UAE: Jailed Jordanian journalist’s son calls for his release

The 11-year-old son of Jordanian journalist Taysseer al-Najjar handed over two days ago a letter to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) embassy in Amman calling for his father’s immediate release.

 In his poignant letter to UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayad, Awan Taysseer al-Najjar appealed for his father’s release from UAE jails.

“I am Awan. I am 11 year old. I love Emirates like Jordan. My dad told me that we will have a better life after his return from UAE. But, I was surprised that I lost my father there.”

“I don’t know whether my father is guilty or not, however my two young brothers and I are really missing him.”

“I can’t study or concentrate at school. Please, bring back our dad home. ”

The Jordanian journalist Tayseer al-Najar working in the UAE has been held incommunicado since the UAE Criminal Investigations Department in Abu Dhabi summoned him on December 13, 2015. 

On December 3, UAE authorities blocked al-Najjar at Abu Dhabi International Airport, where he intended to board a flight to Jordan to visit his wife and children, al-Najjar’s wife told Human Rights Watch. 

She said al-Najjar, a journalist for more than 15 years, had been working in the UAE since April 2015, when he became a culture reporter for the UAE-based newspaper Dar.

Al-Najjar’s wife said she has not received any information from Jordanian or UAE authorities on al-Najjar’s whereabouts or well-being and does not know why UAE authorities blocked him from traveling or summoned him to the Criminal Investigations Department.

Al-Najjar has not been charged with an offence and has not stood trial. In addition, neither the Jordanian Embassy in Abu Dhabi nor the Jordanian Consulate in Dubai have been notified of the reasons behind Najjar’s arrest.