In a written statement submitted to the 57th session UN Human Rights Council, CAP LC has shed light on the plight of Emirati victims whose fundamental rights have been systematically violated by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) government.
The statement details a disturbing pattern of arbitrary detention, unfair trials, and allegations of torture targeting human rights defenders, activists, judges, academics, and students in the UAE. At the heart of this crisis are two mass trials, known as the “UAE94” and the more recent trial in 2023, which have been widely condemned as egregious miscarriages of justice.
In 2011, 132 Emirati activists signed a petition calling for greater political participation and constitutional reforms. In response, they were arrested in successive waves and put on trial in the “UAE94” case. Despite a 2013 ruling by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) that the charges were aimed at “keeping the petitioners detained at any cost, rather than at establishing justice,” 69 individuals were convicted and sentenced to up to 15 years in prison, including 8 who were convicted in absentia.
The statement highlights the case of Ahmed al-Nuaimi, an Emirati human rights defender living in exile in the UK, who was convicted in absentia to 15 years in prison on vague national security-related charges. The WGAD has repeatedly expressed concern over the UAE’s use of overly broad counter-terrorism legislation to criminalize dissent and restrict civil society.
In 2023, the UAE launched a second mass trial, indicting 84 individuals. The UN Special Rapporteurs and the WGAD have condemned this trial, stressing that the UAE’s counter-terrorism laws must not be used to “unnecessarily or disproportionately restrict civil society and civic space.” On July 10, 2024, the Abu Dhabi Court of Appeal sentenced 43 individuals to life imprisonment based on their alleged affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood, which the UAE has designated as a terrorist organization.
The statement also raises grave concerns about allegations of enforced disappearance, torture, and other ill-treatment of the detainees. Families have reported losing contact with their loved ones for months, and some defendants exhibited signs of poor physical and mental health during the trials, suggesting possible mistreatment in custody.
The victims are now calling on the WGAD to investigate the situation in the UAE and issue a strong opinion expressing concern over the continued arbitrary detention of individuals involved in these trials. They are also urging the international community to exert diplomatic pressure on the UAE to disclose the fate of the detainees and release all those convicted in trials that failed to meet international standards of fairness.
