Third anniversary of the WGAD opinion on the UAE 94 case

Today Nov. 22, 2016 marks the third anniversary of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) opinion on the UAE 94 case.

Three years ago, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention's independent experts adopted an opinion confirming the arbitrary nature of the detention of those detained in the 'UAE94' case and requested the UAE government release them.

The WGAD considered the deprivation of liberty of the 61 Emirati nationals detained in the 'UAE94' case to be arbitrary and stated that the UAE government "has a duty to release the detainees." 

In the view of the UN experts, the detainees "should not have been convicted of the charges brought against them or on the basis of their acts in the exercise of their right to freedom of opinion and expression".

The Working Group confirms that arbitrary nature of the detention of the 61 peaceful activists, given the "lack of legal justification for [their] arrest and detention" together with "the vagueness of the charges" subsequently laid against them.

The 61 individuals that the UN has ordered be released are:
1. Ahmed Ghaith Al Suwaidi
2. Dr Ahmed Al Zaabi 
3. Dr Ali Al Hammadi
4. Ibrahim al Marzooqi
5. Hassan Al Jabiri
6. Husain Al Jabiri
7. Dr Shaheen Alhosani 
8. Sultan Bin Kayed Al Qasimi
9. Saleh Al-Dhufairi 
10. Salim Sahooh 
11. Ahmed Al Tabour Al Nuaimi 
12. Khalid Al Sheiba Al-Nuaimi
13. Dr. Mohamed Al Mansoori 
14. Husain Al-Najjar Al Hammadi
15. Abdulrahman Al-Hadidi 
16. Rashid Omran Al Shamsi
17. Essa Al-Sari Al Muhairi
18. Dr. Mohamed Abdullah Al-Roken
19. Salim Hamdoon Al Shahi 
20. Juma Darwish Al-Felasi 
21. Tariq Al-Qasim
22. Dr. Saif Al Egleh
23. Hamad Roqait
24. Abdulraheem Al-Zarooni
25. Musabeh Al-Rumaithi
26. Tariq Hassan Al-Qattan Al Harmoudi
27. Saeed Nasser Al-Wahidi
28. Ali Abdullah Mahdi Saleh
29. Abdulsalam Darwish Al Marzooqi
30. Khalid Mohammed Alyammahi
31. Ahmed Saqer Alsuwaidi
32. Saif Aletr Al Dhanhan
33. Hassan Mohammed Al Hammadi
34. Fuad Mohammed Al Hammadi
35. Ahmed Saif Almatri
36. Najeeb Amiri
37. Abdulaziz Hareb
38. Abdullah Al-Jabiri
39. Ali Abdulla Alkhaja 
40. Rashid Khalfan Bin Sabt

41. Ali Salim Al Awad Al-Zaabi
42. Ali Saeed Al-Kindi
43. Dr Hadif Al-Owais
44. Mohammed Al-Abdouli
45. Salem Mousa Farhan Alhalyan
46. Ahmed Hajji Al-Qobaisi
47. Ahmed Hassan Al-Rostomani
48. Ahmed Knyed Al-Muhairi
49. Ismael Abullah Al-Hosani
50. Khaled Fadel Ahmed
51. Ali Muhammad Al Shahi 
52. Essa Khalifa Al Suwaidi
53. Abdulrahim Abdallah Al Bestaky 
54. Muhammad Abdulrazzaq Al Abdouly
55. Khalifa Hillel
56. Ibrahim Ismail Al Yaqoub
57. Amrane Ali Hassan Al Harithi
58. Mahmoud Hassan Al Houssani 
59. Abdallah Abdelqader Al Hajiri 
60. Mansoor Ahmad Al Ahmady 
61. Fahd Abdelqader Al Hajiri 
 

To learn more about the correspondence between the United Nations Special Procedures and the UAE government, please check the following documents:

• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates, Response to the UN Special Procedures concerning the trial of 94 individuals on charge of State Security offences (Case No. 17/2013), 10 June 2013

• The Permanent Mission of the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations Office, Explanatory Letter to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention regarding the communications on the 61 Emirati nationals and Abdullah Al Hadidi, 20 November 2013