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.
The fate of Emirati activist Jassem bin Rashid Al-Shamsi remains unknown following his arrest in Syria on Thursday, November 6, 2025, at a checkpoint in the capital, Damascus. He was reportedly taken to a security facility without a judicial warrant or clear charges, and all contact with him has since been severed.
Yemeni businessman Abdullah Ali Abdulhafidh ABDELWAHAB remains detained at Abu Dhabi’s federal prison, known as Al-Sadr, in conditions that contravene international human rights standards. His contact with his family is extremely limited: when he is allowed to make a phone call, it never lasts more than one minute, deepening the anguish and distress of his relatives.
The authorities of the United Arab Emirates are continuing their campaign of repression and intimidation against prisoners of conscience and political opponents, using the justice system and anti-terrorism laws as tools in their war against human rights.
On 11 March 2025, Alkarama submitted to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) the case of Mr. Abdullah Ali Abdulhafidh ABDELWAHAB, a Yemeni businessman who was arbitrarily arrested in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and sentenced to 15 years in prison merely for posts on Facebook.
Alkarama expresses its deep concern over reports of raids and arrests carried out by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) against Palestinian and Arab residents of the country for their solidarity with the Palestinian people in the face of the Israeli occupation's killing and genocide in Gaza.
Alkarama strongly condemns the unjust sentences issued by a court in the United Arab Emirates against 53 political detainees. Most of these individuals were the subject of Opinions from the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which had called for their immediate release.
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) has for the fourth time called for the release of peaceful dissidents detained after unfair trials and arbitrarily detained, despite the expiry of their sentences, by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) solely for exercising their right to freedom of expression and demanding political reforms.
The authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are still holding more than 60 prisoners of conscience who have completed their sentences, some of whom completed their sentences in July 2022, but remain, after a series of violations, torture and ill-treatment, behind bars under the pretext of "counseling".
Among the victims who have completed their sentences is prominent lawyer and human rights activist Mohamed al-Roken, who has spent ten years in prison following an unfair trial.
