United Arab Emirates

Sham mass trial of 84 Emirati men ongoing - URGENT ACTION UPDATE - 14/02/2024

The unfair mass trial of 84 Emirati men, including human rights defenders and prisoners of conscience Ahmed Mansoor, Mohammed al-Roken and Nasser bin Ghaith, on charges under an indictment that has so far been kept secret, is ongoing. On 7 February 2024, during the fifth trial session before the Federal Appeal Court in Abu Dhabi, defendents stated that they continued to be held in solitary confinement and disputed the prosecution's arguments that the new case against them is different from the one they had previously been convicted and sentenced for in 2013. Take action.

The mass trial, flagrantly violates the defendants' fair trial rights and disregards the fundamental legal principle by re-trying some defendents for the same charges they were convicted of a decade ago. Read more.

Amnesty International was among a number of organisations to urgently appeal the United Nations special procedures, United Nations member states and the European Union to call on the Unied Arab Emirates to drop abusive terrorism charges against the 84 Emiratis. Read more.

Human rights defenders and prisoners of conscience Ahmed Mansoor, Mohammed al-Roken and Nasser bin Ghaith are among the men being prosecuted in a new case on trumped up terrorism-related charges. Their trial, which began on 07 December 2023 before the Federal Appeal Court in Abu Dhabi, includes 62 unjustly imprisoned victims of the 2013 mass trial, known as the UAE94, 59 of whom remain arbitrarily detained after serving their sentences. Read more.

Amnesty was among a number of human rights organisations to sign a joint open letter expressing deep concern by the new prosecutions. Read more.

Activist's mother dies while he serves his prison sentence for Facebook posts - JOINT OPEN LETTER - 14/02/2024

The United Arab Emirates should immediately free and quash the sentence of the arbitrarily imprisoned Jordanian activist Ahmed al-Atoum, whose mother passed away on 10 February 2024 without saying her final goodbye to her son. Read more.

Leaders at COP28 must protect human rights - NEWS - 28/11/2023

Leaders at the COP28 climate summit in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) must place human rights at its heart by agreeing to rapidly phase out fossil fuels, ensure civil society's full and free participation in the meeting, and press the Emirati government to release dissidents from jail. Read more.

Sultan al-Jaber, the president-designate of COP28, who is also the chief executive of ADNOC, the UAE state oil and gas company, was briefed to advance the interests of the business he leads before dozens of bilateral meetings about the climate summit. Read more.

The UAE has ignored the chorus of calls from international civil society to demonstrate its respect for human rights.. The hosts of this year's global COP28 climate change conference have refused to release imprisoned dissidents. Read more.

Amnesty International has expressed concerns around the authorities' use of digital surveillance during COP28. Read more.

Amnesty was one of over 200 civil society organisations from around the globe to sign a joint open letter calling on all governments attending the annual global conference on climate change, which is being held in Dubai this year, to address the UAE's human rights record and destructive policies on climate change. Read more.

It is reported that the UAE has defined a narrow list of talking points for its officials around climate issues and is aiming to avoid discussion of the human rights abuses in the country. Read more.

Locked up for speaking truth to power: Ahmed Mansoor - WRITE FOR RIGHTS - 22/09/2023

Ahmed Mansoor is being arbitrarily detained in dire conditions and in prolonged solitary confinement that amounts to torture. Take action.

Ahmed Mansoor's case card can be found here.

Amnesty International is calling on world leaders to urge the UAE to releae Ahmed Mansoor ahead of the COP28 climate conference. Read more.

Oral statement to UN Human Rights Council - ORAL STATEMENT TO UN - 04/10/2023

Amnesty International's oral statement to the UN Human Rights Council on the conclusion of the UAE's Universal Periodic Review can be found here.

Amnesty documents

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Updated 06/03/2024

Country coordinator - TBC