Nasser Bin Ghaith declares hunger strike in a letter sent from his prison cell

The Emirati prominent prisoner of conscience dr Nasser Bin Ghaith, recently sentenced to ten years in prison for the peaceful expression of his conscientiously held beliefs, sent on Sunday an open letter from Al-Sadr prison in Abu Dhabi.

The letter: 

In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Allah says: "Permission to fight is given to those believers fought against, because they have been wronged, and surely, Allah is able to give them victory."

I am Naser Ahmed Bin Ghaith Al-Marri, jailed in the UAE prisons for more than a year and eight months. I declare my total rejection to the verdict issued against me by the Federal Court of Appeal after a one-year-trial. 

I was hoping to receive a fair trial despite all the violations I have been subjected to before and during the court sessions . However, the verdict proves that there is no place for freedom of speech in this country. I was brought to court not for any crime that I had committed but for views in which I exercised  my right to freedom of speech as guaranteed by national and international laws. 

Perhaps one of the most ironic thing in my case is the appointment of an Egyptian judge in an Emirati court to rule out over charges related to defaming Egyptian figures such as General Al-Sisi and Sheikh Al-Azhar Ahmed Al-Tayeb following the Egyptian military Coup.

I insist on my innocence and I deny all the charges against me. I feel really sad and depressed of the fact of being unfairly tried by my own people and in my own country which is proclaimed to be the land of tolerance and happiness. 

In this regard, I decided  to: 

1- Totally refuse the court sessions and its verdicts. 

2- Not to appeal against the verdict as it will change nothing but to give legitimacy to the court’s political order. 

3- To go on an open-ended hunger strike starting from Sunday 2nd April 2017 till my unconditional release and travel  along with my family .

Unfortunately, I was forced to take such decisions as I have no choice but to go on hunger strike to restore my stolen freedom .

All praises to Allah, the Lord of the world 

Naser Bin Ghaith 

Al-Sadr prison 

Abu Dhabi, UAE