Unveiling the Full Story of One of the UAE’s Most Significant Repression Trials
As we mark the first anniversary of one of the largest repressive trials in the history of the UAE, 84 Emirati defendants were referred to the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeals, charged with establishing and financing a terrorist organization tied to the ‘Justice and Dignity Committee.’
This case has sparked a wide public debate, as the authorities in Abu Dhabi managed to create confusion in the media, leading some to mistakenly believe it involved a new terrorist cell, while it became apparent that it was actually a retrial of individuals who had already been convicted in earlier legal proceedings.
In December 2023, the UAE Detainees Advocacy Center received reports indicating the referral of more than 80 people on charges of setting up a terrorist organization in accordance with the Anti-Terrorism Law.
The first session began on the 7th of December, where it became clear that most of the accused were members of the ‘UAE 94’ group. This group of activists and academics had been tried in 2013 for forming a secret organization aiming to overthrow the government after signing a petition calling for democratic reforms.
Despite the completion of most of their sentences, the UAE authorities continued to detain them under the pretext of ‘counseling.’
The prosecution charged the defendants with founding and funding a terrorist group, accusing them of belonging to the ‘Justice and Dignity Committee,’ which was established in 2010 under the UAE Reform Association to focus on issues of human rights and freedoms.
The authorities justified the retrial by presenting new evidence, even though the same charges had been brought against them in 2013.
The trial included leading figures from the ‘UAE 94’ group such as Hussein Munif Al-Jabri, Hassan Al-Jabri, Sultan bin Kaid Al-Qasimi, Mohammad Al-Rakhan, and Abdel Salam Darwish Al-Marzouqi.
The case also involved human rights advocates such as Ahmed Mansour and Nasser bin Ghaith, along with exiled activists like Hamad Al-Shamsi, Ahmed Al-Shaiba Al-Nuaimi, and Mohammed bin Saqr Al-Zaabi.
The court handed down severe sentences, including life imprisonment for 43 individuals, prison terms ranging from 10 to 15 years for others, along with fines between 10 and 20 million dirhams. Under UAE law, life imprisonment is equivalent to 25 years.
The trial was marked by numerous procedural violations, with reports indicating that defendants were held in solitary confinement and denied communication to coerce confessions.
During the second session on December 14, 2023, the families of the defendants were not allowed to attend the trial directly, being placed in a separate room with a muted screen.
In the third session on December 23, the judge’s intervention to direct witness testimonies stirred controversy, prompting objections from the defense lawyers.
The case involved 84 defendants, with the UAE Detainees Advocacy Center documenting 72 names, while investigations continue to confirm the identities of the remaining individuals. ‘UAE 84’ is just another example of the UAE’s practices targeting activists and human rights defenders through trials that violate international standards of justice.
