UAE borrow Bahrain Regime repression tactics, including arbitrary arrest and detention

Authorities resort to new wave of arbitrary arrests to bolster stability
24 July, 2012 – Reporters Without Borders

In the United Arab Emirates, claiming one’s rights is treated as a crime against state security, as demonstrated by another wave of arrests of campaigners and human rights activists between 16 and 19 July. Eighteen people were arrested, of whom 17 are still held.

Several netizens and bloggers were also detained, including Khalifa Al-Nuaimi, Rashid Omran Al Shamsi, Omran Al Radhwan, Abdullah Al-Haajri, the lawyer Salim Hamdoon Alshehhi and Juma Darwish Al-Felasi . Two human rights lawyers, Mohamed Al-Mansoori, the former president of the United Arab Emirates Jurists Association, and Mohamed Abdulah Al-Roken, a defence lawyer in the in so-called “UAE 5” case, were also on the list of detainees.

The group faces charges of opposing the constitution and the basic principles of the UAE ruling system, in addition to having links and affiliations to organisations with foreign agendas. The Abu Dhabi public prosecutor, Salem Saeed Kubaish, said they “are being held in preventive custody for investigation”.

The arrests were made a day after the authorities announced the existence of a group alleged to be plotting against national security.

Reporters Without Borders calls for their immediate release. “The authorities must put an end to successive arrests of campaigners and human rights campaigners, which flagrantly violates basic freedoms,” the organization said. …more