Beirut, 29 October, 2011 — Five detained human rights defenders: Nasser bin Gaith, an economy professor at Sorbonne-Abu Dhabi, Ahmed Mansoor, a human rights activist and blogger, Fahad Salim Dalk, Hassan Ali Al-Khamis and Ahmed Abdul Khaleq, online activists, are still facing ill-treatment in prison. They also continue to receive public death threats via social-networking websites like Facebook and Twitter among the silence of UAE responsible authorities. The ill-treatment is contrary to international human rights laws rule fair treatment of prisoners and sharply contrasts with Article 12 of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, which states that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection of the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, adverse discrimination facto or de jure, or pressure, or any other arbitrary action” as a result of the legitimate exercise of their civil and human rights.

The five activists have been arrested in April 2011 and put on trial that started on the 14th of June 2011. They are accused of publicly insulting the president and other senior officials of the United Arab Emirates, a charge that has proven to be false by the physical and legal evidences introduced by the defense team for the five defendants. They have faced a deeply flawed trial that does not meet minimum international standards of fair trial. They are prosecuted under state security procedures before the Federal Supreme Court with no right of appeal.

The Federal Supreme Court adjourned in the last hearing held on 23 October 2011 the announcement of the verdict to November 27, 2011. The Gulf Centre for Human Rights has serious concern that this mock trial, plus the ill-treatment faced by the activists during more than a half year of detention, in addition to public threats to kill them, may result in unjust sentences against the five activists who are being targeted for being human rights defenders and for peacefully exercising their legitimate right to freedom of expression.

Please write immediately in English or in Arabic:

• To express your concern about the severe mistreatment received by the five activists in prison, as well as public death threats against them on social media websites, Facebook and Twitter and the total silence of the authorities toward these serious threats;
• • To urge the authorities in the UAE to abandon the trial and to release the five human rights defenders of immediately and unconditionally;
• • • To express your concern and refusal to the severe suppression of the legitimate rights such as freedom of expression, assembly, and association by the UAE authorities of its citizens, in particular the activists.
Please Send Appeals before 27 November 2011 TO:
Vice-President and Prime Minister
H.H. Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum
Office of the Prime Minister
POB 2838
Dubai,
UAE
Fax: +971 4 3531974
E-mail: info@primeministre.ae

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior
H.H. Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan
Minister of Interior
Human Rights Directorate
POB 398
Abu Dhabi
UAE
Fax: +971 2 4414938

Minister of Foreign Affairs
H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahya
POB 1
Abu Dhabi
UAE
Fax: +971 2 4447766

Minister of Justice
His Excellency Dr. Hadef Jawa’an Al Dhaheri
Minister of Justice
POB 753
Abu Dhabi
United Arab Emirates
Email: moj@uae.gov.ae
Fax: +971 2 681 5155