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IDHAE INFORMATION
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Human rights lawyer, and UAE University
Law professor Dr Mohammed al-Roken has been arrested twice in the last three
months. In July he was held in custody for one night after he gave an
interview to an Arab television about the recent war in Lebanon. On 23 August, members of the state
security services arrested him at his office and released him without charges
soon afterwards. Mohamed al-Mansoori is a human rights
lawyer and President of the Independent Jurists association, a legal
organisation that is involved in human rights issues. A conference on women’s
rights and democracy planned by the organisation to take place in September
last year was banned by the authorities with no explanation given. On 17 June a warrant for his
al-Mansoori’s arrest was issued, accusing him of “insulting the Public
Prosecutor”. The human rights defender had recently been critical of abusive
labour practices in the UAE. Both men are well known commentators in
their native country and in the last few months have been particularly vocal
in calling for the government to revise existing law regarding human rights. The UAE authorities have confiscated the
passports of both men and neither are allowed to participate in media
interviews or allowed to write articles in the press. – A flagrant breach of
article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Both men have also publicly expressed
support for Sharla Musaibh who runs the “City of Hope’s Women’s Shelter” in
an affluent area of Dubai. Ms Musaibh is reportedly facing criminal charges,
which are believed to be politically motivated. The shelter is the only refuge centre in
the UAE and provides housing and support for victims of domestic violence,
human trafficking and employer abuse. Please
write, calling on the UAE authorities to take
concrete steps to ensure that the right to freedom of expression is respected
and that human rights defenders are free from harassment. Send appeals to: His Excellency Major-General Shaikh Saif
bin Zayed Al Nahyan Minister of the Interior Ministry of the Interior PO Box 398 Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates Fax: + 971 2 4414938 E-mail: moi@uae.gov.ae PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. AI Index: MDE 25/007/2006 (Public)
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