Silencing dissent in the
United Arab Emirates: Torture and other ill-treatment
Amnesty International,
2014
“I am greatly saddened
by this situation, and by what we have come to…I
never imagined that the injustice would affect girls and children. First, the
withdrawal of the father’s passport, getting him fired, then imprisoned, then
getting the son fired and banning him from travel. And now it’s the girls and
children’s turn, denying them their education… What next?! What’s the idea
behind all of this?!” Mohammed al-Jabri, son
of prisoner of conscience Hussein al-Jabri, writing on Twitter on May 2, 2014 |
This report is based on information that
Amnesty International has obtained from a wide and diverse range of sources,
both public and private, with direct knowledge of the human rights situation in
the UAE, including activists, journalists, families of prisoners, and UAE-based
organizations. Some of this information was gathered during two field visits
that Amnesty International has conducted to the UAE since 2011; other
information is based on interviews conducted outside the UAE. In March 2013, an
independent observer was delegated by Amnesty International to observe
proceedings of the UAE 94 trial but was denied entry to the UAE by security
officials without explanation.
Amnesty International has also drawn
extensively on public information sources, including submissions made by the
UAE government to the UN Human Rights Council and UN treaty bodies, as well as
to the findings of those bodies in relation to the UAE, statements by UAE government
officials; media reports, and reports of other international human rights NGOs.
Amnesty International also sought meetings with and requested information from
the UAE authorities while conducting the research for this report. While in the
UAE in November 2013, Amnesty International requested meetings with the
Minister of Justice, the Minister of Interior, the Attorney General, and other
officials, and requested authorization to conduct a
visit to al-Razeen Prison in Abu Dhabi,
where most of the prisoners relevant to this report are serving their
sentences. Amnesty International received no response to these requests. Nor did
the UAE’s ambassador to the UK respond to an Amnesty International request to
meet him in London.29
Amnesty International made a further
attempt to obtain the government’s perspective and clarification on a number of
issues in October 2014, and was pleased to receive in response a letter dated
30 October 2014 from the Assistant Foreign Minister for Legal Affairs, included
as an Appendix to this report.30 The Minister’s reply makes assertions that run
counter to information that Amnesty International obtained from a wide range of
other, unofficial sources.
Many interviewees provided information to
Amnesty International on condition that they not be identified in case this
could place them at risk. Consequently, Amnesty International is withholding
the identities of all those who provided information on this condition and of others
who, if named, could be put at risk.
Recommendations
Amnesty International is calling on the UAE
government to:
-
Immediately and unconditionally release all
prisoners of conscience – that is, persons imprisoned solely for the peaceful
exercise of their rights to freedom of expression, association or assembly or
other legitimate exercise of their human rights;
-
Ensure that all persons convicted by the
State Security Chamber of the Federal Supreme Court are promptly re-tried, in
full conformity with international standards for fair trial; all allegations of
torture or other ill-treatment should be impartially and thoroughly
investigated and where persons were convicted solely on the basis of
“confessions” obtained through torture, their convictions must be quashed;
-
Take effective measures to prohibit and
prevent all forms of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment, and ensure that those suspected of such actions are investigated
and, where sufficient admissible evidence is found, tried in proceedings that
adhere to international fair trial standards;
-
End arbitrary arrests and all harassment
and intimidation of human rights defenders, including lawyers who are seeking
to uphold their own and others’ rights;
-
Amend the law relating to the Federal
Supreme Court in order to institute a right of appeal to a higher judicial
tribunal, guarantee the court’s independence and bring its proceedings into
conformity with the requirements of international fair trial standards, including
by reaffirming that statements or “confessions” obtained under torture or other
duress may never be used as evidence except in the context of the perpetrators
facing prosecution;
-
Amend and make consistent with
international human rights law, all legislation that unduly restricts the rights to freedom of expression,
association and assembly; accede to the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights and its Optional Protocols, as well as the International
Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance.
Amnesty International is calling on the
international community, especially those states that enjoy close political,
diplomatic, trade and economic, and other relations with the UAE, including the
USA, the UK and other EU countries to:
-
Ensure that business and other interests
are not prioritised over serious human rights violations, and use their
influence to urge the UAE government to ensure that all prisoners of conscience
are released immediately and unconditionally and that the UAE authorities observe
their obligations under international
law to guarantee freedom of opinion and expression, freedom of association and
assembly and other human rights.
Excerpts from “There is no freedom here”: Silencing dissent in
the United Arab Emirates
AI index: MDE 25/018/2014
You can download the whole report at the link below:
http://bit.ly/1xTz6v1