Dr. Mohammed Abdullah Mohammed Al-Roken, an Emirati born in 1962, worked as a lawyer and university law professor. He was awarded the Ludovic Trarieux Prize for Human Rights in 2017. He was arrested on 17 July 2012 as part of the authorities’ crackdown on reform advocates. He was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment, followed by three years’ probation. Although his sentence ended on 17 July 2022, he remained in detention beyond the completion of his prison sentence. In December 2023, Al-Roken was among the 84 defendants charged in the widely-criticised “UAE84” case, which utilises fabricated terrorism charges in order to illegally extend the sentences of the accused, none of whom have committed any new offences. On 10 July 2024, Dr. Al-Roken was sentenced to life in prison. His sentence was upheld on appeal on 4 March 2025.