News - Middle East: The Center for the Advocacy of Emirates Detainees said that the Emirati authorities view the expression of opinion as the most dangerous crime for public security in the country, and it explains their aggressive behavior against prisoners of conscience and opponents.

The center highlighted that the Abu Dhabi authorities exclude prisoners of conscience from the amnesty decrees they issue on national and religious occasions and holidays, even though they have not committed any crimes.

The center considered that this is an indication that the UAE authorities see the expression of opinion as a crime more dangerous to public security, than murder and violent crimes.

It cautioned that since 2014, the authorities in the UAE have prevented visits to family members, including the children of prisoners of conscience, as well as depriving them of all aspects of celebration.

The Emirates Center for Studies and Media (EMASEC) said that the injustice caused by the authoritarian approach of the ruling regime in Abu Dhabi, and the issue of prisoners of conscience undermine the stability of the Emirates.

The Center stated that stability in the state is achieved in the absence of injustice and enabling the authorities to establish a just system that preserves rights, borders and the law of justice.

It also stated that the transformation of the judiciary into the authorities' mockery of society, and the laws into tools of power to tamper with people's lives, is a path towards the collapse of states and societies, which is what happened and is happening in our country.

During the month of Ramadan, Emirati detainees who spent ten years in the authorities' prisons were supposed to be released, not because of a sin they committed, but because they exercised their right to express their opinions freely.

According to information verified by the Center, the prison administration practices a policy of deliberate starvation and humiliation of detainees. It gives them expired food that is not suitable for human consumption, which sometimes contains the remains of dead insects. This has affected the health of the detainees and made them lose a lot of weight.

The human rights center held the UAE authorities responsible for the safety of the detainees. It demanded them to immediately stop the policy of revenge against prisoners of conscience and to abide by the standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners.

The ruling regime in UAE is blackmailing the families of prisoners of conscience and opponents in its prisons to stop their demands for their release.