UAE Holds Conscience Prisoners in Solitary Confinement for 8 Months

Prisoners of conscience on trial in UAE 84 case plead to cease over eight months of solitary confinement, urging transfer to public prisons.

This came during the seventh session of the case known in the media (UAE 84), which was held by the State Security Department at the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal, last Thursday, according to what was reported by the UAE Detainees’ Advocacy Center.

According to a statement obtained by Emirates Leaks, the center reported that the Federal Court initiated proceedings by hearing from the defendant’s legal team and their counterarguments to the prosecution’s allegations.

Unusually, Judge Hisham Al-Sarayrah allowed the defendants to speak without harassing them, which prompted them to talk about their state of solitary confinement inside prisons.

Although Al-Sarayrah asked the Public Prosecution in the last session to submit a report on the justifications for the continued detention of the accused in solitary confinement, the Prosecution ignored the request and did not submit the aforementioned report.

In the seventh session, it became apparent that the UAE authorities reversed their decision to bar detainees’ families from entering the courtroom. Instead, they permitted them to observe proceedings from a separate room via a screen.

The families were not able to see their relatives well, as filming was far from them, and the court used numbers to call the accused instead of names, a step aimed at preserving the confidentiality of the trial, which the authorities say is public.

The government did not allow most of the families to attend the trial and only approved the entry of 5 out of about 20, thus continuing its arbitrary policy against the families of the accused.

The court set next Thursday, March 14, as the date for the next session, where it will continue hearing the defendants’ defense.

Recently, Walker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, criticized the “widespread pattern of stifling opposition and civil liberties in the UAE,” particularly concerning the ongoing mass trial involving numerous activists and dissenters.

In a speech before the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Turk called on the UAE government to review local laws in line with international human rights recommendations.

Turk said that the UAE is conducting another mass trial based on anti-terrorism legislation that conflicts with human rights law.

In December of last year, Emirati authorities leveled new charges against 84 individuals, including human rights defenders, journalists, and others already imprisoned. He pointed out that many of them were nearing the end of their sentences or were arbitrarily detained after their sentences had expired.

Turk stressed that the new trial constitutes the second largest mass trial in the history of the UAE, after the so-called “UAE 94” case in 2012, explaining that this trial includes many of the same defendants.

It’s worth mentioning that Turk’s remarks regarding the UAE were made during his presentation to the Human Rights Council during its 55th session. In this speech, he discussed the most significant human rights violations globally.

Meanwhile, human rights sources said that the prisoners of conscience accused in the “UAE 84” case threatened to go on a hunger strike if the security authorities continued to violate their rights inside their detention centers.

The sources stated, according to what was published by the Emirates Center for Human Rights, that prisoners of conscience complained about their continued stay in solitary confinement until this moment, while one of them revealed that he was beaten daily.

It is noteworthy that the new trials included prominent names, such as Dr. Sultan bin Kayed Al Qasimi, Professor Khaled Al Shaiba Al Nuaimi, Dr. Muhammad Al-Roken, Dr. Hadef Al Owais, and Professor Muhammad Abdul Razzaq Al Siddiq.

In addition to human rights activists, such as human rights activist Ahmed Mansoor, who has been detained since 2017 and has won human rights awards, Dr. Nasser bin Ghaith, and other activists living in exile outside the Emirates.