HRW slams UAE for harassing activists’ lawyers

“By extending its crackdown against peaceful critics to include lawyers, the UAE is making even the basic rule of law impossible,” Deputy Director for Middle East and North Africa at Human Rights Watch Joe Stork said on Wednesday.

The rights groups said the harassment and intimidation of leading defense lawyers has made it nearly impossible for detained protestors to get access to a lawyer

A total of about 50 people have been detained in the United Arab Emirates since March 2012, including prominent lawyers, journalists and bloggers, claiming that their calls for reforms threaten the country’s national security.

Lawyers employed by the only Emirati law firm currently offering legal assistance to the detainees have been arrested, deported, and intimidated, Human Rights Watch said.

    The United Arab Emirates has launched a crackdown on activists campaigning for free speech and political freedom.


On July 16, Abu Dhabi stripped activist Ahmed Abdul Khaleq of citizenship and deported him to Thailand over his online campaign for reform in the country.

According to the London-based Emirates Center for Human Rights, the activist was deported on a Comoros Islands passport arranged by UAE authorities.

    Abdul Khaleq and four others, including blogger and rights advocate Ahmed Mansour and economics professor Nasser bin Ghaith, were arrested in April 2011 for signing an online petition demanding constitutional reforms and free elections in the UAE. They were convicted of committing crimes against the state.


A 2009 report showed that the UAE has struck a $200-million deal with the government of Comoros to provide passports for people it makes stateless.

The Persian Gulf state prohibits any organized political opposition.