The UAE: Oil, Money, and No Freedom

The UAE: Oil, Money, and No Freedom

For the public, the UAE (United Arab Emirates) are essentially known by their indecent wealth: a luxury tourism, the Bahrain Grand Prix, banks which draw the capitals of the  wealthier , oil, of course, as if their rare resource  were not to lack.But no one cares about the freedom of expression in these kingdoms .

Money and oil have, yet, a high price to pay: the absolute lack of free expression.Yet, we wrote a post about Raif Badawi in Saudi Arabia, but the situation is the same in the whole Gulf.Raif Badawi  is still jailed despite his Sakharov Price and campaigns in his favor.

Today, a literature festival is organized in Dubai,  but I speak out against this festival, because all writers are not represented: in clear, the dissidents are not at the festival, but in jail. To write, or to tweet against the official thought, this of the regime, leads you directly in jail.

Raif Badawi in Saudi Arabia is not an isolated case. In Bahrain, so loved in the West  for its Grand Prix, repression is terrible.Nabeel Rajab is the most known activist , jailed for a tweet. He is also the President of the association  http://www.bahrainforhumanrights.org

The organization  publishes reports, and sends alerts on Twitter for prisoners of conscience.These tweets refer to the site of https://www.amnestyinternational.usa

Actually, there are two prisoners who need help: to act, it is not a petition, but a tweet to send to the leader of the country.

On Twitter, the account @Article19 gives updates on freedom worldwide.Amnesty has many accounts, from @Amnesty , which is Amnesty International , and regional accounts: in this case, it will be @AmnestyMena.

Downloading the reports of these associations, as this promoting human rights in Bahrain , following them on social media, signing petitions in favor of prisoners, tweeting for them : here  what’s you can do to help human rights in the UAE.

Regularly, I act in favor of them. I speak out against their imprisonment.

This post is nothing more than a form of activism in favor of free expression in the UAE.

Source: https://humanrightsmiddleast.com/2017/03/06/the-uaeoil-money-and-no-free...

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