A first batch of Yemeni Guantanamo detainees held in the UAE has arrived in Hadramot, including six of the 18 detainees hosted by the UAE government which has failed to honour its commitments to them.
The UAE's return of Yemeni Guantanamo detainees comes after a very difficult journey that lasted about 20 years, following extensive media and human rights campaigns.
Alkarama shares the grief of the family of Emirati prisoner of conscience Mohammed Abdul Razzaq Al-Siddiq and the human rights family in the death of human rights activist Alaa Al-Siddiq, who died following a traffic accident in Oxford, UK.
The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor, has called on the UAE to immediately release five human rights defenders imprisoned since 2013, referring to allegations of torture, ill-treatment and unfair trials.
A former Yemeni detainee of the Emirati secret prisons in Yemen has revealed that he was subjected to psychological and physical torture at the hands of Emirati investigators, while being held in a secret prison in the Balhaf oil complex. This complex is managed by the French company Total, in the Yemeni province of Shabwa.
On 15 April 2021, Alkarama submitted its report to the UN Secretary-General (UNSG) concerning several cases of reprisals in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Under resolution 12/2 the UN Secretary-General submits an annual report to the Human Rights Council compiling information received on acts of reprisals for cooperation with the UN in the field of human rights. This report brings to light the situation in countries where cooperation with the UN triggers systematic measures of reprisals and intimidations.
Alkarama expresses its grave concern at reports of the deteriorating state of health of Emirati human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor, who has been detained for nearly four years in very poor conditions. The Emirati authorities are being held responsible for his life and his physical and moral integrity.
Today, Wednesday 18 November 2020, Alkarama wrote to the Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances, asking it to intervene on behalf of the Yemeni preacher, Abdul Qadir Al-Badiji (Al-Shaibani), who has been missing since 30 October in the southern Yemeni city of Aden.
United Nations human rights experts condemned the United Arab Emirates for the arbitrary detention and ill-treatment of Yemeni detainees returning from Guantanamo Bay, expressing concern about the risk of forced return to their country, Yemen, in light of the continuing armed conflict and humanitarian crisis.
Today marks 7 years since the unfair trial of 94 human rights defenders, political opponents and activists in the United Arab Emirates. The trials, according to UN experts and NGOs clearly lacked the minimum fair trial standards.
Alaa, the daughter of of Abdul-Razzaq Al-Siddiq, one of prisoners of conscience in the United Arab Emirates made an appeal to all human rights organizations to help put an end to the suffering of her father who had been detained since April 2012.
Alaa said "I have not heard his voice for 8 years! My father is a Sharia professor… he has not established a secret organization… my father is innocent."
