Amnesty: UAE continued to hold 10 prisoners beyond sentences

Amnesty International on Monday urged the United Arab Emirates to "immediately" release 10 men who it said were being arbitrarily detained beyond their jail sentences.

They were being kept in detention "on the pretext of 'counter-extremism counselling'", according to Amnesty.

"My father has completed his sentence, and yet after all these long years, he is still locked up in prison for an indefinite period, not subject to any law," a son of one of the prisoners told Amnesty.

Amnesty's Middle East and North Africa deputy director Lynn Maalouf said the continued detention of the individuals is "the latest example of how UAE authorities weaponize the justice system, undermine the rule of law, criminalize peaceful dissent, and silence anyone who disagrees with them".

"These men have already spent a decade behind bars for daring to speak out against the Emirati authorities or being perceived as political opposition, and now this injustice is being prolonged past their long-awaited release dates," Maalouf said in a statement.

"UAE authorities must immediately release anyone detained beyond the completion of their prison sentence, and cease the unlawful practice of arbitrarily extending prison terms."

The 10 UAE citizens were among 69 nationals arrested in 2012 and jailed in 2013 for up to 15 years on charges of plotting to overthrow the government, in a trial known as the "UAE 94" case.