On 13 December 2015, journalist Taysir Hasan Mahmoud Salman was arrested by police forces at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Abu Dhabi and taken to an unknown location. Almost two months later, he remains disappeared. In view of these facts, on 4 February 2016, Alkarama sent Taysir's case to the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances (WGEID), hoping that this United Nations Special Procedure for the protection of human rights will help shed light on his fate and whereabouts.
A 43-year-old married Jordanian citizen, Taysir lives in Abu Dhabi where he works as a reporter for the Al Dar newspaper. On 3 December 2015, as he made his way through the airport to fly back to his home country on holidays, he was prevented from boarding his flight. Summoned to present himself to Abu Dhabi's CID without being informed of the reasons why he was prevented from leaving the UAE, he was arrested upon arrival there on 13 December 2015 at 7pm, and was never seen again.
After his disappearance, Taysir's wife contacted the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but to no avail. Concerned over the fate of her husband, she turned to Alkarama, which in turn seized the WGEID, requesting it to call upon the Emirati authorities to release Taysir immediately or, at the very least, to put him under the protection of the law by disclosing his whereabouts. His family should be able to visit him without restriction.
For more information or an interview, please contact the media team at media@alkarama.org (Dir: +41 22 734 1008).