The United Arab Emirates retaliated in opposition to a jailed activist after he spoke publicly about his mistreatment in detention, two human rights teams stated Friday.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the Gulf Heart for Human Rights (GCHR) stated human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor was moved to a smaller, extra remoted cell and denied entry to vital medical care after a information outlet revealed in July a letter Mansoor wrote detailing his jail situations.
Mansoor, {an electrical} engineer, poet and human rights defender, was arrested by Emirati safety forces in a late-night home raid in 2017. He’s serving a 10-year sentence for insulting the UAE, publishing false info and “portraying the UAE as a lawless land. The fees had been reportedly linked to social media posts that had been vital of the UAE authorities or referred to as for reform.
In July, London-based Arabic information website Arabi21 revealed Mansoor’s jail letter, through which he stated Emirati authorities had been holding him in indefinite solitary confinement.
The UAE has previously denied allegations of his mistreatment. After 5 US senators requested an replace on Mansoor’s situations in June 2019, the Emirati ambassador in Washington, Yousef Al Otaiba, responded by saying Mansoor had engaged in “impermissible sectarian hate speech” and incited violence. Rights teams say there is no such thing as a proof he did so.
In January 2021, Human Rights Watch additional detailed Mansoor’s situations in Sadr Jail’s isolation ward, which included residing in solitary confinement in a cell “barely the scale of a 2 x 2-meter parking spot” with out entry to studying supplies, a mattress or different primary requirements. Since his arrest, Mansoor’s been denied common visits or calls from his spouse and 4 sons, the report stated.
On Friday, HRW and GCHR urged the United Nations and the USA to publicly and privately name on the UAE to right away finish Mansoor’s isolation and launch him.
“Allies have been serving to to advertise the UAE’s narrative of a tolerant and culturally open nation whereas ignoring rampant abuses, together with the authorized railroading and ghastly mistreatment of one in every of its most revered residents,” stated Michael Web page, HRW’s deputy Center East and North Africa director.
The UAE is serving on the UN Safety Council for its 2022-2023 time period. A gaggle of United Nations human rights experts in 2019 condemned Mansoor’s extended imprisonment, warning his dire situations and “deprivation of liberty” might represent torture.
