5 of the ‘UAE 94’ Remain Imprisoned Beyond their Sentence

March 4th will mark the eighth anniversary of the controversial trial of the UAE 94, a group of 94 Emirati activists who were persecuted for plotting to overthrow the government after openly criticising the UAE in 2013. Of the 94, only 25 were acquitted, leaving the other 69 accused to be sentenced to 7-15 years imprisonment. 

Nearly 8 years later, the UAE authorities have failed to release five of the UAE 94 whose 7-year sentences ended between 2019 and 2020. Abdulla al-Hajri, Omran Al-Harethy, Mahmoud Al-Hoseny, Mansour Al-Admady and Fahad Al-Hajry all remain indefinitely incarcerated in Al-Razeen prison, Abu Dhabi. 

These five prisoners join a group of at least 9 other indefinitely imprisoned prisoners of conscience, two of which are women in the Al-Wathba prison. Failing to abide by international law, these prisoners are subjected to indefinite detention: the failure of Emirati authorities to free prisoners after their release dates.

Indefinite detention has become a common tactic in the UAE to unconditionally detain those dissenting against the government. The prisoners’ sentences are extended under the repressive 2014 counterterrorism law under the pretence of them ‘posing a terrorist threat’. Under this piece of legislation, political prisoners, instead of being released upon the completion of their sentence, are forced into ‘counselling centres’, known as Munasaha centres, which are located within the Al-Razeen prison facility. 

In November 2020, 5 UN Special Rapporteurs produced a report expressing profound concern over the vague nature of UAE’s anti-terrorism law and its utility of the counselling centres. For example, the counterterrorism law fails to define a terrorist threat and  authorises the courts to ban prisoners from contacting specific people. In practice, this infringes prisoners’ rights of due process, by prohibiting them access to lawyers and a fair trial. 

These counselling programs also have no set time limit for the continued detention and require the state security prosecution to update the courts every three months. Indefinitely detained prisoners are only to be released when the court finds that the prisoner’s ‘condition so allows’. 

Prisoners in counselling centres have reported degrading living conditions, torture and ill-treatment by prison wardens. The two women, Maryam al-Balushi and Amina al-Abdouli, have not been moved to a counselling centre, but remain indefinitely detained in al-Wathba prison, where both served their sentence. They have also reported damage to their mental and physical wellbeing due to maltreatment and overcrowding within the prison. 

ICFUAE statement:

"The use of indefinite detention highlights the continuous systemic oppression of political dissidents by the UAE authorities. These unlawful extensions of imprisonment follow the unjust prosecution of individuals exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly. The UAE has a constitutional responsibility to uphold and respect human rights, which extends to their treatment and detention of prisoners."  

ENDS

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