Torture is never Justifiable in UAE
As the free world celebrate the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, 26 June 2016, torture continues to be used as a tool of punishment and to extract confessions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
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.
The UAE 94 are a group of 94 human rights defenders and activists who were arrested in 2012. Among the UAE 94, at least 41 detainees, on separate occasions, stated that they were deprived of sleep for significant periods of time. The sleep deprivation caused major health problems, including compromised and failed immune systems, decreased white blood cell and antibody counts, significant weight loss, profound muscular weakness, and elevated blood pressure.
One detainee, Ibrahim Al-Marzooqi, described being subject to repeated physical assaults. During his detention, Al-Marzooqi was slapped by a prison official, forced to stand under an air conditioning unit for four hours, beaten with a waterspout, jabbed with a nail, and made to stand for hours at end despite intense back pain.
Another detainee, Dr. Ahmed Yousef Abdullah Buatabh Al-Zaabi reported being beaten to the point he was left swollen, covered in bruises all over his body and with large amounts of blood in his urine. On one occasion, his fingernails were systematically pulled out. Another detainee, Mohammed Ali Saleh Al-Mansoori had his shoulder dislocated during an attack by a guard.
As a result of repeated physical assaults, Essa Al-Sari lost excessive amounts of weight, suffered chapped lips, severe dehydration which prevented him from opening his mouth, and exhibited symptoms of strabismus. Al-Sari was locked in the trunk of a car while petrol was leaked into the air vents. After being confined to the car for nearly thirty minutes, Al-Sari struggled to breathe and almost choked to death. Musabeh Al-Rumaithi was also forced to remain in the trunk of a car, blindfolded and handcuffed for an hour and thirty minutes.
At least 24 detainees say they were subjected to practices which caused severe pain in order to obtain confessions from them. Ahmed Ghaith Al-Suwaidi, for example, stated that he was “horrendously and viciously tortured” by various state personnel until he confessed to crimes that he did not commit. Numerous detainees stated that they were placed in solitary confinement for prolonged periods of time between 16 July 2012 and 10 March 2013. Many of the UAE 94 continue to be imprisoned.
