GCHR denounces the ruling as a tactic to imprison critics indefinitely, calling for the immediate release of those arbitrarily detained and urgent reforms to ensure fair trial standards.
This statement was originally published on gc4hr.org on 5 March 2025.
During a hearing on 4 March 2025, the State Security Department of the Federal Supreme Court in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) rejected the appeals submitted by 53 people convicted in the case known in the media as the “UAE84” case. They include Ahmed Mansoor, who is on the Advisory Board of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR).
The Federal Supreme Court upheld all the sentences of those convicted by the State Security Department of the Federal Court of Appeal in Abu Dhabi on 10 July 2024, including life sentences for 43 people, 15 years in prison for five individuals, and 10 years in prison for five others. As well, six companies were fined 20 million Dirhams after being convicted. Additionally, 24 individuals in the case were not sentenced due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.
However, the public prosecutor lodged an appeal against the ruling issued to terminate the criminal case against 24 defendants for the crimes of allegedly cooperating with or providing money to the Call for Reform (Al-Islah) organisation, which it labelled a “terrorist” organisation. The State Security Department of the Federal Supreme Court decided to consider this appeal separately and to postpone it to a session on 08 April 2025.
Case No. 452 of 2023 was also named by the authorities as the “Terrorist Justice and Dignity Committee” case.
On 10 July 2024, prominent human rights defenders Abulsalam Darwish Al-Marzouqi, Sultan Bin Kayed Al-Qasimi, Dr. Mohammed Al-Roken, Dr. Mohammed Al-Mansoori, and Sheikh Mohammed Abdulrazzaq Al-Siddiq were among 43 people sentenced to life in prison, which is tantamount to 25 years in prison, “for the crime of establishing, founding and managing” the Justice and Dignity Committee, allegedly “with the aim of committing terrorist acts on the country’s soil,” according to the official WAM news agency. Dr. Al-Roken and Dr. Al-Mansoori are both human rights lawyers. At the time of the trial, all five were being held in prison past the end of their sentences.
In addition, exiled human rights defenders Hamad Al-Shamsi and Mohammed Al-Saqer were sentenced to life in prison in absentia.
GCHR’s Advisory Board member Ahmed Mansoor, who is also on the MENA Division Advisory Committee for Human Rights Watch, and academic Dr. Nasser Bin Ghaith were among the five people sentenced to 15 years in prison on allegations of “cooperating with the terrorist organisation and supporting it in articles and tweets they published on social media, knowing its anti-state objectives.” Both were already serving unjust 10-year sentences for their human rights advocacy. Ahmed Mansoor remains in solitary confinement.
“It’s a tragedy to put on trial innocent citizens who mostly served their initial sentences, solely due to the intention of the authorities to keep them in prison indefinitely for their peaceful and legitimate human rights activities,” said Khalid Ibrahim, Executive Director of GCHR.
For more details on the case, please read a report on the UAE84 trial by GCHR and the Emirates Detainees Advocacy Center (EDAC).
Recommendations:
GCHR calls on the Emirati authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all those sentenced in this case, which was not conducted according to international standards of fair trial.
We also call on the Emirati authorities to investigate allegations of abusive conditions, and hold to account those responsible for any unlawful acts.
Finally, while they remain in prison, all defendants in the case must be removed from solitary confinement, given access to their lawyers and families, and provided with medical care, as mandated by the Nelson Mandela Rules.
