The UAE in 2024: Intense Domestic Repression and Support for Civil Wars Abroad

On Jan 8, 2025

The year 2024 for the UAE was marked by intense domestic repression through the retrial of opinion activists and reform advocates, alongside support for civil wars abroad.

Domestically, Abu Dhabi’s human rights record worsened throughout the past year, following the trial of dozens of citizens in the case known in the media as “UAE 84”, and the suppression of protests by Bangladeshi workers supporting demands to end Sheikh Hasina’s rule.

On July 10, the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal sentenced members of “UAE 84” to prison terms ranging from life sentences to 15 and 10 years.

Despite Abu Dhabi’s efforts to improve its image globally by promoting a culture of “tolerance,” it faced human rights reports exposing the falseness of these claims.

The most prominent foreign issues included Sudan’s accusations against Abu Dhabi of fueling the conflict in the country by supporting the Rapid Support Forces against the Sudanese army.

At the same time, the UAE strengthened its alliance with Israel, providing support in all fields, despite Tel Aviv’s ongoing genocide against Gaza and the widespread famine it imposed.

January

11 January: “Human Rights Watch” confirms in its 2024 annual report that Abu Dhabi cannot tolerate human rights activists.
12 January: The “UAE Prisoners Advocacy Center” reveals that members of the “UAE 84” case were subjected to torture and isolation from the world during their trial session held on 11 January.

The center reported that the session lasted more than 5 hours, focusing on the testimony of two individuals summoned by the State Security Agency to testify against some of the accused regarding their business and finances to accuse them of money laundering.

20 January: UN experts express grave concern “that the new charges against at least 84 civil society members, including human rights defenders, activists, and political opponents, under the 2014 Anti-Terrorism Law violate the international prohibition of double jeopardy and retroactive criminal law.”

February

5 February: Amnesty International says that Abu Dhabi “mocked justice” through the trial of “UAE 84.”
8 February: A trial session for the members of “UAE 84” is held, during which they threatened to go on hunger strike if security authorities continue to violate their rights in detention.
12 February: Four global human rights organizations urge UN special procedures, UN member states, and the European Union to pressure Abu Dhabi to drop the arbitrary “terrorism” charges against those accused in the “UAE 84” case.
18 February: Abu Dhabi decides to postpone the “UAE 84” case hearing to 7 March “to listen to the defense of the 84 defendants.”
20 February: “UAE Prisoners Advocacy Center” accuses the State Security Agency of spying on the families’ conversations and what transpires in the courtroom during the “UAE 84” trial sessions through ceiling-mounted listening devices.
22 February: “Human Rights Watch” accuses over 20 authorities globally, including Abu Dhabi, of “overstepping their bounds” and violating the rights of their citizens abroad to silence or deter opposition.

March

7 March: The seventh session of the “UAE 84” trial is held, witnessing new developments such as the defendants being called by numbers instead of names for the first time.
7 March: Avi Gil, the military secretary to the Israeli Prime Minister, visits Abu Dhabi amid Israel’s escalating war on Gaza.
12 March: The United Nations sends a message to Abu Dhabi criticizing the “UAE 84” trial and expressing grave concern about “violations related to the use of torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment to extract forced confessions.”
14 March: Abu Dhabi tortures the detainees of the “UAE 84” case during the eighth trial session and announces a delay of the case from 21 March to 18 April.
25 March: UN Rapporteur Ben Sol declares that the “UAE 84” trial lacks an independent judiciary, calling on Abu Dhabi to drop terrorism charges against them.

April

3 April: The United Nations reopens the file of the Swiss agency “Alp Services” that carried out “spying activities” on behalf of Abu Dhabi to smear Islamists in Europe, known as the “Abu Dhabi Secrets” case.
3 April: Abu Dhabi’s ambassador to Israel, Mohammed Al-Khaja, attends an Iftar hosted by Israeli President Isaac Herzog while Israel continues its aggression on Gaza.
23 April: Amnesty International confirms in its annual report that Abu Dhabi continues to isolate prisoners of conscience and restrict freedom of expression.
25 April: The ninth session of the “UAE 84” case is held, lasting four hours, where the defendants appeared in a weakened condition.
29 April: “Human Rights Watch” urges Abu Dhabi to immediately release members of the “UAE 84” case.

May

3 May: The UAE drops 15 places in the 2024 Press Freedom Index compared to 2023, according to a report by “Reporters Without Borders.”
10 May: The Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal sets the date of 10 July 2024 to issue its ruling in the “UAE 84” case.
13 May: The European Center for Democracy and Human Rights calls for accountability for Abu Dhabi over its repression of free speech and cross-border spying carried out for more than a decade.
14 May: The “Dubai Keys” investigation is published, revealing how the Dubai real estate market is used to conceal illicit funds from around the world.
16 May: The UAE confirms, in a letter to the United Nations, that it “does not recognize any maritime zones or sovereign rights or jurisdiction to the south of the UAE’s territorial sea and the territorial sea of Saudi Arabia opposite Al-Madhi.”
30 May: A report from the Swiss-based “Swiss Aid” reveals that tons of gold worth billions of dollars are smuggled annually from Africa, mostly to Dubai before being legally re-exported to other countries.
30 May: The American Association of University Professors accuses the management of “New York University Abu Dhabi” of preventing any solidarity with Gaza and going as far as firing an employee and a graduate student.

June

4 June: The British “The Times” reports that Dubai is holding a former British Royal Marine officer on charges of espionage.
6 June: “Axios” reveals a verbal clash between Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed and a senior aide to Mahmoud Abbas, where the foreign minister described the Palestinian Authority as “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.”
10 June: Human rights organizations call on Abu Dhabi to immediately stop the grave human rights violations committed by the State Security Agency against prisoners of conscience.
28 June: A rights group accuses Abu Dhabi of summoning dozens of citizens and residents for their solidarity with the Palestinian cause.

July

Early July: Regional and international human rights organizations call on Abu Dhabi to allow observers to attend the sentencing session in the “UAE 84” case and release the accused, while Abu Dhabi preemptively launches a large media smear campaign against the opinion detainees in the case.
10 July: Abu Dhabi issues the harshest political ruling in its history, sentencing 43 prisoners of conscience to life imprisonment and others to 15 to 10 years in the “UAE 84” case, drawing global condemnation.
11 July: The Associated Press confirms that Abu Dhabi has not provided any evidence to incriminate the defendants in the “UAE 84” case.
17 July: An Israeli report praises Abu Dhabi’s dictatorship in suppressing opposition, commenting on the “UAE 84” case.
18 July: Abdullah bin Zayed hosts a secret meeting with senior Israeli and American officials to discuss plans for Gaza after the war.
31 July: Abu Dhabi remains silent about the Israeli assassination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, merely calling for de-escalation.

August

2 August: Abu Dhabi claims to have discovered a new secret organization outside the country, affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, formed by members of the “Reform Call” group classified as terrorist.
13 August: The “Arab21” website publishes testimonies about how the UAE security apparatus persecutes Palestinian and Arab supporters of Gaza among Palestinian residents and Arab sympathizers.
26 August: “UAE for Human Rights” urges Abu Dhabi to release the 24 people whose charges in the “UAE 84” case were dropped by the court.
29 August: The UAE signs a memorandum of understanding with Gaza’s municipality to implement a project to repair and operate water networks damaged in the northern Gaza Strip, amid fears of exploitation for the benefit of the Israeli occupation.

September

1 September: Abu Dhabi launches a campaign against freedom of expression aimed at silencing critical voices on social media.
3 September: The UAE president orders the release of Bangladeshi workers detained for inciting protests demanding the resignation of their government, while dozens of prisoners of conscience remain in Abu Dhabi’s prisons.
12 September: The Sudanese mission to the UN publishes documents found in an Emirati armored vehicle belonging to the Rapid Support Militia, which was seized following clashes with the Sudanese army.
18 September: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk confirms in a report that the trial of “UAE 84” has contributed to narrowing civil space in the country.
25 September: The Ministry of Defense announces the death of 4 of its members and the injury of 9 others during a munitions transport operation, while Sudanese media report they were killed while assisting the Rapid Support Forces.
29 September: Abu Dhabi accuses the Sudanese army of bombing the residence of its ambassador in Khartoum, while the Sudanese foreign ministry accuses Abu Dhabi of attempting to cover up its “shameful” role in the war.

October

10 October: Abu Dhabi bids farewell to former Israeli Ambassador Amir Hayek upon the completion of his tenure, rejecting Netanyahu’s appointment of Yossi Shelley as his successor.
19 October: A Palestinian child is martyred after falling under aid packages believed to be from the UAE, which were dropped from the air.

November

3 November: The Sudanese government decides to cancel a partnership agreement with Abu Dhabi to build the “Abu Amama” port on the Red Sea coast, amid accusations that Abu Dhabi assisted the Rapid Support Forces.
17 November: UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed receives Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer while Israel’s brutal aggression on Gaza continues.
17 November: Students at Monash University in Australia launch a campaign titled “University Students for Dr. Ben Ghith” in solidarity with Dr. Nasser Ben Ghith, detained in Abu Dhabi since 2015.
21 November: The Jewish Lubavitch emissary Zvi Kogan goes missing in Dubai, only to later be found murdered outside the city.
24 November: Netanyahu thanks Abu Dhabi for its cooperation in capturing the killers of Rabbi Zvi Kogan and vows to pursue the killers who fled to Turkey, before Turkey repatriates the three Azerbaijanis accused of the murder.

December

8 December: The fall of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, with Abu Dhabi stating that his erroneous policy was the reason for his downfall.
8 December: Yair Golan, leader of the Israeli Labor Party, and former Knesset member from Meretz and deputy IDF chief, visits the UAE and meets with Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
10 December: Calls are made to reveal the fate of prisoners of conscience in Abu Dhabi