The five-month-long trial of the activists has been seen as a gauge of how the Gulf state, the world’s No. 3 oil exporter, with no tradition of organised political protest, responds to hints of political dissidence in the aftermath of the Arab Spring uprisings.
Ahmed Mansoor, a communications engineer and poet, was the main defendant, accused of running a website that gave the other defendants a venue to express anti-government views. He was sentenced to three years in jail.
“The website included insults that diminished the standing of His Highness the president and His Highness the vice president,” the state prosecutor said in October when he presented his case, without specifying the insults.
The other four – Nasser bin Ghaith, Fahad Salim Dalk, Hassan Ali al-Khamis and Ahmed Abdul Khaleq – were sentenced to two years.
The court also ordered the closure of the website. The five, who were arrested in April for urging public protest and disrupting public order, had been on trial since June.
The five have been on hunger strike for almost two weeks, lawyers and relatives said.
“Their health is deteriorating and they lost a lot of weight,” Mohammed al-Roken, one of two lawyers defending the five activists, told reporters. “But I don’t know if they will continue or not.”
One of the defendants had written an essay describing that approach as buying off citizens to avoid political reform.
Prosecutors also said in October one of the activists published a petition urging a boycott of elections in September for half of a 40-seat consultative council. Prosecutors said they had evidence the defendants incited citizens to “breach public order and stage demonstrations against the state”.
Three rights groups, including Human Rights Watch (HRW), accused the UAE government last week of failing to investigate what they described as a campaign of death threats, slander and intimidation against the five.
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Showing posts with label united arab emirates. Show all posts
Showing posts with label united arab emirates. Show all posts
Monday, November 28, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
UAE Think at your own peril; and in any case don't blog about it...
ABU DHABI: A hearing was held yesterday for six activists in the United Arab Emirates charged with incitement and insulting the Gulf country’s leadership, drawing criticism by a rights groups’ representative over the lack of transparency.
The world’s No. 3 oil exporter has been virtually untouched by the unrest that has swept through the Arab world and toppled the leaders of Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, but has been swift to silence any open political dissent.
“We were denied access today,” said Jennie Pasquarella, who flew in from the United States to observe the trial on behalf of four groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.
“We’re concerned about the fairness of the trial. None of the hearings have been open in public, they’ve all been secret, in fact no reason has been given for making them secret.” Police arrested the political activists and intellectuals in April, and the attorney general later said the men were suspected of inciting “acts that threaten state security and public order”, and “insulting the president, vice president and the crown prince of Abu Dhabi.”
They pleaded not guilty in July at the Federal Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi, whose verdicts are final. Another hearing was scheduled for Sunday when the court will hear testimony from a final witness, a judge told lawyers outside the courtroom.
Among the defendants is Ahmed Mansoor, an outspoken rights activist who joined several dissidents this year to start an online petition demanding the country’s Federal National Council, an advisory body, greater powers.
Another defendant, Nasser bin Ghaith, a lecturer at the Abu Dhabi branch of France’s Sorbonne University, published an article criticising what he called Gulf states’ attempt to avoid political reform by buying off their populaces through generous government spending programmes.
"Six men have been referred to the Federal Supreme Court over charges including perpetrating acts that pose threats to state security, undermining the public order, opposing the government system, and insulting the president, the vice president and the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, the UAE Attorney, General Salim Saeed Kubaish, said yesterday."
“We were denied access today,” said Jennie Pasquarella, who flew in from the United States to observe the trial on behalf of four groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.
“We’re concerned about the fairness of the trial. None of the hearings have been open in public, they’ve all been secret, in fact no reason has been given for making them secret.” Police arrested the political activists and intellectuals in April, and the attorney general later said the men were suspected of inciting “acts that threaten state security and public order”, and “insulting the president, vice president and the crown prince of Abu Dhabi.”
They pleaded not guilty in July at the Federal Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi, whose verdicts are final. Another hearing was scheduled for Sunday when the court will hear testimony from a final witness, a judge told lawyers outside the courtroom.
Among the defendants is Ahmed Mansoor, an outspoken rights activist who joined several dissidents this year to start an online petition demanding the country’s Federal National Council, an advisory body, greater powers.
Another defendant, Nasser bin Ghaith, a lecturer at the Abu Dhabi branch of France’s Sorbonne University, published an article criticising what he called Gulf states’ attempt to avoid political reform by buying off their populaces through generous government spending programmes.
Monday, September 26, 2011
UAE Sign an on-line petition and death by bunga bunga!!!! (Get Real!!!)
Five pro-democracy activists on trial in the United Arab Emirates returned to court yesterday, two days after the oil-rich Gulf nation held elections for an advisory council that wields no power.
The activists, including a blogger and an academic, were detained in April after they signed an online petition demanding constitutional changes and free elections.
They were charged in July with insulting the country's rulers and using an online
forum to conspire against the state.
Among the five, all of whom have pleaded not guilty, are blogger Ahmed Mansour and economics professor Nasser bin Ghaith, who lectured at the Abu Dhabi branch of Paris's Sorbonne university.
The five activists briefly attended yesterday's closed-door proceedings in Abu Dhabi's Federal Supreme Court.
Four of the defendants, including Mansour and bin Ghaith, walked out of the courtroom after the judges refused to consider their demand to open the hearing to the public and release them from custody on bail.
Political activity is severely restricted in the UAE, an alliance of seven semi-autonomous states, each ruled by a hereditary sheikh. There are no official opposition groups and political parties are banned.
The activists, including a blogger and an academic, were detained in April after they signed an online petition demanding constitutional changes and free elections.
They were charged in July with insulting the country's rulers and using an online
forum to conspire against the state.
Among the five, all of whom have pleaded not guilty, are blogger Ahmed Mansour and economics professor Nasser bin Ghaith, who lectured at the Abu Dhabi branch of Paris's Sorbonne university.
The five activists briefly attended yesterday's closed-door proceedings in Abu Dhabi's Federal Supreme Court.
Four of the defendants, including Mansour and bin Ghaith, walked out of the courtroom after the judges refused to consider their demand to open the hearing to the public and release them from custody on bail.
Political activity is severely restricted in the UAE, an alliance of seven semi-autonomous states, each ruled by a hereditary sheikh. There are no official opposition groups and political parties are banned.
Friday, August 26, 2011
UAE: So a Raped 18 yr old is to blame???? What is wrong with you??? Too much Sun!
A Muslim woman in Abu Dhabi who accused six men of gang rape -- and was consequently threatened with lashes for having premarital sex -- has retracted her allegations.
"According to court records the primary suspect, 19, called five of his friends – four Emiratis and one Iraqi – and invited them to join him."
Six men had been charged with the gang rape after a forensic examination.
Yet the woman, identified by the initials LH in news reports, retracted all of her accusatory statements in a hearing on Monday. If prosecuted and convicted for lying under oath she could face a punishment of up to two years in jail.
Dr. Theodore Karasik, a security analyst with Dubai-based think tank INEGMA, said the retraction was common in a legal system that can assign blame to victims of sexual assault.
"It's the nature of the law. The status here is that if a female is caught having illegal sex, no matter what the instance, this is seen as haram [forbidden]," he said.
An 18-year-old woman who told police she was the victim of a gang rape retracted her statement in a court hearing in Abu Dhabi, state newspaper The National reported. The woman had been charged with the crime of having sex out of wedlock after reporting the rape to police, and faced a sentence of lashes and jail time.
The case is latest high-profile prosecution on morality laws in the United Arab Emirates.
Earlier this year a couple was arrested for allegedly kissing in a Dubai restaurant, while neighboring Sharjah began a door-to-door campaign to catch unmarried couples cohabitating against the law.
In January a British woman told police she had been raped in a Dubai hotel, but she and her fiancé were instead arrested on accusations of having sex out of wedlock.
"These charges will make young women in the UAE, citizens and tourists alike, think twice about seeking justice and reporting sexual assaults for fear of being charged themselves," wrote Nadya Khalife, a Middle East researcher for Human Rights Watch, shortly after the hotel rape case became public.
"The message to women is clear: victims will be punished for speaking out and seeking justice, but sexual assault itself will not be properly investigated," Khalife said.
"According to court records the primary suspect, 19, called five of his friends – four Emiratis and one Iraqi – and invited them to join him."
Six men had been charged with the gang rape after a forensic examination.
Yet the woman, identified by the initials LH in news reports, retracted all of her accusatory statements in a hearing on Monday. If prosecuted and convicted for lying under oath she could face a punishment of up to two years in jail.
Dr. Theodore Karasik, a security analyst with Dubai-based think tank INEGMA, said the retraction was common in a legal system that can assign blame to victims of sexual assault.
"It's the nature of the law. The status here is that if a female is caught having illegal sex, no matter what the instance, this is seen as haram [forbidden]," he said.
An 18-year-old woman who told police she was the victim of a gang rape retracted her statement in a court hearing in Abu Dhabi, state newspaper The National reported. The woman had been charged with the crime of having sex out of wedlock after reporting the rape to police, and faced a sentence of lashes and jail time.
The case is latest high-profile prosecution on morality laws in the United Arab Emirates.
Earlier this year a couple was arrested for allegedly kissing in a Dubai restaurant, while neighboring Sharjah began a door-to-door campaign to catch unmarried couples cohabitating against the law.
In January a British woman told police she had been raped in a Dubai hotel, but she and her fiancé were instead arrested on accusations of having sex out of wedlock.
"These charges will make young women in the UAE, citizens and tourists alike, think twice about seeking justice and reporting sexual assaults for fear of being charged themselves," wrote Nadya Khalife, a Middle East researcher for Human Rights Watch, shortly after the hotel rape case became public.
"The message to women is clear: victims will be punished for speaking out and seeking justice, but sexual assault itself will not be properly investigated," Khalife said.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
UAE: Free the UAE 5
For the first time in the award’s ten-year history, Amnesty International today (25 August) announced two winners of its prestigious Freedom of Expression Award at the Edinburgh Fringe: Sold, directed by Catherine Alexander at the Pleasance Courtyard and The Wheel, directed by Vicky Featherstone at the Traverse.
The award, given to an outstanding Fringe production carrying a human rights message, in association with Fest magazine, was presented by Amnesty International Scotland Director John Watson. This year saw a record number of entries, with 92 productions nominated.
John Watson said:
“This was a year of firsts for the Freedom of Expression Award: the first time we’d had such a huge number of entries; the first comedian to be shortlisted in Mark Thomas; and our first joint winners, ‘Sold’ and ‘The Wheel’.
“With 92 productions entering for the award it’s perhaps fitting that we have two winners this year. Both are superb productions in quite different ways – but in both cases audiences are confronted with challenging questions about human rights.
“Amnesty marks its 50th birthday this year and protecting the right to freedom of expression has always been at the heart of our what we do. It’s why we’ve always worked so closely with artists and performers and it's why we’re delighted to be giving this award today.”
Judging the award were Joyce McMillan of the Scotsman and Neil Cooper of the Herald newspapers; academic, artist and researcher Stephanie Knight; Sam Friedman of Fest magazine and Amnesty International Scotland Director John Watson. The judging panel said of the two productions:
“The Wheel is a complex and epic story of how children can be corrupted by the ravages of war. By lurching through the centuries the way it does, it brings home the message that circumstances too often dictate how lives can go off the rails in a brilliantly performed, masterfully directed and profound piece of work that offers no easy answers except hope.”
"Sold is an ambitious, fast-moving show which combines a strong overview of the whole issue of slavery in human society with a series of powerful cameos of individual stories, involving trafficking into this country now. It's a memorable piece of agitprop drama which leaves us in no doubt that despite the increasing exposure of human trafficking in recent years, and widespread political debate on the issue, it is a problem that is not going away; in fact, if anything, it is growing worse, demanding real action from us all."
The other shortlisted productions were: Extreme Rambling (Walking the Wall), by Mark Thomas, at The Bongo Club; and Release, by Icon Theatre at the Pleasance Dome.
Amnesty’s involvement with the world’s largest arts festival is based on the celebration of freedom of expression and fighting for the rights of people whose free speech is denied. Amnesty’s 2011 Edinburgh Festival campaign is for the “UAE 5”, five men detained in the United Arab Emirates and charged with “insulting officials” after calling for democracy and criticising the government.
Amnesty is asking people at the festival to text (SMS) the word “FREEDOM” followed by their name to 81222 to join a petition, calling for the immediate and unconditional release of the “UAE 5”, which will be presented to the United Arab Emirates’ embassy in London ahead of their trial, now set for the end of September. Amnesty campaigners are out on the streets of Edinburgh asking people to get involved.
The five men – blogger and political commentator Ahmed Mansoor, lecturer Nasser bin Ghaith and online activists Fahad Salim Dalk, Ahmed Abdul Khaleq and Hassan Ali al-Khamis - have been detained in the UAE’s capital Abu Dhabi since April. In June they were charged under article 176 of the Penal Code, which makes it a crime to publicly insult the country’s top officials. None of the men is known to have advocated any violence or change of government.
The award, given to an outstanding Fringe production carrying a human rights message, in association with Fest magazine, was presented by Amnesty International Scotland Director John Watson. This year saw a record number of entries, with 92 productions nominated.
John Watson said:
“This was a year of firsts for the Freedom of Expression Award: the first time we’d had such a huge number of entries; the first comedian to be shortlisted in Mark Thomas; and our first joint winners, ‘Sold’ and ‘The Wheel’.
“With 92 productions entering for the award it’s perhaps fitting that we have two winners this year. Both are superb productions in quite different ways – but in both cases audiences are confronted with challenging questions about human rights.
“Amnesty marks its 50th birthday this year and protecting the right to freedom of expression has always been at the heart of our what we do. It’s why we’ve always worked so closely with artists and performers and it's why we’re delighted to be giving this award today.”
Judging the award were Joyce McMillan of the Scotsman and Neil Cooper of the Herald newspapers; academic, artist and researcher Stephanie Knight; Sam Friedman of Fest magazine and Amnesty International Scotland Director John Watson. The judging panel said of the two productions:
“The Wheel is a complex and epic story of how children can be corrupted by the ravages of war. By lurching through the centuries the way it does, it brings home the message that circumstances too often dictate how lives can go off the rails in a brilliantly performed, masterfully directed and profound piece of work that offers no easy answers except hope.”
"Sold is an ambitious, fast-moving show which combines a strong overview of the whole issue of slavery in human society with a series of powerful cameos of individual stories, involving trafficking into this country now. It's a memorable piece of agitprop drama which leaves us in no doubt that despite the increasing exposure of human trafficking in recent years, and widespread political debate on the issue, it is a problem that is not going away; in fact, if anything, it is growing worse, demanding real action from us all."
The other shortlisted productions were: Extreme Rambling (Walking the Wall), by Mark Thomas, at The Bongo Club; and Release, by Icon Theatre at the Pleasance Dome.
Amnesty’s involvement with the world’s largest arts festival is based on the celebration of freedom of expression and fighting for the rights of people whose free speech is denied. Amnesty’s 2011 Edinburgh Festival campaign is for the “UAE 5”, five men detained in the United Arab Emirates and charged with “insulting officials” after calling for democracy and criticising the government.
Amnesty is asking people at the festival to text (SMS) the word “FREEDOM” followed by their name to 81222 to join a petition, calling for the immediate and unconditional release of the “UAE 5”, which will be presented to the United Arab Emirates’ embassy in London ahead of their trial, now set for the end of September. Amnesty campaigners are out on the streets of Edinburgh asking people to get involved.
The five men – blogger and political commentator Ahmed Mansoor, lecturer Nasser bin Ghaith and online activists Fahad Salim Dalk, Ahmed Abdul Khaleq and Hassan Ali al-Khamis - have been detained in the UAE’s capital Abu Dhabi since April. In June they were charged under article 176 of the Penal Code, which makes it a crime to publicly insult the country’s top officials. None of the men is known to have advocated any violence or change of government.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
UAE Rape of Expat Women
A QUEENSLAND woman spent eight months in a United Arab Emirates jail for adultery after complaining to police about being drugged and raped by co-workers.
Alicia Gali, 29, yesterday detailed her harrowing ordeal after filing a Queensland lawsuit against the five-star international resort where the attack took place in 2008.
Warning other women against going to the UAE, Ms Gali said she endured eight months in a crowded prison room with up to 30 other women after she complained to authorities of being raped.
"These countries don't have the same laws as us. You can end up in serious trouble," she said.
Apart from her family, no one in Australia knew Ms Gali had been jailed for adultery and illegal drinking, because Australian embassy staff advised her and her family not to go to the media.
"It was just traumatising," she said.
"Everything that happened was the worst thing that somebody could go through."
"You're just totally alone in a foreign country, with no assistance from your employer or the embassy."
Ms Gali, a salon manager at the resort, said she had been in the staff bar, where she was told she could legally drink, when another employee put ice in her drink.
She said it was the last thing she remembered before waking the next day in her room with painful injuries.
"I didn't know what had happened. I was traumatised, I felt ill. I didn't even remember getting there or what had happened," Ms Gali said.
She said it was only when she took herself to hospital did she realise she had been sexually assaulted.
Later she learned she had been heard screaming and security guards had found men hiding in her room, where she was naked and unconscious.
When she was discharged from hospital she was asked to go to a police station to make a statement and then speak in front of a judge.
"I realised when I was put in a police car that I was being taken to jail."
Ms Gali said she was never warned by her UAE employers that she could be charged with adultery and face prison if she complained of being raped, without having four adult male Muslim witnesses.
"I didn't even know what the charges were until five months into my sentence," Ms Gali said.
After serving eight months of a 12-month sentence, Ms Gali was pardoned and released and flew home in March 2009.
Since then she has been treated for post traumatic stress disorder, suffered claustrophobia and flashbacks.
"I felt depressed, angry and confused," she said.
"I was the victim. I'd had something wrong done to me and I was being punished."
Law firm Maurice Blackburn on Thursday filed a damages claim in the Supreme Court in Brisbane, alleging Ms Gali's employer failed to warn her of the risk of being drugged, raped, charged with adultery and jailed if she complained.
Read more: http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/queensland-woman-tells-of-her-jail-hell-in-united-arab-emirates/story-e6frfq80-1226028892697#ixzz1Vzjfn8vH
Alicia Gali, 29, yesterday detailed her harrowing ordeal after filing a Queensland lawsuit against the five-star international resort where the attack took place in 2008.
Warning other women against going to the UAE, Ms Gali said she endured eight months in a crowded prison room with up to 30 other women after she complained to authorities of being raped.
"These countries don't have the same laws as us. You can end up in serious trouble," she said.
Apart from her family, no one in Australia knew Ms Gali had been jailed for adultery and illegal drinking, because Australian embassy staff advised her and her family not to go to the media.
"It was just traumatising," she said.
"Everything that happened was the worst thing that somebody could go through."
"You're just totally alone in a foreign country, with no assistance from your employer or the embassy."
Ms Gali, a salon manager at the resort, said she had been in the staff bar, where she was told she could legally drink, when another employee put ice in her drink.
She said it was the last thing she remembered before waking the next day in her room with painful injuries.
"I didn't know what had happened. I was traumatised, I felt ill. I didn't even remember getting there or what had happened," Ms Gali said.
She said it was only when she took herself to hospital did she realise she had been sexually assaulted.
Later she learned she had been heard screaming and security guards had found men hiding in her room, where she was naked and unconscious.
When she was discharged from hospital she was asked to go to a police station to make a statement and then speak in front of a judge.
"I realised when I was put in a police car that I was being taken to jail."
Ms Gali said she was never warned by her UAE employers that she could be charged with adultery and face prison if she complained of being raped, without having four adult male Muslim witnesses.
"I didn't even know what the charges were until five months into my sentence," Ms Gali said.
After serving eight months of a 12-month sentence, Ms Gali was pardoned and released and flew home in March 2009.
Since then she has been treated for post traumatic stress disorder, suffered claustrophobia and flashbacks.
"I felt depressed, angry and confused," she said.
"I was the victim. I'd had something wrong done to me and I was being punished."
Law firm Maurice Blackburn on Thursday filed a damages claim in the Supreme Court in Brisbane, alleging Ms Gali's employer failed to warn her of the risk of being drugged, raped, charged with adultery and jailed if she complained.
Read more: http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/queensland-woman-tells-of-her-jail-hell-in-united-arab-emirates/story-e6frfq80-1226028892697#ixzz1Vzjfn8vH
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