18 May Marks 9 Years behind Bars for UAE94 Prisoner Ahmed al-Tabour al-Nuaimi

May 18, 2021 marks the 9th anniversary of Ahmed Rashid Ibrahim al-Tabour al-Nuaimi’s detention. Al-Nuaimi, a prominent human rights activist, was arrested on 18 May 2012 and later sentenced to ten years of imprisonment in the infamous UAE94 case. He is one of 31 UAE94 political prisoners who will complete their sentences by July 2022. 

In March 2011, al-Nuaimi was part of a group of al-Islah Association members who signed a petition calling for the reform of the UAE legislature and universal elections of the Federal National Council. A year later, the ruler of Ras al-Khaimah, where al-Nuaimi was based, asked the activist to sign a document that would abandon the petition, however, al-Nuaimi refused. He was later arrested and placed in an undisclosed location until the trial.

The UAE94 trial began on 4 March 2013 before the State Security Chamber of the Federal Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi. The Court accused all the defendants, including al-Nuaimi, of ‘establishing an organisation that aimed to overthrow the government’. On 2 July 2013, the court convicted 69 individuals, sentencing them to prison terms between seven and 15 years. Al-Nuaimi received a sentence of ten years and was placed in al-Razeen prison, Abu Dhabi. 

Throughout the trial, 71 of the accused filed complaints alleging torture and other ill-treatment while awaiting trial. Al-Nuaimi was no exception. He submitted a petition to the court complaining that his ‘confession’ was made while under torture or other duress and that it should be invalid evidence used by the prosecution. Unsurprisingly, the court held that his ‘confession’ during his interrogation was ‘truthful, willing, and given in sound mind’, as reported by Amnesty International. 

His arrest, along with all the other UAE94 members, was denounced in a European Parliament Resolution in October 2012. His imprisonment and sentencing were condemned by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in November 2013 with those who also were convicted. The UAE authorities systematic use of torture prior to the trial received an international outcry for falling belong the internationally accepted standards for prisoner treatment and due process. 

The UAE has a history of failing to adhere to such standards. Most regrettably, the authorities have systematically used the practice of indefinite detention to continuously suppress political dissidents. Indefinite detention is the failure of the Emirati authorities to release prisoners at the end of their sentences. At present, four other UAE94 defendants are being arbitrarily detained beyond their sentence: Omran al-Radwan al-Harathi, Mahmoud Hasan al-Hosani, Abdullah Abdulqader al-Hajiri, and Fahd Abdulqader al-Hajiri. 

It is unclear if the 31 UAE94 prisoners to be released by July 2022 will be indefinitely detained. Given the UAE’s track record, there are reasons to fear that al-Nuaimi will not be released in a years time. Instead, he might be transferred to a Munasaha Centre, or ‘counselling centre,’ where individuals indefinitely detained are held. The practice of indefinite detention was condemned by a coalition of UN Special Procedures mandate holders in November 2020. 

The UAE government justifies such detainment under the pretence that these prisoners are ‘posing a terrorist threat,’ in accordance with the repressive 2014 counterterrorism law. In reality, these prisoners pose no real threat to society and should not remain behind bars. 

ICFUAE Statement: 

Ahmed Rashid Ibrahim al-Tabour al-Nuaimi is about to enter the last year of his unjust detention which began in 2012. His persecution and conviction for his legitimate and peaceful human rights efforts highlight the UAE’s continued suppression of those who oppose the regime. 

We hope that the UAE acts in accordance with international standards and releases al-Nuaimi in a timely course, rather than place him in indefinite detention with numerous of his peers. This could allow the UAE to begin to write the wrongs of al-Nuaimi’s detention in allowing him to return safely and in good health to his family after 10 years.