Twitter Storm: Free Mohammed Abdul Razzaq al-Siddiq

Today 12 June, from 3-4 pm, a Twitter storm, organised by the International Campaign for Freedom in the United Arab Emirates, will call for the immediate and unconditional release of Mohammed Abdul Razzaq al-Siddiq.

Mohammed Abdul Razzaq al-Siddiq is a prisoner of conscience serving a 10-year sentence in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) following his conviction in the controversial 2013 trial against 94 political dissidents known as the UAE94. The notorious mass trial, which failed to meet minimum international fair trial standards, has been widely criticised by human rights organisations and UN human rights bodies. 

Two years earlier, al-Siddiq had his citizenship arbitrarily revoked as punishment after he signed the 2011 petition calling for legislative reforms in the UAE to ensure fair elections of the Federal National Council. 

In March 2016, the Emirati authorities went a step further and also revoked the citizenships of his three children, leaving them stateless and without identity documents. Without official documents, they are unable to visit their father in Abu Dhabi’s al-Razeen prison.

The UAE's systematic targeting of political prisoners' families is part of its ruthless crackdown on freedom of speech and civil society in the country. 

Join us today as we call on the UAE government to immediately and unconditionally release Mohammed Abdul Razzaq al-Siddiq and to put an end to the practice of collective publishment by reinstating his childrens' citizenships.