Over two dozen prisoners of conscience, including well-known human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor, continued to be detained in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The state continued to restrict freedom of expression, taking measures to silence citizens and residents who expressed critical opinions on...

Participants will learn about freedom of expression and what happens when this right is violated, through the real case of Ahmed Mansoor who is being arbitrarily detained in dire conditions and in prolonged solitary confinement that amounts to torture. As part of the activity, participants are...

Ahmad Ali Mekkaoui, a Lebanese national serving a 15-year prison sentence in the United Arab Emirates on terrorism-related charges, has been allowed to resume contact with his family and has now been calling them twice a week. He had been in incommunicado detention for several months,...

On 17 February 2020, the Federal Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi confirmed the verdict against five Lebanese men including Abdel Rahman Talal Chouman, who was sentenced to life imprisonment, as well as Ahmed Nimr Sobeh and another man who were sentenced to 10 years in prison on “terrorism” charges. The...

The physical and psychological conditions of human rights defender and prisoner of conscience Ahmed Mansoor has significantly deteriorated, following four months of him being on continuous hunger strike to protest his detention conditions. He is no longer able to walk unattended. He has been...

The Federal Supreme Court has set 20 January 2020 to issue its verdict in the case of two Lebanese men, including Ahmed Nimr Sobeh, who are appealing their conviction and sentences. The Court is yet to set the date to hear the appeal of a third Lebanese man, Abdelrahman Talal Chouman. The three men...

On 7 September 2019, human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor went on hunger strike to protest his detention conditions, and after prison guards beat him. He remained on strike at least until the end of October, with signs of deteriorating health. His conditions have not improved as he remains in...

On 22 June 2019, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) forcibly returned Rashid Hussain Brohi to Pakistan. Emirati security forces had taken him into custody on 27 October 2019 without an explanation. They held him incommunicado for seven months. Prior to moving to the UAE, Rashid was an activist in the...

Lebanese detainee Ahmad Ali Mekkaoui has been held incommunicado since 11 April 2019. He is at heightened risk of torture and other ill-treatment. Ahmad Ali Mekkaoui is serving a 15-year prison sentence in the United Arab Emirates on “terrorism” charges. Legal proceedings against him have been...

Human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor ended a month-long hunger strike in mid-April. Since then, his detention conditions have slightly improved, as he was allowed family visits and a phone call to his mother. However, since his arrest on 20 March 2017, Ahmed Mansour remains in solitary confinement...

On 15 May 2019, the Federal Appeal Court in Abu Dhabi issued its verdict in the case of 11 Lebanese men – eight of whom had been detained and appeared before the Court. Abdel Rahman Talal Chouman was sentenced to life in prison, along with 3 men sentenced in absentia. Ahmed Nimr Sobeh and another...

On 4 May 2019, Alia Abdelnoor Mohamed Abdelnoor, who was in the terminal stages of cancer, died while chained to a bed in the Tawam hospital in Al-Ain, after her health deteriorated. Alia was serving a 10-year sentence on vague and unsubstantiated “terrorism” charges, and which were based on forced...

Prominent human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor has been on hunger strike for over three weeks in protest at his prison conditions and his unfair trial. He was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison, solely for exercising his right to freedom of expression. He was convicted on charges...