General: Jordan/UAE: Intelligence cooperation leads to extradition of Dr. Khalaf Al-Romaithi to UAE in violation of local and international laws

Reliable sources confirmed to the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) that close cooperation between the Jordanian Intelligence Service and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) State Security Apparatus has led to the handing over of  Emirati businessman Dr. Khalaf Abdulrahman Al-Romaithi, a member of the UAE94 group, to the UAE authorities, in violation of Jordanian local laws and international laws.

On 17 May 2023, the Emirates News Agency (WAM), which is the official agency of the state, published an article with the title, "UAE receives wanted terrorist from Jordan," in which it confirmed that the UAE authorities had received Dr. Al-Romaithi from Jordan. The article described him as a "terrorist" and stated, "According to the UAE Criminal Procedural Law, Khalaf Al-Romaithi will be retried again, in accordance with the legal provisions, which stipulate that if an accused person is arrested against whom a judgment was passed in absentia or he turns himself in, he will be retried on the same charges against him."

There is no doubt that the official news agency labeled him a terrorist despite the fact that he is a peaceful citizen and an independent businessman, which means that this court will lack the minimum international standards for fair trial and due process. It’s expected that a harsh sentence will be issued against him, and it is extremely likely that the verdict has been decided by the higher authorities in advance.

The targeting of Dr. Al-Romaithi in this way by intelligence bodies and outside the framework of the law confirms the power of the security services in most countries of the region and their power over all other state institutions, including the judiciary.

For more information on the details of his case, click here.

GCHR strongly condemns the Jordanian authorities' handing over Dr. Khalaf Al-Romaithi to the UAE, where it is likely that he will be subjected to ill-treatment and torture in prison. This runs contrary to Jordanian laws and international law, as he had entered the country regularly with a valid Turkish passport. GCHR also condemns with the same intensity the repressive practices of the UAE State Security Apparatus and its continuous pursuit of human rights defenders, other activists and innocent citizens who live and work in exile.

GCHR calls on the Turkish government to make serious efforts to recover Dr. Al-Romaithi from the UAE and to ensure his return to his workplace in Turkey as soon as possible.