UAE authorities arrest teen blogger -Press TV

Human rights activists say authorities in the United Arab Emirates have arrested an 18- year-old blogger as part of a widening crackdown on perceived dissent.

Mohammed Salem al-Zumer was arrested by state security officers in the emirate of Sharjah on Wednesday and taken to an unknown destination, according to the London-based Emirates Center for Human Rights (ECHR).

Al-Zumer had reportedly posted comments on the Internet supporting jailed activists.

Last month, the Persian Gulf littoral state tightened its law on Internet use, making it an offence to deride or damage the state or its institutions and organize protests.

According to the ECHR report, Zumer was driving a car when he was stopped by security personnel, and was escorted to his home, where plainclothes officers searched for more than an hour.

The UAE has launched a crackdown on activists campaigning for free speech and political freedom in the past year and more than 60 activists have been arrested since then.

UAE officials have also revoked the citizenship of several activists who had called for reforms.

Al-Zumer is the son of a well known poet in the Emirates and his mother is the sister of Khaled al-Sheiba al-Nuaimi, who was detained in July.

Rights groups have slammed Abu Dhabi for the ongoing crackdown.

PG/HGH

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2012/12/08/276912/uae-authorities-arrest-teen-blogger/

UAE: Human Rights Organizations condemns the Widen Campaign Against Oppositions and the Prisoners of Opinion Reach 61 Detainees

Cairo September 15 , 2012

The human rights organizations signed this statement condemns the accelerated campaign of arrests launched by the security forces in the UAE against the activists and reformers. They also condemn its expansion to include current and former judges, lawyers, prominent rights’ activists, so the number of prisoners of conscience in the prisons of the UAE reach 61 detainees.

In the recent months, the UAE authorities have stepped up following the political activists and human rights advocates who call for reform in the country. The number of the prisoners of conscience rose from 15 in the first half of the month of July, to reach 61 prisoners in the first half of September. The campaign expanded to include current and former judges, lawyers and prominent rights’ advocates.The authorities launched a campaign of mass arrests in the second half of July and detained 38 activists and rights advocates, notably the human rights lawyer “Mohammed El-Roken”, “Dr. Mohammad Mansouri” the Chairman of Emirates Center for Studies and Media, the lawyer, “Salim Hamdoon Shehhi,”, rights advocate “Gom’ah Darwish Al Falasi” a founding member of the Emirates Association for Human Rights and media-figure “Abdul-Salam Darwish” the manager of “Ebadayah” channel.

The arrest campaign continues since August 27 until August 31, 7 activists were arrested. Most notably the former judge “Ahmed El-Zahghaby” who was sentenced for 6 months imprisonment due to false accusations which are “did not change his post in his passport from judge to a former judge”. At the beginning of September the arrest campaign reached its climax by the arrest of the two of the judges on Sunday September 9, 2012.

The two judges are “Khamis El-Som El-Zaiwadi” the former head of the appellate court in El-Ein and the current head of the judicial inspection for the courts of the cost and “Ali Saaed El-Kindi” the counselor at the state council and member of the human rights association, which was dissolved y the Ministry of the social affairs. The last of the detainees was the professor “Hadif El-Eiwis” the deputy chairman of the executive committee of “Dubai Center for International Arbitration” and the member of the international arbitration court. He is one of the lawyers who defend the detainees. He was arrested after only one day from arresting the judges.

In order to justify the un-precedent arrests, the attorney general said at the beginning of the arrests campaign that “the UAE authorities arrested a group of persons, he did not declare their names or number, due to allegations of establishment and managing an organization that aims to commit crimes against the state security.”Such a campaign accompanied with media-black out”.

In addition to, the UAE authorities continue to commit several legal and serious violations against human against the detainees. The place of the detention is not known whether for their lawyers nor for their families. The imprisonment of some of them was renewed without notifying their lawyers. Moreover, the detainees were banned from setting solely with their lawyers when they were notified by the date of the investigation. Furthermore, the ban of their relatives to visit them and threaten the families of the detainees to be arrested in case of any post on “twitter” address the news of the arrests and how they were arrested. There is a flow of news about the assault of the authorities on the detainees in the prisons.

The undersigned organizations said that “the UAE authorities resort to the security solutions against the activists and the opposition, the fabrication of the false allegations against them and the continuation of the harassment policy against them recently, are evidences for the authorities’ failure to address the people’s need of reformation. The said organizations assured that the use of the security methods will make the opposition stronger and the authorities will only reap more opposition and more of the people’s unity and adherence to the reformations”.
The organizations said that “the UAE authorities should bear all the criminal responsibility in case of any harm, physical or physiological harms that could affect any of the detainees.

The said organizations call “the UAE authorities to immediately release all the prisoners of opinion and conscience. They call also for protecting of the freedom of opinion and expression, organizing freedom and not legally prosecute the oppositions by fabricating false charges against them. The same organizations call the world society to do not ignore the assaults against the reformers in UAE. They call the relevant international institution to press the authorities to answer the people’s call of reform, as it is the only way to build a climate of which we could respect the people’s rights and freedoms.

The undersigned organizations:
1 – The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information
2 – Human Rights First in Saudi Arabia
3 – Egyptians Against Religious Discrimination
4 – Hisham Mubarak Law Center
5 – Arab Group for media monitoring
6 – Yemen Organization for Defending Rights and Democratic Freedoms
7 – the Society for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders in the Arab world
8 – The Arab Commission for Human Rights
9 – European-Arab Friendship Society
10 – Damascus Center for Theoretical and Civil Rights Studies
11 – Committees for the Defense of Democratic Liberties and Human Rights in Syria.
12 – Human Rights Organization in Syria – MAF
13 – The Arab Organization for Human Rights in Syria
14 – Kurdish Organization for the Defense of Human Rights and Public Freedoms in Syria (DAD).
15 – National Organization for Human Rights in Syria
16 – Kurdish Committee for Human Rights in Syria (observer).
19- the rehabilitation center and the protection of Press Freedoms CTPJF.
18 – New Woman Foundation
19 – Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression
20 – Nadim Center for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence