Alkarama has learned, from Emirati human rights defense sources, of the death of political prisoner Ali Abdullah Al-Khaja in Al-Razeen Prison in Abu Dhabi. His health had severely deteriorated and he remained imprisoned for more than thirteen years despite a United Nations decision deeming his detention arbitrary and calling for his release.
Alkarama had submitted the cases of 62 political prisoners, including Ali Abdullah Al-Khaja, to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to denounce the growing repression of human rights defenders and political activists in the UAE since 2011. Following this submission, the Working Group issued Opinion No. 60/2013 condemning their detention and calling for their immediate release.
Alkarama monitored the case from its beginnings through the delivery of unjust verdicts in the case known as the “UAE 94.” On August 19, 2013, it requested a new opinion from the Working Group concerning 61 detainees sentenced to terms ranging from seven to ten years.
During this period, the Emirati authorities launched a widespread arrest campaign targeting dozens of individuals – academics, judges, lawyers, and human rights defenders – due to a petition they had sent to the President of the UAE and the Supreme Council of the Federation demanding democratic reforms. The State Security detained them secretly and for prolonged periods, subjecting them to severe acts of torture. These detainees were later tried in the largest collective trial ever held in the country, known as the “UAE 94.”
Case Background
Mr. Al-Khaja was arrested at his home on August 28, 2012 and was forcibly disappeared until his first court appearance in March 2013, where he was accused of belonging to an underground organization. Throughout his secret detention, he was subjected to humiliating and inhumane treatment: placement in isolation, denial of visits, inability to meet or communicate with his lawyer, and deprivation of several fundamental rights.
On July 2, 2013, the Federal Supreme Court of Abu Dhabi sentenced 56 people, including Mr. Al-Khaja, to ten years in prison with an additional three years of surveillance for “membership in an illegal underground organization.” He was tried as a member of the group widely known as the “UAE 94.”
After his sentencing, violations against him continued in Al-Razeen Prison, including prolonged isolation, prohibition from accessing sunlight, practicing sports, participating in collective religious rites such as Friday prayers, and long periods of denied visits, without any valid reason.
Although Mr. Al-Khaja completed his full sentence on August 28, 2022, the Emirati authorities refused to release him and maintained him in arbitrary detention, transferring him to the prison’s “rehabilitation” center under the pretext that he posed a terrorist threat, without giving him the opportunity to challenge this decision.
In early December 2023, the authorities again initiated proceedings against Mr. Al-Khaja and 83 other Emirati citizens, referring them to the State Security Chamber of the Abu Dhabi Court of Appeal for “creating and supporting a terrorist organization,” according to human rights sources. This new trial, known as the “UAE 84,” began on December 7, 2023.
In response to this situation, seventeen UN experts issued a statement on January 19, 2024, condemning this initiative and expressing deep concern that the trial of “84 civil society members based on false terrorism-related charges could result in the death penalty or long prison sentences.” They noted that most of the accused were already serving, or had served, sentences for acts allegedly committed between 2010 and 2011, during the Arab Spring.
The statement emphasizes that these prosecutions are part of “a growing campaign of repression by the UAE against individuals and organizations calling for peaceful political reforms, which has led to long prison sentences under the Penal Code.”
Alkarama’s Action
Alkarama has followed the case of Mr. Ali Abdullah Al-Khaja and several other political prisoners in the UAE over all these years, repeatedly highlighting the seriousness of their situation. In May 2024, Alkarama vigorously condemned the new decision by Emirati authorities to retry dozens of political prisoners who had already served their full sentences, despite multiple opinions from the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention condemning these practices and demanding their release.
This statement followed the decision of the Emirati Attorney General to refer 84 political prisoners to the Federal Court of Abu Dhabi, accusing most of them of belonging to the Muslim Brotherhood, an organization banned in the country, and of “creating a new clandestine structure intended to commit acts of violence and terrorism.” In a statement relayed by official media, the prosecutor claimed that “the accused had concealed this alleged crime and its evidence prior to their arrest and trial in Case No. 17 of 2013 – State Security.”
For Me Rachid Mesli, Alkarama’s director, this new trial constitutes “a major farce and total disregard for justice.” He emphasizes that it is “a clear violation of the principle prohibiting double jeopardy after a final judgment,” particularly as the individuals had already served their sentences following a trial marred by irregularities. According to him, this approach only “aggravates the violations suffered by the detainees,” amounting to “slow execution,” while allowing the authorities to evade their international obligations, including their duty to cooperate in good faith with UN special procedures. The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has issued multiple opinions confirming the arbitrary nature of their detention and calling for their release and reparations.
Me Mesli also points out that the Abu Dhabi authorities do not merely ignore these international opinions: they have created “an absurd situation where the rule of law is emptied of all meaning, while coercion becomes the norm.”
On July 10, 2024, the official news agency WAM announced that the Federal Court of Appeal of Abu Dhabi had convicted 53 defendants as well as six companies.
Alkarama reiterates that the continued detention of political prisoners in the UAE constitutes a clear violation of the country’s international obligations. Alkarama also emphasizes that the repetition of trials against these detainees amounts to a form of psychological torture: after spending many years hoping for release and the chance to resume a normal life, the victims face the authorities’ decision to extend their imprisonment indefinitely. This practice illustrates the UAE’s persistent disregard for the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention’s opinions, as well as for the recommendations of the Committee Against Torture.
During its initial review, to which Alkarama contributed through a parallel report and participation in an NGO briefing at the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, the Committee Against Torture made several recommendations in August 2022. These included the requirement that anti-terrorism legislation and State Security laws fully comply with international human rights standards. The Committee stressed the need to guarantee all fundamental legal safeguards outlined in paragraph 13 of General Comment No. 2 (2007), as well as the importance of investigating and sanctioning security and law enforcement agents involved in acts of torture.
The Committee also recommended that detention in “rehabilitation” centers be strictly regulated by clear and legally defined criteria, that its duration be limited and explicitly set, and that detainees be able to challenge the legality of their detention at any time.
It further urged the State to make greater efforts to align detention conditions with the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules), investigate all forms of ill-treatment or cruel, inhuman, or degrading punishment, and prosecute those responsible for such violations.
In its concluding observations, the Committee emphasized the importance of strengthened cooperation with UN human rights mechanisms, including allowing visits by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and other experts and special procedures.
It should be recalled that Emirati authorities still hold more than sixty political prisoners, most of whom have already served their sentences since July 2022 but remain incarcerated under the guise of “rehabilitation.” Some have even been retried and again heavily sentenced, following a succession of violations, ill-treatment, torture, and unfair trials.