WORLD LEADERS MUST URGE UAE TO RELEASE AHMED MANSOOR AHEAD OF COP28 CLIMATE CONFERENCE

Before arbitrarily detaining Ahmed Mansoor in 2017, the UAE had rounded up scores of people in a grossly unfair mass trial of 94 defendants that concluded in 2013. Sixty of them are in prison today. At the time of writing, at least 11 of these prisoners are being held incommunicado, denied all visits and calls with their family members since July. Local human rights sources and families of prisoners indicate the number could be far higher

On 22 October Emirati human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor will spend his birthday behind bars for the seventh year in a row. Commenting on his continued arbitrary detention, Aya Majzoub, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said:

“As the international community prepares to gather in Dubai in November for its annual COP28 climate conference, Ahmed Mansoor remains unjustly persecuted and behind bars more than six years after his arrest. The international community should publicly condemn this travesty of justice and pressure the Emirati authorities for his immediate release.”

“The UAE has spoken of making ‘voices heard’ at the COP28 climate conference, yet it continues to stifle the voice of this iconic human rights activist since 2017 and the voices of dozens of other dissidents before him.

“After Emirati human rights advocates like Mohamed al-Roken and Mohamed al-Mansoori were locked up during the mass arrests and grossly unfair trial of 2012-2013, Ahmed Mansoor remained the one brave Emirati citizen still working openly for the promotion and protection of human rights in his country.

When the Emirati government arrested Ahmed Mansoor in March 2017, it did not even try to hide the fact that it considered his ‘crime’ to be directly related to the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression.

Aya Majzoub, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa

“When the Emirati government arrested Ahmed Mansoor in March 2017, it did not even try to hide the fact that it considered his ‘crime’ to be directly related to the peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression, accusing him of publishing ‘misleading information’ that ‘damage[d] the country’s reputation’.

“Since he was detained, the authorities have held Ahmed Mansoor in solitary confinement and denied him access to books, writing materials and basic hygienic items. This mistreatment is cruel and degrading, and, because of the extremely prolonged isolation from human contact, may amount to psychological torture.

“The UAE’s ongoing arbitrary detention of Ahmed Mansoor and other peaceful dissidents highlights the urgent need for the international community to use their influence to pressure on the Emirati authorities to immediately release all those arbitrarily detained and lift restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression and association ahead of COP28.”

The UAE’s ongoing arbitrary detention of Ahmed Mansoor and other peaceful dissidents highlights the urgent need for the international community to use their influence to pressure on the Emirati authorities to immediately release all those arbitrarily detained and lift restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression and association ahead of COP28.

Aya Majzoub, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa

Background

Before arbitrarily detaining Ahmed Mansoor in 2017, the UAE had rounded up scores of people in a grossly unfair mass trial of 94 defendants that concluded in 2013. Sixty of them are in prison today.

At the time of writing, at least 11 of these prisoners are being held incommunicado, denied all visits and calls with their family members since July. Local human rights sources and families of prisoners indicate the number could be far higher.

The UAE will host the 28th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, known as “COP28”, starting on 30 November 2023. However, with restrictions on civic space and clampdown on the rights to freedom of expression and association the conference will lack any credible Emirati voices to advocate for human rights in the country.

Correction: An earlier version of this piece incorrectly stated the number of years Ahmed Mansoor has spent in prison as “more than seven”. It has now been updated to state correctly that he has spent more than six years in prison.