Dr. Mohammed Al-Rokn, the former Secretary General of the Emirate Human Rights Activist Association and current vice president of the International Lawyer's Federation, has been held in a UAE prison for over two weeks. It remains unclear why Al-Rokn, a professor of constitutional law at the University of Emirates, is being held - now for the second time in only a few weeks:
The Committee to Defend Liberties of the Egyptian Bar Association and the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (HRinfo) condemned today the arbitrary detention of Dr. Mohammed Al-Rokn, the human rights activist, since Wednesday 23 August. No explanations for his arrest or accusations were put forward.
This is the second time in which Dr. Al-Rokn has been detained during the month of August this year. In both instances no clear reasons were provided for the detention of a university professor and human rights advocate famous for his defense of liberties in the Arab Gulf region.
"The detention of Dr. Al-Rokn is a blatant violation of human rights, especially that his arrest was conducted with no consideration of law," said Montasser Al-Zayyat, head of the Committee to Defend Liberties. "We are in solidarity with him and demand his immediate release," he added.
Al-Rokn was intending to nominate himself for the first parliamentary elections to be held in the UAE next month, raising doubts on the possibility of a connection between his arrest and his intentions for nomination.
We're watching.
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