#FreeAhmed - Join the Twitter Storm for Ahmed Mansoor on 31 December

Please join the International Campaign for Freedom in the United Arab Emirates (ICFUAE) and Emirates Detainees Advocacy Center (EDAC) as we call for the release of Emirati human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor, on Friday, 31 December, the day on which the UAE’s Federal Supreme Court upheld Mansoor’s 10-year sentence in 2018. 

Who is Ahmed Mansoor?

Ahmed Mansoor is a prominent human rights defender who has worked extensively with international rights organisations to raise awareness of human rights abuses in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He serves on the advisory boards of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) and Human Rights Watch’s Middle East division. In 2015, he won the prestigious Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders.

On 20 March 2017, he was arrested in a midnight raid on his home and later sentenced to ten years in prison for “defaming the UAE through social media channels”. In the weeks before his arrest, Mansoor had criticised the UAE’s prosecutions of other activists for speech “crimes” and tweeted about rights violations in Egypt and Yemen. 

For all of his 3.5-year detention he has been kept in solitary confinement in a cell without a bed and without access to books, sunlight or fresh air. To protest against these abysmal conditions, he launched two separate hunger strikes in March and September 2019. 

During his time in detention, he has been subjected to beatings and mental abuse by prison warders. Consequently, his health has significantly deteriorated and we fear for his life, especially in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.

What can I do to help Ahmed Mansoor?

On Friday, 31 December, between 3-4pm UK time, we call on anyone who wants to help draw attention to Ahmed’s plight to join the Twitter storm.

It is easy, just post as many tweets as you can throughout the day using the hashtag #FreeAhmed.

Who shall I address the tweets to?

You can address the tweets to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum @HHShkMohd, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and ask him to #FreeAhmed. You can also tweet to Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan @SaifBZayed, the Minister of Interior, who is the authority responsible for prisons in the UAE and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan @MohamedBinZayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

You can write your own tweets or use the samples below.
 

1. On this day in 2018, #PrisonerOfConscience @Ahmed_Mansoor’s 10 year sentence was upheld. He was convicted for peacefully exercising his right to #FreedomOfExpression. He has committed no crime & should be released immediately. @SaifBZayed, @HHShkMohd & @MohamedBinZayed #FreeAhmed
    
2. 3 years ago today, #Emirati #HRD @Ahmed_Mansoor’s unjust 10-year sentence was upheld by the #UAE’s Federal Supreme Court. Sign our petition urging the UAE authorities to #FreeEmiratiActivists before the #Expo2020Dubai ends: https://secure.avaaz.org/community_petitions/en/sheikh_khalifa_bin_zayed_al_nahyan_free_human_rights_activists_during_dubai_expo/
    
3. #UAE: Activist @Ahmed_Mansoor remains in solitary confinement at al-Sadr prison. His 4sqm cell lacks a mattress and he is denied access to books, sunlight & fresh air. These detention conditions are degrading and detrimental to his already poor health. #GiveAhmedABed #FreeAhmed
    
4. .@Ahmed_Mansoor, a prominent #HRD, devoted his life to raising awareness of #HumanRight violations in the #UAE until he himself was unjustly jailed. His incarceration constitutes an act of direct reprisal against his peaceful activism. @MohamedBinZayed & @HHShkMohd #FreeAhmed
    
5. It’s ironic that after winning the prestigious @MartinEnnals Award for Human Rights Defenders in 2015, @Ahmed_Mansoor, was arrested for peacefully defending human rights. We urge #UAE to #FreeAhmed & #GiveAhmedABed
    
6. #UAE: Since his arrest more than four years ago, #PrisonerOfConscience @Ahmed_Mansoor has been tortured and subjected to permanent solitary confinement in #AbuDhabi’s al-Sadr prison. Please join us & call for his immediate and unconditional release. #FreeAhmed
    
7. On the 3 year anniversary of @Ahmed_Mansoor’s unjust prison sentence being upheld in the #UAE, we call on @HHShkMohd, @MohamedBinZayed & @MOJ_UAE to #FreeAhmed & #LetThePrisonersOut! Help to #FreeEmiratiActivists by signing our petition: https://secure.avaaz.org/community_petitions/en/sheikh_khalifa_bin_zayed_al_nahyan_free_human_rights_activists_during_dubai_expo/
    
8. Free @Ahmed_Mansoor, an Emirati poet and activist, who under draconian cybercrime laws was sentenced to 10 years in prison for peacefully criticising the #UAE authorities’ #HumanRights violations. @HHShkMohd, @MOJ_UAE & @MohamedBinZayed #FreeAhmed
    
9. #HRD @Ahmed_Mansoor has been subjected to beatings & other forms of physical & mental abuse by warders at al-Sadr prison. As a result, his health has deteriorated leaving him vulnerable to #COVID19. We call on the #UAE authorities to #FreeAhmed immediately and unconditionally!
    
10. In direct violation of the @UN’s Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, @Ahmed_Mansoor is detained in isolation in a tiny cell without a bed to sleep on. Sign our petition urging the #UAE government to #FreeEmiratiActivists! #FreeAhmed https://secure.avaaz.org/community_petitions/en/sheikh_khalifa_bin_zayed_al_nahyan_free_human_rights_activists_during_dubai_expo/