We, the undersigned human rights organizations, are deeply concerned by the new prosecutions brought by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities against more than 80 Emiratis, some of whom are human rights defenders, for allegedly establishing and supporting a “terrorist organization.” The charges are in retaliation to the defendants’ real or suspected connection to the Justice and Dignity Committee, a group formed in 2010-2011 that, in the words of the authorities’ 2012 indictment, “undertook to raise society’s awareness of its rights,” “published articles about those rights,” and “worked to communicate with international rights organizations.”
