UAE: Unfair trial, unjust verdict

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(Beirut) – At least 44 defendants have been convicted United Arab EmiratesThe mass trial of at least 84 human rights defenders and political dissidents in the UAE was based on a fundamentally unfair trial, a coalition of human rights organizations said today.On July 10, 2024, the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal handed down sentences ranging from 15 years to life imprisonment in the second-most unfair mass trial in the UAE.

December 2023 Hosting United Nations Climate Change Conference28th United Nations General Assembly), UAE authorities bring At least 84 defendants were charged in retaliation for forming an independent advocacy group in 2010, many of whom were already serving sentences for the same or similar crimes. damage Serious due process and fair trial violations, including restrictions on access to case materials and information, restrictions on legal aid, judges directing witnesses to testify, violations of the double jeopardy principle, credible allegations of serious abuse and mistreatment, and secret hearings.

“These excessively long sentences are a travesty of justice and a reflection of the nascent UAE Civilized Society,” explain Joey SheaUnited Arab Emirates researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The UAE has subjected dozens of its most committed human rights defenders and members of civil society to a shamelessly unfair trial rife with due process violations and allegations of torture.”

The group said that given that the charges are based solely on the defendants’ peaceful exercise of their human rights, the UAE authorities should immediately overturn these convictions and release all defendants.

Of the 44 defendants with known convictions, four were sentenced to 15 years in prison and 40 were sentenced to life imprisonment, according to the Emirates Detainees’ Rights Centre, a human rights group that supports jailed human rights defenders in the UAE.

Three of those sentenced to life imprisonment are AcademicNasir bin Ghaith, Abdulsalam Darwish Marzouki and Sultan bin Caid al-Qasimi. At least one defendant was acquitted. The verdicts for many of the defendants are yet to be announced as authorities have yet to release official details of their convictions and sentences.

UAE authorities issued a statement on January 6 defendant The 84 defendants were charged with “establishing and running a secret terrorist organization in the UAE called the Justice and Dignity Committee.” The charges appear to stem from a 2014 UAE abuse of power case. Counter-terrorism The law states that anyone who establishes, organizes or operates such an organization will face a maximum penalty of life imprisonment or even the death penalty.

At least 60 defendants Convicted According to the UAE Detainee Rights Centre, several suspects, including Marzouki and Qasimi, were detained in 2013 for their involvement in the Justice and Dignity Committee. This has raised concerns that the UAE authorities have violated in principle Double jeopardy, which prohibits being tried twice for the same crime after a final judgment has been received.

The prosecutor did not supply The UAE Detainee Rights Center said the evidence cited at the hearing was based entirely on the UAE94 trial. “This is the same case as in 2013,” a relative of the defendant told Human Rights Watch. “There is no new evidence and the charges are the same.”

In 2013, the deeply unfair “UAE94” trials resulted in the conviction of 69 government critics, eight of whom were convicted in absentia, for violations of their rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly. The 69 critics were among 94 people detained since March 2012 in an unprecedented wave of arbitrary arrests to suppress dissent.

In addition to the defendants in the UAE94 case, prominent activists such as Ahmed Mansoor, a member of the board of directors of the Gulf Center for Human Rights (GCHR) and the advisory committee of the MENA chapter of Human Rights Watch, and scholar Dr. Nasser bin Ghaith have also been named. On trial In the new UAE84 case.

On March 20, 2017, UAE security forces arrested Ahmed Mansour in a late-night raid. In May 2018, the National Security Chamber of the Abu Dhabi Court of Appeal sentenced Mansour to 10 years in prison on charges strictly related to his human rights activities. On December 31, 2018, the Federal Supreme Court, the final court of appeal, upheld his unjust sentence. In 2017, the Abu Dhabi Court of Appeal Sentencing Nasir bin Ghaith, a prominent Emirati academic, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for peacefully criticizing the Egyptian and UAE authorities.

“Regrettably, these sentences were entirely predictable. From the outset, it was clear that this trial was a cover-up designed to keep prisoners of conscience detained after they have served their sentences,” said Mohammed Zaabi, director of the UAE Detainee Rights Centre. “This trial violates not only the principle of double jeopardy, but all forms of legal norms.”

Family members also Express Concerns were raised about partiality by the presiding judge. During the Dec. 21 hearing, a family member said the judge “imposed his verdict on the witness.” Family members and the UAE Detainee Advocacy Center said the judge interrupted and intervened during witness testimony, correcting witnesses and dictating statements to them. At one point, the UAE Detainee Advocacy Center said, an officer handed a witness a piece of paper, which the witness then used to answer the remaining questions.

Judgment is Enveloped Conducted in secrecy, and the UAE authorities Prevented The defendants’ lawyers were not allowed to freely access case files and court documents. The lawyers were apparently not given paper or electronic copies of court documents and could only view the documents on a screen in a secure room under the supervision of security personnel. The lawyers were not allowed to take photos of the documents and could only take handwritten notes.

January 6 statement The case is “open,” with UAE authorities strictly restricting access to hearings, even banning family members from attending, and keeping basic details of the case secret, including the names of all the defendants, according to the UAE’s official news agency Emirates News Agency (WAM).

Many defendants have hold He has been held in solitary confinement for nearly a year, cut off from the outside world. Phone calls and family visits were banned for anywhere from 10 months to a year, except for a brief phone call in December 2023 to inform his family of the existence of the new case and instruct them to hire a lawyer.

During the trial, the defendant repeatedly describe Abusive detention conditions, including physical assaults and lack of access to medical care and essential medication, Continuous loud musicand forced nudity.

UAE authorities have yet to investigate the alleged abuses or hold accountable those responsible for violations.

United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners The Nelson Mandela Rules, also known as the Nelson Mandela Rules, state that “Solitary confinement should be used only in exceptional circumstances and as a measure of last resort, for the shortest possible period of time, subject to independent review and only authorized by a competent authority.” UN Special Rapporteur on Torture explain Indefinite and prolonged solitary confinement of more than 15 days should also be absolutely prohibited, as scientific research confirms that even a few days of social isolation can cause irreparable harm, including lasting psychological damage.

“It is a tragedy that so many activists and human rights defenders have been imprisoned for decades, unable to watch their children grow up, for the sole purpose of calling for a better future for the people of the UAE,” said Khaled Ibrahim, executive director of the Gulf Center for Human Rights. “If the authorities want to retain the respect of the international community, they must be released immediately.”