43 Emiratis were given life sentences in the United Arab Emirates ( UAE ) for having ties to a terrorist organization, according to state media reports on Wednesday. UN authorities and human rights organizations have harshly criticized the massive test, which included human rights activists and government critics.
A total of 84 accused showed up before the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal, many of whom had been detained since a past test of 94 folks in 2013 and are currently awaiting release.
According to the standard WAM news organization, the Abu Dhabi jury convicted 43 people for” creating, establishing, and managing a criminal company” tied to the banned Muslim Brotherhood. Ten more defendants were sentenced to 10-15 years in prison, while one man was acquitted, and 24 circumstances were deemed illegal. The remaining situations ‘ details were not disclosed. Plaintiffs still have the option of bringing an elegance to the Federal Supreme Court.
Human rights organizations and experts from the UN condemned the trial, accusing the rich Gulf king of suppressing opposition. Since the” UAE 94″ trial, many defendants have been imprisoned for more than ten years, according to Human Rights Watch ( HRW) and Amnesty International. The new costs, but, are different from those from 2013, with the UAE authorities arguing that they involve allegations of funding a terrorist organization.
The UK-based Emirates Detainees Advocacy Center has identified more than 70 defendants, the majority of whom are currently incarcerated, despite the UAE’s decision to not reveal the names of the 84 accused.
Joey Shea, HRW’s UAE scholar, commented on the verdict.
” The latest ruling makes a’ ridicule of righteousness’. It is’ another nail in the coffin for the UAE’s emerging legal culture.'”
The test faced additional criticism from Amnesty International.
” Trying 84 Emiratis at once, including 26 captives of consciousness and well-known animal rights defenders, is a little disguised training in punishing separatists”, said Devin Kenney, Amnesty’s UAE Researcher.
The UAE state has denied any wrongdoing. According to WAM, the jury ensured that all accused ‘ right were protected.
According to the report,” they were attempting to” create and replicate violent events” that would have resulted in “dead and injured people in the squares and streets.”
The UAE, a union of seven kings, has strict laws that forbid condemnation of political leaders and speech that is thought to be unpopular. Slander, as well as verbal and written accusations, whether public or private, are criminal offenses.
Following the Arab Spring rebellion, the UAE began the prosecutions and prosecutions of various Emirati dissidents who were campaigning for democratic reform in 2012. A total of 60 people from the” UAE 94″ test are still incarcerated for alleged relations to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Separate UN experts expressed concern over the most recent proceedings in a January text to UAE authorities, citing a possible pattern of preventing protest and civil community in the UAE. They highlighted potential irregularities, such as” the use of abuse or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or consequence to collect forced confessions”.
Ben Saul, the UN’s unique rapporteur on individual rights and counter-terrorism, assessed the situation.
The most recent accusations relate to the same conduct that many of these plaintiffs faced in court for the first time ten years ago. The test was a “deeply backward action” and a “woeful illustration of the abuse of counter-terrorism measures against legal society.”
Recently, HRW reported that many of the accused had been kept incommunicado for at least a month and suffered abuses, including physical abuse, forced nudity, lack of access to medicines, and persistent loud music.
HRW urged the rich UAE’s foreign friends, including the United States, Britain, and the European Union, to denounce the test.
” Emirati officials have long used their government’s economic and security ties to avoid criticism of its right record, but seldom, if ever, has the silence from its allies been thus deafening”, said HRW’s Shea.
