After 20 months in UAE jails, Jordanian journalist threatened to lose his eyesight

Family sources affirmed that the health situation of the Jordanian journalist Tayseer al-Najjar, arbitrary held in the UAE jails for more than 20 months, has been seriously deteriorated.

Tayseer’s wife pointed out that her husband is threatened to lose his eyesight due to the deliberate medical negligence policy in UAE jails.

Tayseer was arrested on December 13, 2015, for a 2014 Facebook post critical of the Emirati authorities’ support to the Egyptian intervention in the Gaza strip.

It is important to note that he was forcibly disappeared for a three months’ period, during which his whereabouts remained unknown.

 In addition, he was deprived of his right to legal counsel and right to communicate with his lawyer in privacy. Moreover, he was forced to sign documents while being blindfolded without knowing their content and subjected to torture and ill-treatment.

He was held in solitary confinement for months, which considerably impaired his health due to malnutrition and the lack of sunlight.