The United Arab Emirates will re-open a federal court hearing of five pro-democracy activists charged with insulting the Gulf country’s rulers in September, a lawyer for the defendants said.
The supreme federal court in Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital, heard from two out of eight witnesses on Monday and others will be heard when the case re-starts on September 26, lawyer Abdulhameed Alkumity said in an e-mailed statement. The court in Abu Dhabi was guarded by police who prevented journalists from entering the closed session.
Nasser bin Ghaith, a financial commentator who has taught at the Abu Dhabi campus of the Sorbonne, and Ahmed Mansoor, a blogger, are accused of seeking to undermine state security “in association with foreign powers.” They and three other men are also accused of insulting the UAE’s rulers. The men deny the charges.
The authorities clamped down on calls for reform after a petition signed by more than 100 people, including the five men on trial, was circulated in April. Shortly afterwards, the government also disbanded the elected boards of the Jurists’ Association and the Teachers’ Association, two civil society organisations which took part in the petition.
Monday’s proceedings were immediately criticised by a human rights group. “Whether they [the activists] are found innocent or guilty is one thing but the fact that they’re held in detention even though they don’t pose a threat to anyone while this trial continues is a travesty,” said Samer Muscati, a Middle East researcher with Human Rights Watch.
“I’m not sure what the point is of having this government show of force – except to intimidate the judiciary and strengthen the government’s hand,” Mr Muscati of Human Rights Watch said.
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