Dr Nasser Bin Ghaith sentenced to 10 years in prison

Dr Nasser Bin Ghaith sentenced to 10 years in prison

Abu Dhabi Court of Appeal issued its final verdict regarding the prominent Emirati academic and human rights defender Nasser Bin Ghaith's case on March 29, sentencing him to ten years in prison.

Dr Nasser bin Ghaith was subjected to enforced disappearance on 18 August 2015 after he was arrested by UAE State Security at his place of work. He was seen for the first time since his disappearance on 4 April 2016, when he was brought before the State Security Chamber of the Federal Supreme Court for his first trial. Both on this
occasion, as well as in his second hearing on 2 May 2016, he told the court that he had been kept in secret detention and subjected to beatings and deliberate sleep deprivation for nearly eight months. The judge dismissed his claims and refused to order an independent investigation be carried out into his allegations of torture and illtreatment.

Dr Nasser bin Ghaith faces several charges including: “posting false information” about UAE leaders and their policies; “posting false information in order to harm the reputation and stature of the State and one of its institutions”, based on comments he made on Twitter stating that he had not been given a fair trial in a case known
as the “UAE 5” case; “communicating and co-operating with members of the banned al-Islah organization” based on the meetings he had had with individuals who were tried in the “UAE 94” case; and, “communicating and cooperating with the banned Emirates Ummah Party”.

He was brought to court more than once since his arbitrary arrest, most recently was before the Federal Appeal Court in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, 22nd of February 2017.

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