Alkarama has learned that the Emirati authorities have released Yemeni businessman Abdullah Ali Abdulhafidh Abdelwahab after nearly four years of arbitrary detention, in connection with posts in which he criticised Emirati airstrikes targeting forces affiliated with the internationally recognised government of Yemen.
At the same time, the United Arab Emirates also released Yemeni photojournalist Khaled Saleh Al-Zahr Al-Yafai after nearly five years in Al-Wathba Prison, without any official announcement explaining the reasons for or circumstances of his detention or release. Al-Yafai was arrested at Aden airport in early 2021 and transferred to Abu Dhabi, before his return to Aden was finally announced.
In March 2025, Alkarama had submitted the case to the UN Special Procedures concerning Yemeni businessman Abdullah Abdelwahab, stressing that his arrest and detention had no legal basis.
Background to the case
On 19 October 2022, Mr Abdelwahab was arrested in the Emirate of Sharjah by the Emirati State Security Service, without an arrest warrant or any official explanation. It was only two weeks later that his family received a very brief phone call, during which they learned that he was being held in Abu Dhabi. Since then, he has been denied access to a lawyer and kept isolated from the outside world under close surveillance.
According to credible testimonies, Mr Abdelwahab was sentenced to 15 years in prison for posts he published on Facebook in 2019 criticising Emirati airstrikes in Yemen. Although these posts were entirely peaceful and fell within the scope of freedom of expression protected under international law, they resulted in a harsh prison sentence.
Mr Abdelwahab was held at Al-Sadr Federal Prison in Abu Dhabi in inhumane conditions. He was not allowed regular contact with his family and, when permitted to make a phone call, the call lasted no more than one minute, leaving his family in constant fear for his safety.
In addition to being denied family visits, Mr Abdelwahab was subjected to particularly harsh detention conditions. In early March 2025, he went on hunger strike to protest his detention and the sentence imposed against him.
The case of the Yemeni businessman is part of a broader policy of repression pursued by the Emirati authorities, with numerous individuals being imprisoned for lengthy periods for the peaceful exercise of their freedom of expression on social media. This repression is facilitated in particular by a restrictive legal framework, including cybercrime legislation, which criminalises criticism deemed harmful to the state or its image.
Alkarama’s action
In response to these violations, Alkarama submitted the case to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) on 11 March 2025, stressing that Mr Abdelwahab’s arrest and detention had no legal basis and that the sentence imposed against him amounted to retaliation for exercising his right to freedom of opinion and expression.
Alkarama once again calls on the United Nations and the international community to pressure the Emirati authorities to end their policies of repression, intimidation and arbitrary detention, and to immediately and unconditionally release all prisoners of conscience and political prisoners, while ensuring that their fundamental rights are respected, including their right to reparation for the material and moral harm they have suffered.