Tweet for Ahmed Mansoor! Join the Twitter Storm on 20 September

Please join ICFUAE and many other organisations and activists on Sunday, 20 September as we call for the release of Emirati human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor, who has been unjustly imprisoned in the UAE for the past three and a half years.

Who is Ahmed Mansoor?

Ahmed Mansoor is a prominent human rights defender who has worked extensively with international rights organisations to raise awareness of human rights abuses in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He serves on the advisory boards of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) and Human Rights Watch’s Middle East division. In 2015, he won the prestigious Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders.

On 20 March 2017, he was arrested in a midnight raid on his home and later sentenced to ten years in prison for “defaming the UAE through social media channels”. In the weeks before his arrest, Mansoor had criticized the UAE’s prosecutions of other activists for speech “crimes” and tweeted about rights violations in Egypt and Yemen. 

For all of his 3.5-year detention he has been kept in solitary confinement in a cell without a bed and without access to books, sunlight or fresh air. To protest against these abysmal conditions, he launched two separate hunger strikes in March and September 2019. 

During his time in detention, he has been subjected to beatings and mental abuse by prison warders. Consequently, his health has significantly deteriorated and we fear for his life, especially in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.

What can I do to help Ahmed Mansoor?

On Sunday, 20 September, we call on anyone who wants to help draw attention to Ahmed’s plight to join the Twitter storm.

It is easy, just post as many tweets as you can throughout the day using the hashtags #FreeAhmed and #GiveAhmedaBed.

Who shall I address the tweets to?

You can address the tweets to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum @HHShkMohd, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and ask him to #FreeAhmed. You can also tweet to Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan @SaifBZayed, the Minister of Interior, who is the authority responsible for prisons in the UAE and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan @MohamedBinZayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

You can write your own tweets or use the samples below.

1. #UAE: Activist @Ahmed_Mansoor remains in solitary confinement at al-Sadr prison. His 4sqm cell lacks a mattress and he is denied access to books, sunlight & fresh air. These detention conditions are degrading and detrimental to his already poor health. #GiveAhmedABed #FreeAhmed
2. #UAE: #PrisonerOfConscience @Ahmed_Mansoor was sentenced to 10 years in prison for peacefully exercising his right to #FreedomOfExpression, association & assembly. He has committed no crime & should be released immediately. @SaifBZayed, @HHShkMohd & @MohamedBinZayed #FreeAhmed
3. .@Ahmed_Mansoor, a prominent #HRD, devoted his life to raising awareness of #HumanRight violations in the #UAE until he himself was unjustly jailed. His incarceration constitutes an act of direct reprisal against his peaceful activism. @MohamedBinZayed & @HHShkMohd #FreeAhmed
4. #HRD @Ahmed_Mansoor has been subjected to beatings & other forms of physical & mental abuse by warders at al-Sadr prison. As a result, his health has deteriorated leaving him vulnerable to #COVID19. We call on the #UAE authorities to #FreeAhmed immediately and unconditionally!
5. It’s ironic that after winning the prestigious @MartinEnnals Award for Human Rights Defenders in 2015, @Ahmed_Mansoor, was arrested for peacefully defending human rights. We urge #UAE to #FreeAhmed & #GiveAhmedABed
6. #UAE: Since his arrest more than three years ago, #PrisonerOfConscience @Ahmed_Mansoor has been tortured and subjected to permanent solitary confinement in #AbuDhabi’s al-Sadr prison. Please join us & call for his immediate and unconditional release. #FreeAhmed
7. We urge the #UAE to immediately and unconditionally release @Ahmed_Mansoor and other human rights defenders who are unjustly imprisoned solely for their peaceful human rights activities. @HHShkMohd, @MohamedBinZayed, @AnwarGargash & MOJ_UAE #FreeAhmed
8. Free @Ahmed_Mansoor, an Emirati poet and activist, who under draconian anti-terror laws was sentenced to 10 years in prison for peacefully criticising the #UAE authorities’ #HumanRights violations. @HHShkMohd & @MohamedBinZayed #FreeAhmed
9. In direct violation of the UN’s Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, @Ahmed_Mansoor is denied the most basic of human needs. He is detained in isolation in a tiny cell without a bed to sleep on. Please join us and urge the #UAE government to #GiveAhmedaBed.