Send your birthday wishes to jailed human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor

#BirthdayWishes4Ahmed 

Tomorrow, 22 October, Ahmed Mansoor, the award-winning Emirati human rights defender, will spend yet another birthday behind bars in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He was sentenced to ten years in prison for “defaming the UAE through social media channels”, a charge directly related to his peaceful online activism. 

His 52nd birthday will be a sorrowing day for his family as well as Ahmed himself, who has endured the mental and physical torment of permanent solitary confinement since his arrest on 20 March 2017.  In the weeks before his arrest, Mansoor had criticized the UAE’s prosecutions of other activists for speech “crimes” and had tweeted about rights violations in Egypt and Yemen.

During his time in detention, he has been subjected to beatings and mental abuse by prison warders. Two separate hunger strikes in protest against his ill-treatment and inhumane detention conditions have left him weak and vulnerable to the risks related to the coronavirus pandemic. 

ICFUAE encourages you to show your support for the prominent Emirati activist by wishing him a happy birthday, as well as by calling for his immediate and unconditional release on Twitter. 

 Here is what you can do to help: 

Make noise on Twitter by using his Twitter Handle @Ahmed_Mansoor, as well as using Emirati officials handles such as: @SaifBZayed, @HHShkMohd & @MohamedBinZayed. Also,  make sure your birthday wishes include the hashtag #BirthdayWishes4Ahmed and #FreeAhmed.

Please invite your friends and followers to join the campaign in raising awareness for him. 

Create your own tweets or use the samples below: 

1. #UAE: Immediately & unconditionally release #PrisonerOfConscience @Ahmed_Mansoor who, under draconian laws, was sentenced to 10 years for tweets advocating for human rights. Today is his 52st birthday. Please join us & send #BirthdayWishes4Ahmed! #FreeAhmed
2. .@Ahmed_Mansoor should be celebrating his 52st birthday with his family, instead he remains a #PrisonerOfConscience. Ahmed is serving 10 years simply for tweeting about #HumanRights violations in the #UAE. We urge #UAE authorities to #FreeAhmed. #BirthdayWishes4Ahmed
3. We’re sending our warmest #BirthdayWishes4Ahmed Mansoor an Emirati #HRD, poet & father of four. Detained in solitary confinement since 2017, he is currently serving a grossly unjust 10-year sentence for his legitimate criticism of the #UAE’s human rights record. #FreeAhmed.
4. Urging #UAE rulers to release #PrisonerOfConscience @Ahmed_Mansoor who, under oppressive cybercrime laws, was sentenced to 10 years for critical posts on social media. As we send #BirthdayWishes4Ahmed, we worry for his health and safety. #FreeAhmed
5. We’re sending #BirthdayWishes4Ahmed, who is about to spend yet another birthday unjustly imprisoned in the #UAE. Torture, 2 hunger strikes and extensive solitary confinement have left him weak and in ill health. We urge @SaifBZayed, @HHShkMohd & @MohamedBinZayed to #FreeAhmed
6. .@Ahmed_Mansoor was arrested in March 2017 for peacefully expressing concerns for #HumanRights in the #UAE. Since, he’s been held in abysmal conditions, deprived of sunlight and fresh air. Today marks his 53rd birthday. Send your #BirthdayWishes4Ahmed and call for his release. 
7. Instead of spending his 52nd birthday with his family, Ahmed Mansoor is unjustly imprisoned in the #UAE, in direct reprisal against his peaceful activism. We call on UAE rulers @MohamedBinZayed & @HHShkMohd to #FreeAhmed #BirthdayWishes4Ahmed
8. Ahmed Mansoor is a prominent Emirati activist & winner of the 2015 Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders. He’s been jailed since March 2017, solely for his peaceful and legitimate activism. Today, 4 years and 7 months later, we urge the #UAE government to #FreeAhmed!  
9. #HumanRights activist Ahmed Mansoor is a #PrisonerOfConscience in the #UAE. Held in inhumane conditions, Ahmed has been forced to sleep on the floor for over four years. We call for his release on his 52nd birthday. #FreeAhmed. 
10. #UAE: Since his arrest, @Ahmed_Mansoor has been subjected to permanent solitary confinement and deprived of basic amenities, including a bed, in #AbuDhabi’s Al-Sadr prison. Join us & urge @HHShkMohd & @MohamedBinZayed to immediately and unconditionally #FreeAhmed.