29 March 2021: 4-Year Anniversary of the Unfair Trial of Emirati Human Rights Defender Dr Nasser bin Ghaith

Four years ago today, Dr Nasser bin Ghaith, the prominent Emirati economist and former lecturer at Paris-Sorbonne University, Abu Dhabi, was sentenced to ten years of imprisonment for his peaceful and legitimate human rights work. 

Prior to his grossly unfair trial at the Federal Court of Appeals in Abu Dhabi in 2017, he was subjected to an enforced disappearance in an undisclosed location for eight months. During this period of pre-trial detention, he was subjected to severe ill-treatment and abuse during interrogation, such as  beatings by warders, sleep deprivation and denial of winter clothing. He was additionally denied access to professional legal assistance as well as being denied medical treatment. Bin Ghaith’s family were also punished in the process by being frequently denied visits. 

His detention conditions have followed in a similar vein; bin Giath was imprisoned originally in al-Sadr prison but then relocated in response to his first hunger strike to the notorious al-Razeen prison, a high-security detention facility, where he remains imprisoned to this day. In 2018 he underwent a second, 80-day, hunger strike in protest against his ill-treatment and inhumane prison conditions.

Over the past four years, Nasser bin Ghaith has been denied vital medical treatment and the prescribed medication for his high blood pressure, which triggered the rapid deterioration of his already poor general health. 

In February, Mary Lawlor, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders urged for Dr Nasser bin Ghaith’s release, along with other Emirati prisoners of conscience including Mohamed Al-Roken and Ahmed Mansoor. 

“Issuing 10-year prison sentences to defenders in connection to their human rights work is not only an attempt to silence them and their efforts, but also an attempt to intimidate and deter others from engaging in this legitimate work, at a crucial time in the UAE when fundamental freedoms are undermined and civic space continues to shrink”, she said. 

ICFUAE statement:

In no circumstance should the peaceful expression of one's conscientiously held beliefs amount to a ten-year prison sentence. Such punishment is a direct infringement on universally understood civil and political rights.  

In light of the four-year anniversary of Nasser bin Ghaith’s unjust sentence, we urge that UAE authorities grant him his immediate and unconditional release. In the interim, we call on the authorities to urgently improve his detention conditions, including that his critical medical needs are seen to.

ENDS

- For further information or comment, please contact the ICFUAE at media@icfuae.org.uk