In a widely condemned move, the United Arab Emirates has handed down life sentences to 43 dissidents in a controversial mass trial, drawing criticism from human rights activists.
The United Arab Emirates has sparked international outrage after sentencing 43 dissidents to life in prison in a mass trial that has been widely criticized as a crackdown on dissent. The verdicts, handed down by the Abu Dhabi Federal Court of Appeal, came in a case that the UAE government alleges involved the Muslim Brotherhood, an organization it has labeled a terrorist group.
However, activists have denounced the trial as a blatant attempt to silence critics, a charge that gained prominence during the COP28 climate talks held in Dubai in November. The sentences have been met with immediate condemnation abroad, with Human Rights Watch researcher Joey Shea branding them "another nail in the coffin for the UAE’s nascent civil society."
Crackdown on Dissent: UAE Sentences 43 to Life in Mass Trial
According to the state-run WAM news agency, those convicted were accused of plotting to create unrest and violence in the country, akin to incidents that have occurred in other Arab states. However, WAM provided no specific evidence linking the defendants to violence or the Muslim Brotherhood.
The verdict, which can be appealed to the UAE's Federal Supreme Court, has drawn widespread criticism. The Emirates Detainees Advocacy Center, an advocacy group in exile, expressed regret that the sentences were foreseeable and that the trial was merely a facade to perpetuate the detention of prisoners of conscience.
Crackdown on Dissent: UAE Sentences 43 to Life in Mass Trial
Amnesty International condemned the trial as a "shameless parody of justice" that violated fundamental legal principles. Devin Kenney, an Amnesty researcher, highlighted the trials of prisoners of conscience and well-known human rights defenders.
Among those sentenced to life imprisonment is activist Nasser bin Ghaith, who has been held since 2015 for his social media posts. He is believed to be one of dozens convicted in the wake of a crackdown on dissent following the 2011 Arab Spring protests.
Ahmed Mansoor, a recipient of the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, is also among those likely sentenced. Mansoor has been targeted by authorities for his advocacy for a free press and democratic freedoms in the UAE.
Human rights organizations staged a protest at COP28, displaying Mansoor's face in the U.N. Blue Zone, under the watchful eye of Emirati officials. The UAE, while socially liberal in some aspects, maintains strict laws governing expression and bans political parties and labor unions, a fact that was evident at COP28, where there were no protests outside the venue due to concerns over the country's surveillance network.
