United Arab Emirates: Ahmed Mansoor risks unfair trial during 18 July hearing

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Ahmed Mansoor, a well-known Emirati human rights defender, was arrested in April during a wave of arrests targeting those critical of the authorities. At present, he is undergoing an unfair trial with a second hearing scheduled for Monday 18 July. Alkarama has been working on his case since his arrest and today submitted an update on his situation to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to request their urgent intervention on Mr Mansoor's behalf before the hearing on Monday in order to obtain his immediate release.

Prior to his arrest on 9 April, Mr Mansoor had been subjected to persecution by the authorities. Namely, it seems his employer came under pressure to re-locate Mr Mansoor to a post overseas, and when Mr Mansoor refused, they fired him. More alarming is an attempt to abduct Mr Mansoor in the middle of the night before his arrest (the night of Friday 8 to Saturday 9 April): Mr Mansoor was woken at 3.30am by his building's security guard, who told him that someone was looking to speak to him urgently. Mr Mansoor, all too familiar with the tactics used by the security services to arrest individuals, refused to come out and asked the security guard to tell the individual to come back in the morning.

Ahmed Mansoor was finally arrested at his home in the afternoon of Saturday 9 April by a group of ten agents wearing both uniform and plain clothing. They did not present an arrest warrant or even a search warrant, despite spending three hours searching the family home. After confiscating a number of personal items, they left, taking Mr Mansoor with them.

Following his arrest Mr Mansoor was detained one night in Dubai, before being taken to Abu Dhabi's Al Wathba prison, where he remains detained today. However, at the time, his family and legal consul had no information about his whereabouts despite requests made of the authorities to provide this information. Such situations are highly alarming for families and for Alkarama, as there is a high risk that individuals may face torture or ill-treatment during this period outside of the protection of the law. Alkarama therefore submitted an urgent appeal to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture on 12 April 2011 to request his intervention on the case.

Mr Mansoor was finally able to contact his family close to a week after his arrest to reassure them he was fine. Since then, he has been allowed three visits with them, and his lawyers have also been able to have access to him.

However, Alkarama is concerned to learn that at present, Mr Mansoor is on trial under four different charges, all relating to critical opinions he expressed against the authorities in online forums (of which he was the administrator) and in the media. Accusations include defamation of the head of state and his deputies, as well as for calling for demonstrations, calling for upcoming elections to be boycotted and for using technological means (i.e. the internet) to be insubordinate towards the authorities.

Mr Mansoor is being tried by the Supreme Court. A first hearing was held on 20 June, and his second hearing is scheduled for this Monday, 18 July. The Supreme Court is a special court which does not provide the right of appeal, in violation of international fair trial norms. Furthermore, Alkarama was concerned to learn that the judges in Mr Mansoor's case are not Emirati nationals. The tenure of judges is not guaranteed in the UAE, which renders non-national judges very vulnerable to influence from the authorities, thereby violating the principle of the independence of justice. All of these factors, combined with the political nature of the accusations, is an indication that Mr Mansoor risks being sanctioned for having simply practiced his legitimate right to freedom of opinion and expression – in reaction to his political statements and as an example to others who may wish to express political opinions contrary to those of the authorities. Alkarama therefore urgently informed the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention today of the situation to request their urgent intervention with the authorities of the UAE, seeking Mr Mansoor's release as soon as possible.

Alkarama hopes that that the authorities of the United Arab Emirates will respect the commitments they have undertaken as members of the international community and ensure Mr Mansoor's rights are fully respects, as are those of others peacefully expressing opinions which are critical of the authorities. Alkarama will continue to monitor the case closely, as well as investigating the situations of others arrested in the same wave of arrests in the country.