Raise awareness for Dr Nasser bin Ghaith, Emirati prisoner of conscience, on the anniversary of his unjust sentence
Marking the third anniversary of Dr Nasser bin Ghaith’s prison sentence on Sunday 29 March, ICFUAE is organizing a social media campaign to raise awareness around his case and call for his immediate and unconditional release from Al-Razeen prison.
Nasser bin Ghaith is a prominent Emirati economist who, up until his arrest, lectured at the Abu Dhabi branch of the Paris Sorbonne University. On 29 March 2017, he was sentenced to ten years in prison on charges solely relating to the peaceful expression of his right to freedom of speech, including a tweet stating that he himself had been tortured in detention during an earlier trial in 2011.
He was again tortured during pre-trial detention in 2016 and 2017, when he was held in a secret location without any access to his family or a lawyer, and subjected to severe beatings as well as sleep deprivation for up to a week.
Al-Razeen prison authorities have frequently denied him access to fundamental healthcare and medication, including his blood pressure medicine.
Over the years, he launched several hunger strikes in protest against his repressive detention conditions and the torture and ill-treatment by prison warders.
His health has consequently deteriorated significantly and he was at one point unable to even sit up unaided. This, coupled with the lack of healthcare and the unsanitary prison conditions he is exposed to, makes him highly vulnerable amid the current Covid-19 outbreak as the number of infections continue to rise in the Middle East.
This Sunday, 29 March we call on anyone who wants to help draw attention to Nasser’s plight to join our Twitter action and put pressure on the UAE authorities to release him, thereby potentially saving his life.
You can post your own tweets or use the samples below:
- 3 years ago today Nasser bin Ghaith @N_BinGhaith was sentenced to 10 years for posting information “intended to damage the UAE” in connection with tweets criticizing the #UAE’s human rights violations. He is a #PrisonerOfConscience and must be freed. #FreeNasser
- Emirati #HRD @N_BinGhaith remains highly vulnerable amid the current #COVID19 outbreak. He suffers from high blood pressure, cardiomegaly (enlargement of the heart) and fatty-liver disease and is being denied adequate medical care! #FreeNasser
- It has been 3 years since @SorbonneAD professor @N_BinGhaith (Dr Nasser bin Ghaith) was sentenced for speaking out against #humanrights violations in the #UAE. Please join us & urge @HHShkMohd & @MohamedBinZayed to #FreeNasser unconditionally and with immediate effect.
- On the 3rd anniversary of the unjust verdict sentencing Nasser bin Ghaith to 10 years in prison, our heart goes out to him and his family. He has committed no crime and should be released immediately. We urge @HHShkMohd, @MohamedBinZayed & @SaifBZayed to #FreeNasser
- 3 years ago today, Abu Dhabi’s Court of Appeals sentenced Nasser bin Ghaith to 10 years for peacefully exercising his right to #FreedomOfSpeech. He remains in unsanitary conditions at al-Razeen prison & is denied vital blood pressure medicine amid the #Covid19 crises. #FreeNasser
- After several hunger strikes in protest against his torture, ill-treatment and unjust sentence, which was handed down 3 years ago today, #HRD @N_BinGhaith remains in dire health: he has lost a lot of weight & much of his eyesight but is denied proper medical care. #FreeNasser
- #UAE: Prior to his conviction 3 years ago, @N_BinGhaith spent 8 months in incommunicado detention where he was severely beaten, deprived of sleep for up to a week, denied his glasses & refused winter clothing. His conditions are no better now in al-Razeen prison. #FreeNasser
