Human Rights Watch denounces unfair trials in UAE

In their annual report Human Rights Watch have denounced the unfair trials and hefty prison sentences levelled against Emirati activists in 2018.

Last year the UAE handed down draconian prison sentences to an Emirati activist and a British academic following deeply flawed trials, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2019.

The report states that the trials of the award-winning human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor and the British academic Matthew Hedges were "marred by serious due process violations.”

“Matthew Hedges’ six-month ordeal and Ahmed Mansoor’s continued imprisonment are further proof of the UAE’s fundamental lack of respect for the rule of law,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch.

“While it fervently claims to be a progressive, tolerant and rights-respecting state, over the past several years, the UAE has become worryingly unsafe for academics, journalists, activists, and critics alike.”

In the 674-page World Report 2019, its 29th edition, Human Rights Watch reviewed human rights practices in more than 100 countries.

Click here to read full report: https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/01/17/uae-injustice-intolerance-repression