UAE: Dissidents Labeled ‘Terrorists’
News - Middle East: Authorities in September 2021 designated four prominent exiled Emirati dissidents as “terrorism” supporters, Human Rights Watch said today. The move is part of a continuing attempt to outlaw activism and free expression under the guise of counterterrorism.
“The UAE has shown time and time again the nefarious ways that it uses counterterrorism as a guise for suppressing legitimate dissent and criticism,” said Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “For many years the UAE has sent a crystal-clear message to its citizens and residents: You’re either with us or you’re a terrorist.”
The four exiled Emirati dissidents are Hamad al-Shamsi, Mohammed Saqr al-Zaabi, Ahmed al-Shaiba al-Nuaimi and Saeed al-Tenaiji. The designation’s immediate effects on them include asset freezes, property confiscations, and criminalizing their UAE-based relatives’ communications with them.
The dissidents told Human Rights Watch that the authorities had threatened their families with prosecution for “communicating with terrorists.” The men learned of their designation only after the Cabinet of Ministers issued the decision. People placed on the list may file a complaint, and if it is rejected or ignored, challenge the decision in court within 60 days.
The UAE added 34 other individuals and 15 entities to its terrorism list in September. Human Rights Watch cross-referenced all the names against other global terror and financial sanctions lists, including the United Nations Global Sanctions list, the European Union Sanctions list, and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Consolidated list. Human Rights Watch confirmed that 14 of the 38 individuals and 2 of the entities are on other lists.
Human Rights Watch has also confirmed that at least one of the other people included on the list in September is a non-Emirati businessman who lived and worked in the UAE for many years. A source close to his family said that UAE authorities arrested the man in a night raid on his home in late 2019 and held him incommunicado for almost 3 weeks in a likely enforced disappearance. He remains arbitrarily detained without charge or trial. His family members who live in the UAE are struggling financially as a result of the asset freezes stemming from his terrorist designation.
Source: Human Rights Watch
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