Human Rights Expert: UAE Accused of Systematic Rights Violations

Joy Shea, a researcher in the Middle East and North Africa department at Human Rights Watch, described the UAE as a country of persecution and suppression of rights and freedoms.

In a statement to the UAE Detainees’ Advocacy Center, Shea condemned the Emirati authorities’ recent charges against prisoners of conscience as “outrageous,” aiming to extend their imprisonment indefinitely, despite many having served their sentences.

As part of her role at Human Rights Watch, Shea focuses on researching human rights abuses within Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Given her long experience in investigating human rights violations in the Emirates and her current work at Human Rights Watch as a researcher in the Middle East Division, the UAE Detainees’ Advocacy Center conducted a special interview with her, to explore her opinion on the recent developments about the human rights situation in the Emirates, and the following is the full text of the interview:

 

1-    What is Human Rights Watch’s assessment of the recent charges against 84 individuals in the UAE?

The UAE has intensified its assault on rights and freedoms despite international appeals during COP28. New charges, stemming from peaceful activism over a decade ago, seem designed to prolong detention unjustly. Retaliation is evident against 87 defendants who formed an advocacy group in 2010. These individuals should never have been imprisoned, yet the government persists in finding repressive methods to keep them detained indefinitely.

2-    How might these new accusations affect human rights and the condition of detainees?

The first court session for these new accusations occurred on December 7, after many defendants endured five months of solitary confinement without communication. We are deeply concerned about the current and long-term safety of these detainees, especially given the UAE government’s history of violating prisoners’ rights, including prolonged solitary confinement, mistreatment, and torture. These new charges represent a blatant violation of the detainees’ human rights, made more egregious by the timing coinciding with the UN climate change conference COP28. 

3-    How can repeated charges conflict with the principle of double jeopardy?

Among the 87 recently indicted defendants are some previously convicted in the “UAE 94” trial of July 2013. This trial led to the conviction of 69 government critics, including eight in absentia, on charges of violating their rights to freedom of expression, association, and assembly. Despite completing their sentences, at least 51 “UAE 94” prisoners remain in detention. Additionally, at least one detainee from the “UAE 94” trial, now facing new charges, had been previously convicted for involvement with the Justice and Dignity Committee. This raises concerns about the potential violation of the principle of double jeopardy by UAE authorities

4-    What do you think is the real purpose of these accusations?

The UAE Detainee Advocacy Center, along with Human Rights Watch and other human rights groups, have extensively documented the UAE’s use of the repressive 2014 counterterrorism law to indefinitely detain individuals linked to the “UAE 94” case. This law allows for indefinite detention of prisoners deemed to pose a “terrorist threat,” a term that remains ambiguously defined. These detainees may be placed in counseling centers at the request of the State Security Prosecution, as outlined in Article 1 of the Anti-Terrorism Law, which defines these centers as administrative units aimed at reforming individuals deemed to pose a terrorist threat or convicted of terrorist crimes.

The utilization of counseling indicates that the UAE has indeed attempted to discover creative methods to retain the UAE 94 detainees and others in jails even after their sentences have concluded. These fresh charges might simply represent another tactic by the UAE to prolong the imprisonment of these individuals on unjust grounds. The indefinite detention of these detainees has a deterrent effect on fundamental rights and liberties in the UAE, serving as a cautionary signal to anyone considering speaking out to reconsider their actions.

5-    What is Human Rights Watch’s response to the accusations of establishing a “terrorist organization” and its implications on the detainees? 

The allegations of establishing a terrorist organization pose a grave threat to the basic rights and freedoms in the United Arab Emirates, and will have a chilling effect on anyone seeking to exercise their rights to freedom of expression and association. Activists founded the Justice and Dignity Committee in 2010 to advocate for freedoms in the UAE; these new accusations directly target activists who demand greater participation in the government of the United Arab Emirates.

6-    Some human rights organizations described what happened as a new sham trial, but isn’t what happened considered a “retrial”? Wouldn’t it be better to use the term “retrial” to describe the reality?

Human Rights Watch and other human rights groups have long documented the blatant disregard by the United Arab Emirates for fair trial and due process rights. Relatives of some detainees told Human Rights Watch that they were not informed of the new charges or trial early on, but only learned about them after the first session either from the defendants themselves or from the UAE Detainee Advocacy Center.

7-     Are there any updates or additional information regarding Ahmed Mansoor and other individuals previously detained in the UAE?

The list of defendants announced during the initial session included Ahmed Mansour, Nasser bin Ghaith, Salem Al Shehhi, Muhammad Abdul Razzaq, Muhammad Al Siddiq, Khalifa Al Nuaimi, Mansour Al Ahmad, Hassan Al Dokki, and Hassan Al Nuaimi. Also among them were Al-Jabri, Hussein Al-Jabri, Abdul Salam Darwish Al-Marzouqi, Fouad Al-Hammadi, and exiled opposition figure Hamad Al-Shamsi. Mansour and Bin Ghaith faced allegations of supporting the committee, which UAE authorities designated as a terrorist organization.

Human Rights Watch has extensively documented the harassment of Mansoor, who received the esteemed Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders in 2015 and served on the advisory boards of both the Middle East and North Africa divisions of Human Rights Watch and the Gulf Center for Human Rights.

Every accusation that led to Mansoor’s arrest and conviction in 2017 stemmed exclusively from his advocacy for human rights.

8-    How can pressure be exerted on the UAE government to ensure justice and detainee rights? What role can the international community play in supporting human rights and alleviating pressure on detainees in the UAE?”

Athletes, celebrities, and influencers engaged in business with the UAE should use their platforms to vocally advocate for the release of the UAE 94 detainees and Ahmed Mansoor.

Governments, particularly those with significant security and economic relationships with the UAE, such as the United States and other Western nations, should consistently exert pressure on Emirati authorities, including during public statements and private discussions, especially considering the UAE’s presidency of COP28. This pressure should urge an end to the persecution of human rights defenders and peaceful dissenters, calling for their release.