights, making it one of the most repressive and authoritarian governments in the world.

The Emirati regime tortures everyone whom it considers a threat, and this often includes human rights defenders, the political opposition, religious figures, and journalists.

On July 19, 2012, the UAE joined the United Nations Convention Against Torture, which contains details of the obligations the government must take to prevent torture. However the UAE police and security forces continue to use torture against those who criticize the regime or pose any threat to its authority.

Ahmed Mansoor, member of the Human Rights Watch Middle East Advisory Committee, was arrested on March 20, 2017 after UAE police raided his home without a warrant.

During the period of his detention, Mansoor was denied family visits or access lawyer, while his place of his detention is still unknown.

Mansoor was arrested for criticizing the UAE’s persecution of activists for crimes related to freedom of expression, using his Twitter account to advocate against human rights violations in Egypt and Yemen in addition to working alongside other activists to demand the release of political prisoners in their countries.

In detention, Mansoor was tortured and solitary confined.

On May 4, 2019, Emirati detainee Alia Abdel-Nour died in prison after a bitter struggle with breast cancer.

While her family’s request to release her was rejected, Abd al-Nour was denied appropriate treatment. In a statement, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) called on the UAE to investigate her death circumstances and the allegations of torture and ill-treatment.

Abdel-Nour was arrested and accused of financing international terrorist groups in July 2015, with a record of the websites she visited as evidence.

She was neither politically active nor explicit about her criticism of the government. According to the International Center for Justice and Human Rights, she was held in an unknown location for four months, tortured, and forced to sign a false confession which was later used to convict her.

Abdel Nour was also fighting cancer during her arrest. An audio recording of Abdel-Nour, leaked from Al-Wathba prison in May 2018, revealed that Abdel-Nour was tortured and denied medical for a period of time before she was transferred to a specialized hospital.

Then, the UAE police transferred her to a non-specialized hospital where she was heavily guarded in a room without windows.

When her family visited her, they noticed that she was tied to the bed and her health condition was deteriorating. Her family demanded to bring her home to spend her days, but their request was rejected.

Academician Nasser bin Ghaith was sentenced to ten years in prison in March 2017, for daring to express his opinion on Twitter.

Bin Ghaith was convicted of publishing false information about the UAE leaders and policies. In August of 2015, the police raided his home without a warrant and transferred him to an unknown location where he was held for a year until the his hearing before the State Security Chamber of the Federal Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi.

While detained in an unknown location, he was beaten and tortured for days and when he spoke about that in the court, the judge interrupted him and turned off his microphone.

The UAE joined an alliance with the Saudi Arabia and Yemen, allowing them to establish a network of secret prisons in areas under UAE control. These prisons were run by Emirati forces to further practice systematic torture.
Emirati forces kidnapped Yemeni citizens who were considered as “threats” and were physically and sexually tortured. Prisoners in these prisons reported that they were beaten until they lost consciousness, electrocuted in their genitals, suspended from the ceiling, blindfolded, and their hands and legs tied together for months.

Articles 11, 12 and 13 of the Convention Against Torture obligates the UAE to conduct investigations into any allegations of torture against any Emirati citizen. However, the UAE always fails to meet these requirements and obligations.

International human rights organizations have repeatedly called on the UAE government to implement the requirements established by the Convention against Torture, in relation to torture inside and outside UAE territory.