UAE Has Not Released 12 Human Rights Activists 'After Their Sentences Ended'

A document published by the United Nations indicates that the United Arab Emirates has been holding 12 human rights activists in detention 'arbitrarily' even after their sentences have ended. This document comes three weeks after relatives of the prisoners and human rights activists reported that over 50 individuals, convicted of conspiracy to overthrow the UAE government, have remained in detention months and even years after their prison terms ended. They are members of a group known as 'UAE 94', consisting of 94 lawyers, human rights defenders, and academics who were tried in 2013, with their prison terms ending in 2019. The UN document states that 12 government opponents, whose multi-year sentences ended in July 2019, are still in detention. The UN asserts that these detentions violate several articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and calls for their immediate release and recognition of their right to seek compensation under international law. The document notes that the UAE has not responded to this request within a 60-day period. A list prepared by the UAE Detained Persons Support Center, which Reuters has also seen, shows that 51 individuals in the UAE are being held beyond their sentences. The UAE will host the UN Climate Conference in November. The last meeting in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, was used by human rights activists as an opportunity to pressure the country to improve its human rights record, and they say they will do the same in the UAE. According to Reuters, the UAE does not allow political parties to operate and shows little tolerance for dissent. State and local media in the country are heavily controlled, and freedom of expression is limited. The Geneva-based legal group 'MENA' states that Emirati officials have extended the detention of prisoners indefinitely under the pretext of 'rehabilitation needs', an action permitted under the country's 'Anti-Terrorism Law'. The daughter of one of the detainees told Reuters that conditions have become harder for her father, who is no longer allowed phone calls or visits with family. Her father is a 52-year-old teacher who was supposed to be released last July.