Ahead of the International Day for Tolerance, ICFUAE renews calls for Emirati political prisoners' release

Ahead of the International Day for Tolerance scheduled to be marked on 16th November, ICFUAE calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners arbitrarily held in UAE jails.

Tolerance is respect, acceptance and appreciation of the rich diversity of our world's cultures and our forms of expression.

In recent times, the UAE has projected itself as the epicentre of tolerance and peace, with Dubai thrown to the forefront as a new global centre of tourism.

However, beneath the glitz and glamour lies a much darker reality in which freedom of speech and freedom of the press have all but been expelled.

Though the UAE Constitution of 1971 grants freedom of opinion to all citizens, the decades that have followed have seen the introduction of new measures aimed at controlling and eliminating any criticism of the state.

In light of the democratic uprisings that occurred in the Arab Spring of 2011, the UAE has adapted to evolving means of dissent by introducing the 2012 “Cybercrime Law” that gives the regime carte blanche in arresting those who advocate for reform or criticise the government online.

This has led to widespread fear and use of arbitrary arrest, forced disappearances, unfair trials, torture and deportation. In conjunction with this, the vague and ambiguously drafted 2014 “Terrorism Law” permits the authorities to arrest and charge anyone who “antagonises the government,” allowing them to retain prisoners after completing their sentence for an indeterminate ammount of time, at their own discretion.

Today, it is estimated that the UAE has detained more than 200 political prisoners- although the number may be more. Those detained in trials such as the UAE 94 in 2013, as well as the arrest of Ahmed Mansoor and Dr Nasser Bin Ghaith in 2017, have endured torture, solitary confinement, no access to lawyers, and threats to their family’s wellbeing.

Thus, the ICFUAE calls on the UAE to reform its policies on freedom of speech and the press immediately, and to abide by international law and free its political prisoners.