Network of International Lawyers renew call for the immediate release of Mohammed al-Roken

Network of International Lawyers renew call for the immediate release of Mohammed al-Roken

The International Association of Lawyers (UIA) renewed its call for the release of human rights lawyer Mohammed al-Roken, who has been imprisoned in the UAE since 2012.   

Calling for more pressure to be put on the UAE authorities, the UIA urged its members and the wider international legal community to send letters to the Emirati government denouncing al-Roken’s continued detention. 

UIA’s President, Laurence Bory, said “no human rights advocate should be detained or imprisoned for the peaceful exercise of his or her rights to freedom of expression and freedom of association” and added that “the detention of Mohammed al-Roken is incompatible with the United Arab Emirates’ responsibilities and commitments as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council.”   

Mohammed al-Roken was arrested on 17 July 2012 during a series of mass arrests of human rights activists, judges, lawyers, intellectuals, and student community leaders. One year later, following a grossly unfair mass trial, he was sentenced to ten years for his peaceful human rights advocacy. He remains imprisoned to his day in UAE’s notoriously repressvie al-Razeen prison. 

 

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