The Attorney General of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Hamad Saif Al Shamsi, confirmed last Saturday the criminal referral of 84 individuals to the State Security Court. All face charges related to violence and terrorism and were reported by the Emirates News Agency (WAM), the state’s official news outlet
The detained individuals include high-profile figures such as Sultan Bin Kayed Al-Qasimi, Nasser Bin Ghaith, Muhammed Al-Roken, and Ahmad Mansoor. Notably, Mr. Mansoor, a prominent rights activist, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined $272,000 in 2018 for criticizing the government via social media posts. These individuals are linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, an organization designated as a terrorist group by the UAE. This incident has drawn criticism from dissenters and human rights groups, who consider the mass trial and arrests arbitrary and politically motivated.
The Emirates Detainees Advocacy Centre (EDAC), who first reported these referrals and trials in December, criticized the process, labelling it a breach of the UAE constitution. The center claimed that charges are fabricated, and the court prevented lawyers from obtaining copies of the indictments or communicating with the defendants. Multiple human rights organizations have joined them in condemning these actions by the UAE authorities.
Concurrently, Amnesty International denounced the trial as a clear act of “shameless contempt for human rights”. The organization’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Aya Majzoub, underscored this position at the United Nations COP28 conference, which took place during the same time period as the trial. She expressed concern that the UAE authorities’ actions intended to stifle dissent, refusing to reform the country’s dire human rights record. She thus called on the authorities to release all arbitrarily detained prisoners, drop charges against them, and end their assault on human rights and freedoms.
The court proceedings are ongoing, with WAM already reporting that the court has commenced hearing witnesses. The case illustrates the complex legal issues unfolding in the UAE, drawing the attention of legal professionals around the world.
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