UAE: Obaid al-Zaabi in Custody since 2014 despite acquittal

Much time has passed since the arrest and arbitrary detention in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of the human rights activist, Obaid Yousef Al Zaabi on 23 June 2014. Until now, this prisoner of conscience is still subject to arrest, despite a verdict of innocence of the UAE Federal Supreme Court on May 2014. In fact, he was acquitted of all charges, however, the UAE authorities continue to arbitrarily detain him and he has not been told the reason why he has not been freed yet.

We recall that Obaid Yousef Al Zaabi is the brother of the former judge, Dr Ahmed Al-Zaabi. Yousef was arrested on July 2013, then rearrested on December 12, 2013 after his CNN interview, and was prosecuted on several charges based on his Twitter posts about the trial of the “UAE 94”.

Despite passing on trial on May 26, 2014 and a verdict of acquittal, Security forces still detain him, without clear justification and he was not released despite the passage of nearly two years since the verdict. So, there is no relevant legal basis for depriving him of his liberty.