ARE 001 / 0317 / OBS 030
Detention in a secret
location /
Risk of torture and
ill-treatment
United Arab Emirates
March 20, 2017
The Observatory for the
Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a partnership of the World Organisation
Against Torture (OMCT) and FIDH, requests your urgent intervention in the
following situation in the United
Arab Emirates (UAE).
Description of the
situation:

The Observatory has been informed by
reliable sources about the arrest and detention in a secret location of Mr. Ahmed Mansoor, member of
the Advisory Board of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) and 2015
Laureate of the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders.
According to the information
received, on March 20, 2017 around midnight, Mr. Ahmed
Mansoor was arrested at his home in Ajman by alleged members of UAE
security forces, including 10 men and two women, and taken to an unknown
location.
As of publishing this Urgent Appeal,
the reason for his arrest and his whereabouts remain unknown. It is fearead
that his arrest might be linked to a series of tweets he posted on Twitter in
recent days, calling for the release of Emirati human rights defender Osama
Al-Najjar[1] or
to a letter that he signed, along with other activists in the region, calling
for the release of all prisoners of conscience in the Middle East ahead of an
Arab League Summit scheduled to be held in Jordan on March 29, 2017.
The Observatory
expresses its concern regarding the arbitrary arrest and secret detention of
Mr. Ahmed
Mansoor, and fears that he may be at risk of torture
and other ill-treatment, due to previous accusations of alleged use of
torture and ill treatment by State Security Authority against detainees held in
secret locations.
The Observatory calls upon
the UAE authorities to guarantee in all circumstances Mr. Ahmed Mansoor’s physical and psychological integrity, as well as to
release him immediately and unconditionally, since his detention is arbitrary
as it seems to only aim at curtailing his peaceful human rights activities.
Background
information:
Following a massive crackdown on
human rights defenders in the UAE in recent years, Mr. Ahmed Mansoor is today
widely respected as one of the only independent voices still speaking out
through his blog and Twitter account against human rights violations from
inside the country.
As a result, Mr. Mansoor has faced repeated intimidation, harassment, and death threats from the UAE authorities or their supporters, including arrest and imprisonment in 2011 following an unfair trial. Although pardoned and released later that year, the UAE authorities have arbitrarily imposed a travel ban on him and have refused to return his passport, which they have confiscated since 2011.
Actions requested:
Please write to the
authorities of the United Arab Emirates asking them to:
i. Guarantee in all
circumstances the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Ahmed Mansoor and all human rights defenders in UAE;
ii. Release Mr. Ahmed Mansoor immediately and unconditionally, since his detention is
arbitrary as it seems to only aim at curtailing his human rights activities;
iii. Put an end to
all acts of harassment, including at the judicial level, against Mr. Ahmed Mansoor and all human rights defenders in UAE;
iv. Comply with all
the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, in
particular with its Articles 1, 6(a), and 12.2;
v. Ensure in all
circumstances respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance
with international human rights standards and international instruments
ratified by the United Arab Emirates.
Addresses:
·
Prime Minister of the United Arab
Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid al-Maktoum, Fax: +971 4 330 4044,
Email: info@primeminister.ae, Twitter:
@HHShkMohd
·
Minister of the Interior of the United Arab
Emirates, Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Fax: +971 2 402 2762 / +971 2 441 5780,
Twitter: @SaifBZayed
·
Crown Prince Court of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh
Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Fax: +971 2 668 6622, Twitter: @MBZNews
·
H.E. Mr. Obaid Salem Saeed Al Zaabi, Ambassador,
Permanent Mission of the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations in Geneva,
Switzerland. Fax: +41.22.734.556. E-mail: genevaunprm@mofaic.gov.ae
·
H.E. Mr. Mohamed Issa Hamad
Abushahab,
Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the Kingdom
of Belgium, Fax: 02 646 24 73, E-mail: consbruxelles@mofa.gov.ae / media.bruxelles@mofa.gov.ae, Twitter: @UAEEmbassyBruss
Please also write
to the diplomatic missions or embassies of UAE in your respective country.
***
Geneva-Paris, March 20, 2017
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the
code of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory for the Protection of Human
Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by the World
Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) and FIDH. The objective of this programme
is to prevent or remedy situations of repression against human rights
defenders. OMCT and FIDH are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the
European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented by international
civil society.
To contact the Observatory, call the emergency line:
·
E-mail:
Appeals[at]fidh-omct.org
·
Tel
and fax OMCT + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39 / + 41 22 809 49 29
· Tel and fax FIDH + 33 (0) 1 43 55 25 18 / +33 1
43 55 18 80
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