UAE Intensifies Crackdown on Peaceful Protests and Gatherings

UAE officials have confirmed their approach to stifling peaceful protests and gatherings by expediting the trial of Bangladeshi workers who protested against their government.

The UAE Attorney General ordered an immediate investigation into a group of Bangladeshi residents after they gathered and rioted in several streets during a protest against their country’s government.

According to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), the Public Prosecution has initiated an investigation into the detained defendants. Under the direct oversight of the Public Prosecutor, the investigation uncovered that the defendants were involved in ‘crimes related to assembling in public and protesting against their home government, with the intent to incite riots and obstruct the enforcement of laws and regulations.

The defendants were further charged with ‘hindering individual interests, causing harm, endangering people, restricting their rights, disrupting traffic, vandalizing public and private property, intentionally disrupting transportation, and inciting and encouraging these demonstrations.

According to federal law, these actions constitute crimes that affect state security disturb public order, and endanger the interests of the state, which prompted the Public Prosecution to detain them in pretrial detention pending investigations.

The Public Prosecutor ordered that the defendants be referred for urgent trial, calling on everyone residing on the state’s lands to abide by its laws and not to submit to such calls and actions, as they constitute serious crimes that have a serious impact on society and are severely punished for their perpetrators.

This is part of Abu Dhabi’s ongoing strategy to suppress peaceful assemblies and popular protests, enforcing widespread repression and silencing any dissent against its policies and directives, both domestic and international, with a disregard for justice and human rights.

Over the years, human rights organizations have documented ongoing campaigns of arrest, summons, and deportation carried out by Abu Dhabi authorities, particularly targeting those exercising their right to freedom of opinion and expression. This represents a deepening of the long-standing restrictions on freedoms in the country, which have worsened in recent months.

These organizations report that Abu Dhabi, especially through the State Security Service, is involved in ongoing human rights violations, such as arbitrary arrests, torture, and enforced disappearances. They limit freedoms of opinion, expression, and peaceful assembly, and subject government critics and those addressing sensitive issues to severe conditions of detention.

Amnesty International previously highlighted in its annual report on the UAE in 2022 that the Abu Dhabi authorities have implemented new laws that significantly restrict freedom of expression and assembly.

The organization reported that UAE authorities extended the arbitrary detention of numerous individuals involved in mass trials beyond the completion of their sentences and subjected a human rights defender and opposition figure to prolonged ill-treatment.

The organization noted that Mohammed bin Zayed took over the presidency in May following the death of his brother, President Khalifa bin Zayed. He was elected to the position by the Supreme Council of the Federation, which consists of the rulers of the seven emirates.

The organization reported that the UAE government maintained strict control over expression, occasionally censoring media and cinematic content considered immoral. At least 26 Emirati prisoners remained incarcerated due to their non-violent political dissent.

In January, the Public Prosecution announced that it had summoned “a number” of people who posted videos on the Internet that merely conveyed news about missile attacks launched by the Houthi militias in Yemen on the UAE.

The prosecution warned that transmitting any news about such incidents on social media platforms violates the country’s laws.

In June, the Media Regulatory Office banned the American film Lightyear due to its depiction of a same-sex kiss scene.

In June, Al Roya newspaper, which is owned by Deputy Prime Minister Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, dismissed nearly all of its journalists and editors following the publication of a report on Emiratis’ reactions to increasing fuel prices. Subsequently, the print edition of the newspaper was halted, while the core staff of its website continued operations, focusing solely on business news.

In August, the Media Regulatory Bureau and the Communications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority demanded that Netflix remove content featuring homosexual scenes from its platform in the Emirates or face legal action.

The new Crimes and Penal Code, which came into effect on January 2, reduced certain penalties but retained broad provisions that criminalize freedom of expression and assembly. It also introduced a new clause penalizing the unauthorized transmission of government information.

New Article 178 criminalizes the “unlicensed” transfer of any official “information” to any “organization,” effectively targeting most instances of government information dissemination.

Article 184 reduces the penalty for “mocking, insulting, or harming the reputation, prestige, or standing of the state” or its “founding leaders” from a range of 10 to 25 years to a maximum of five years.

Article 210 lowers the penalty for participating in a public gathering “that could disturb public security” from up to 15 years to a maximum of three years.

Additionally, Article 26 of the new Anti-Rumor and Cybercrime Law, effective January 2, imposes a prison term of up to three years for individuals who use the information network to promote or call for demonstrations without prior government authorization.

Arbitrary Detention

The UAE has been accountable for numerous new and ongoing cases of arbitrary detention. The authorities have refused to release at least 41 prisoners who had completed their sentences within the year, bringing the total number of detained individuals, including those held from previous years, to 48.

All 41 prisoners were part of the “UAE-94” mass trial conducted between 2012 and 2013. The government characterizes these detentions as a form of continued “counseling” for individuals who have adopted extremist ideologies, a measure sanctioned by Article 40 of the Anti-Terrorism Crimes Law of 2014.

The law requires the Public Prosecution to obtain a court order for such detentions, but it does not give the detainee the right to appeal their continued detention.

Torture and Other Ill-treatment

In July, the UN Committee against Torture, in its initial review of the UAE’s situation, expressed concern over reports detailing a pattern of torture and ill-treatment targeting human rights defenders and individuals accused of crimes against state security.

Throughout the year, the authorities held human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor in solitary confinement and denied him essential items such as glasses, books, a bed, mattress, pillows, and personal hygiene products. This prolonged solitary confinement, coupled with degrading and inhumane treatment, constitutes torture.

Additionally, the authorities have obstructed Muhammad Al-Siddiq, imprisoned since 2012 for exercising his right to freedom of expression, from making phone calls to his family members residing abroad.