Torture in the UAE
As the political repression continues, the United Arab Emirates have repeatedly used torture as a method of repression to attempt to silence dissent in the country. In the years since 2011, there have been widespread reports of torture and ill-treatment being used in prisons and detention centres. The UAE has agreed to the UN Convention against Torture the authorities have not taken any concrete steps to prevent the use of torture and ill-treatment. At the United Nations Human Rights Council in June 2015, it was put forward that there had been more than 200 cases of torture brought before the courts.
“These abuses appear to have become almost routine in cases involving political prisoners” – Amnesty International, ‘There is no freedom here: Silencing dissent in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
“Unless the government investigates and takes action, it will be hard to avoid concluding that torture is routine practice in the UAE.” Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director, Human Rights Watch
Recent reports have outlined the reports of torture that prisoners had outlined either before the courts or in smuggled letters:
• Being beaten, leaving bruises and swelling to the body
• Sleep deprivation
• Being tied up
• Electric shock or being forced to sit in an electric chair
• Deprivation of daylight
• Exposure to bright electric light 24 hours a day
• Being blindfolded and threatened
• Being kept in very small cells without windows or a toilet
• Being forced to ask permission and being forced to strip in order to go to the toilet
• Exposure to extreme temperatures
• Extraction of fingernails and plucking of beards
• Being drugged
• Sexual assaults and threats thereof; threats of HIV infection
• Insults
Families of those prisoners who have been tortured have reported that their relatives have been so badly treated and subjected to such extreme levels of torture that the persons have been unrecognisable, reporting not just severe weight loss, but also disfigurations and physical marks to the persons.
In a significant number of cases prisoners are being held at the notorious al-Razeen prison, where torture and ill-treatment is reportedly carried out. Al Razeen prison in 100 km from Abu Dhabi and currently holds an estimated 100 inmates. In 2012 the UAE authorities appeared to have updated the conditions in the prison, the Prime Minister went to inspect the conditions and declared them to be safe.
Despite this there remains serious concern about the conditions of the prison and the inmates. A number of the prisoners in being held there are those convicted during the UAE 94 trial. Whilst the prisoners remain there and the prison remains open the UAE authorities are continuing to breach international law and their own laws, the prisoners are not being held in line with the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.
• The prisoners have reported that the conditions inside the prison are well below international standards
• Prisoners have reported that the use of torture, starvation, solitary confinement. In addition to this, unsanitary conditions, a lack of natural light and overcrowding.
• Prisoners have had their meal sizes drastically reduced with reports that this has led them to collapsing.
• 18 prisoners went on hunger strike to protest their treatment
The UN Special Rapporteur’s report:
In the Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Lawyers and Judges report to the Human Rights Council, presented in June 2015, Gabriela Knaul said that more than 200 reports had been brought before judges and prosecutors in the last few years. However, she went on to report that the complaints had not been received, registered or investigated. Ms Knaul noted that the reports of torture violated the International Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
In the country report on the UAE the Special Rapporteur recommended:
“109. Evidence and confessions that prosecutors or judges know or reasonably believe to have been obtained through recourse to unlawful methods, especially torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, or other human rights abuses, should never be accepted before a court as they constitute a grave violation of the defendant’s human rights.
“110. An independent body composed of professionals with international expertise and experience, including in medical forensics, psychology and post-traumatic disorders, should be established to investigate all claims of torture and ill-treatment alleged to have taken place during arrest and/or detention; such a body should have access to all places of detention and be able to interview detainees in private, and its composition should be agreed upon with defendants’ lawyers and families.”
As reports of torture continue and concerns about these reports are raised at international levels, the UAE has a responsibility under the Convention Against Torture and indeed its own customary laws to investigate these claims. Furthermore, the UAE should work to ensure that torture and ill-treatment is not practised by the State Security authorities and as called for by the UN Special Rapporteur, the authorities are held accountable for those practises which violate international law.
Despite the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) ratification of the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) in 2012, the practice of torture remains widespread in the UAE.
On July 13 and 14, 2022, the UN Committee against Torture examined the UAE’s implementation of the provisions of the UNCAT for the first time.
In its dialogue with the UAE delegation, the Committee against Torture raised multiple concerns regarding the various provisions of the UNCAT that remain unimplemented in the UAE, both in law and in practice. Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have widely documented acts of torture committed by UAE authorities, which continue to be treated with complete impunity. Furthermore, legal safeguards against torture remain absent from the Emirates’ legislation.
