Scores of Activists Are Still Held in UAE After Unfair Trials

This week, the UAE has marked the World Day of Social Justice, celebrating what it called 'the successfully ensuring of social justice for all members of the community without discrimination through legislation and initiatives supporting the human right to justice and equality.'

However, this came while scores of activists, academics, and lawyers are serving lengthy sentences in UAE prisons following unfair trials on vague and broad charges that violate their rights to free expression and association.

Over the past year, the Emirati authorities introduced amendments to a wide range of laws yet continued an alarming campaign of repression and censorship against dissidents.

According to the Human Rights Watch annual report, the UAE has expanded its surveillance capabilities, both online and through drone surveillance in public spaces.

 UAE authorities continue to block representatives of international human rights organizations and United Nations experts from conducting in-country research and visiting prisons and detention facilities.

 Local news sites exercise self-censorship, and journalists face tremendous limitations in their work. Expo 2020 took place in Dubai from October 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022, after it was postponed due to Covid-19.