As the Third Anniversary Approaches, Arbitrary Detention of Activists Convicted at the Mass UAE 94 Trial Continued

As the third anniversary of the final hearing of the mass “UAE 94” trial approaches, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) continued to arrest dozens of government critics and reform activists, including prominent human rights defenders, judges, academics, and student leaders.

Time has come for the UAE government stop the charade and release immediately and unconditionally all those imprisoned solely for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression and association following this grossly unfair trial, as well as those who remain detained or imprisoned for publicizing concerns about it. 

The UAE 94 trial, which began on 4 March 2013 before the State Security Chamber of the Federal Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi and ended on 2 July 2013, saw a total of 94 defendants, including eight who were charged and tried in absentia, stand trial en masse on the charge of establishing an organization that aimed to overthrow the government, a charge which they all denied. The trial failed to meet international fair trial standards and was widely condemned by human rights organizations and UN bodies, including the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. 

Since 2012, the UAE was constantly arresting activists and defenders from different nationalities which some of them were languishing in UAE prisons while others have suffered from acts of torture and ill-treatment.

According to reports from international organizations, detainees in the UAE are subject to forced disappearances and detentions in secret prisons for long periods without the knowledge of their parents and without the presence of a lawyer. This creates serious violations of prisoners' rights.