According to IFEX (the International Freedom of Expression eXchange), the few human rights activists who dare to announce themselves publicly in the United Arab Emirates continue to face intimidation and indifference
In June, the Federal High Court issued an arrest warrant for [Muhammad] al-Mansoori, which accused him of allegedly "insulting the public prosecutor." According to Al-Mansoori, these charges stemmed from his public interviews and advocacy promoting human rights.
In July, security agents detained [Muhammad] al-Roken for 24 hours. They detained him again in August for three days. According to the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (HRInfo), al-Roken was detained for criticising the country's justice system in an interview with Al-Jazeera. Security officials confiscated his passport and barred him from leaving the country... For the past five years, authorities have barred twelve prominent UAE commentators and academics from disseminating their views in programmes broadcast by Abu Dhabi Television.
The government also actively discourages the formation of non-governmental organisations. Al-Roken and other lawyers and activists are still waiting to receive a reply from the Ministry of Social Welfare more than two years after they filed an application to form the Emirates Human Rights Society in July 2004. A separate application filed in April 2005 by a group led by human rights activist Khalifa Bakhit al-Falasi has also been ignored. Under UAE Law, replies to such applications should be sent within 30 days of their filing.
It will be a great day when the Emirates Human Rights Society is able to operate openly and without government interference. In the meantime, it's business as usual in the UAE.
What makes the private gathering particularly unusual is that it united not only activists from a range of political ideologies, but also from the external and internal opposition.
Posted by: air jordans | March 18, 2011 at 10:46 PM