Mother’s Day: The Case of Amina Abdouli

As Arab countries celebrate Mother's Day, we highlight the case of Amina ‘Abdouli, one of the female prisoners of conscience currently in UAE jail. 

Amina is an Emirati teacher and mother of 5 who was sentenced to 5 years in prison for simply exercising her right to freedom of expression. 

Her case represents one of many cases of women who are detained in the UAE for their opinions and activism.

Amina was arrested on 19 November 2015 with her brother Mos’ab and her sister Moza. 

They were forcibly disappeared by State Security forces in plain clothes after they raided their house without warrant.

 Their oldest brother Waleed was later arrested after he publicly condemned the arbitrary detention of his siblings during Friday prayers. All four siblings were held in secret locations and had no access to a lawyer nor family visits, in contravention of international law.

Despite serving her prison sentence, Amina remained imprisoned beyond her release date and the UAE government has offered no signs of her release in the immediate future. 

This International Mother's Day, we ask the UAE authorities to uphold the rights of women, including their rights to express their opinion freely without fear for their safety or that of their families. 

We also ask the UAE authorities to release Amina Abdouli and all other prisoners of conscience, being detained for peacefully expressing their rights to freedom of speech and assembly.