UAE: Two Libyan Men Acquitted and Released

Two Libyan men, Mo’ad Mohammad al-Hashmi al-Harari and ‘Adel Rajeb Nasef, were acquitted of all charges by the Federal Supreme Court in the United Arab Emirates on 14 March. Mo’ad Mohammed al-Hashmi was released on 27 March and ‘Adel Rajeb Nasef on 28 March.

The trials of Mo’ad Mohammad al-Hashmi al-Harari, aged 28, and ‘Adel Rajeb Nasef, aged 45, both Libyan nationals, have been underway since September 2015 before the State Security Chamber in the Federal Supreme Court (FSC) in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). They had faced charges of providing
financial and material support to armed groups in Libya under the 2014 anti-terrorism law. On 14 March 2016 both men were acquitted of all the charges. They were released on 27 and 28 March respectively, and currently remain in the UAE while their travel documents are being arranged.

Mo’ad Mohammad al-Hashmi al-Harari and ‘Adel Rajeb Nasef were subjected to enforced disappearance and Amnesty International has received reports that they were tortured in detention. Between the time of their arrest in September 2014 and two weeks after their transfer to al-Wathba prison in Abu Dhabi in June 2015, they were not allowed to make contact with their families.

 Amnesty International has received information that Mo’ad Mohammad al-Hashmi al-Harari‘s teeth were broken and he was kept naked in solitary confinement and forced to sleep on the floor. ‘Adel Rajeb Nasef suffered from swollen ankles and walks with difficulty. He still suffers from shoulder pain after it was dislocated in the early stages of his detention.

The trial of a third Libyan man, ‘Issa al-Manna’, aged 66, which began on 18 January before the State Security Chamber in the FSC in Abu Dhabi, is still ongoing. He stands trial alongside three other men who now face charges under the Penal Code after charges under the 2014 anti-terrorism law were dropped on 21 March.