Arrests for Free Expression in the UAE and Oman

A UAE court has once again postponed the trial of Omani blogger Muawiya al-Rawahi on Sunday. A writer and human rights defender, al-Rawahi has been accused of insulting the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Mohamed bin Zayed. UAE authorities originally arrested al-Rawahi at the border with Oman almost a year ago, preventing him from returning[…]

Newsletter #141

Bahrain | Updates from the Ground | News & Opinion Saudi Arabia | Other Gulf States | UN Complaint Program Bahrain Bahrain’s Miscarriage of Justice in Sentencing 57 Jau Prisoners On Monday, 25 January 2016, Bahrain’s public prosecutor announced that a court had sentenced 57 men to additional 15-year jail terms for their alleged involvement in the Jau Prison[…]

UAE Continues to Disappear Opposition Figures

NGOs have voiced renewed concern about the UAE’s treatment political opposition and other activists, including the enforced disappearance of political exiles like Abdulrahman bin Subaih. Bin Subaih fled to Indonesia after Emirati security forces began to arrest the signatories of a petition calling for an independent judiciary and elections in the UAE. He was seeking[…]

Newsletter #140

Bahrain | Updates from the Ground | News & Opinion Saudi Arabia | Other Gulf States | UN Complaint Program   Bahrain Bahrain Must Lift Nabeel Rajab’s Travel Ban, Say 27 NGOs 21 January 2016 – Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain joined a group of 27 NGOs to call upon Bahraini king Hamad bin[…]

UAE Court Formally Charges Salim al-Aradi

On Monday, 18 January 2016, after almost a year and a half of detention, an Emirati court has formally charged Salim al-Aradi with two counts of “providing financial support for, and cooperating with, terrorist groups.” When police first arrested al-Aradi, a dual Canadian-Libyan citizen, they did not provide any reason for his arrest. Al-Aradi claims[…]