Dr.Nasser bin Ghaith, a lecturer at the Abu Dhabi branch of Paris’ Sorbonne University. “He wrote in a blog post before his arrest, ‘benefits and handouts’ assuming their citizens are not like other Arabs or other human beings, who see freedom as a need no less significant than other physical needs,”

A statement from bin Ghaith was leaked from al-Wathba prison, declaring that he and the other defendants would boycott the October 02 hearing because the court was a “farce and facade meant to legitimise and make credible verdicts and penalties that may have already been decided”.

Nasser Bin Ghaith

(AP)  DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Nasser bin Gaith wouldn’t seem to fit the image of an angry Arab Spring activist.

The 42-year-old Emirati, a decorated former air force pilot who holds degrees in law and international trade, comes from a prominent Dubai family with a long history of serving its rulers. He’s lectured at one of the country’s showcase institutions, the Abu Dhabi branch of Paris’ Sorbonne university, and worked as a legal adviser for the Emirates’ armed forces.

Yet the United Arab Emirates now considers him a potential enemy of the state.

The case of Bin Gaith and four others returned to court Sunday in Abu Dhabi, where they face accusations of threatening the UAE’s stability by joining Internet campaigns calling for a greater public voice in the country’s affairs.

The five activists — jailed since April — boycotted the session as part of demands for bail and to protest their treatement as alleged state security risks. For the first time, however, authorities opened the previously closed-door hearings to the public.

While the UAE has not experienced any of the street protests or clashes that have reshaped the Arab world, the Emirati rulers are no less on guard. Political activity is heavily restricted in the seven-member federation and opposition groups and political parties are banned.

The anti-state charges against the five — which could bring decades in prison — highlight the strict political limits in a country that built its fortunes on Western-style commerce and open borders for workers from around the world.

Even modest calls to loosen the power of the ruling sheiks are seen as acts of betrayal against the tacit bargain common throughout the Gulf: Cradle-to-grave privileges for citizens in exchange for unwavering loyalty to the system. The region’s main political bloc, the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, has now reoriented its mission to try to ride out the Arab upheavals with its ruling families intact.

Gulf nations, led by powerful Saudi Arabia, strongly backed the uprising in Libya that sent Moammar Gadhafi on the run and tried to broker an exit deal for Yemen’s president. But when protests threatened one of their own — Bahrain’s 200-year-old dynasty — Gulf allies sent in military forces to aid the embattled king.

“I cannot believe something like this has happened to my husband, to us,” said Waedad Belaila, bin Gaith’s wife, in an interview with The Associated Press. “My husband is a good man. He likes the sheiks and he loves his country. All he gave was advise, good advise, for our country.”

But he apparently went too far by supporting an online petition that included calls for free elections and real powers for the country’s 40-member Federal National Council, an advisory body whose new members were selected last month among voters hand-picked by the rulers.

In court Sunday, prosecutors played a video montage of patriotic images — including the UAE’s founder Sheik Zayed bin Sultan Al Nayhan — in an apparent attempt to mock the activists’ calls for reforms.

“They are all Emirati!” shouted defense lawyer Mohammed Roken. “They are all sons of Zayed!”

On April 17, bin Gaith’s regular column ran in an Abu Dhabi financial paper, Roayam Iqtisadiyya. Students at the Sorbonne were in class, waiting for bin Gaith to give one of the last classes before exams. He never showed up.

A day earlier, state security agents lured him from his Dubai villa to Abu Dhabi, the capital, and arrested him on the spot, his family said.

It stunned the tiny activist community in the UAE.

“The fact that a man of his stature and connections is a political prisoner proves that money can’t always buy silence,” said Christopher Davidson, a lecturer at Britain’s Durham University and an author of two books on the UAE.

State security agents began targeting perceived dissidents in early April, detaining a popular blogger, Ahmed Mansour, bin Gaith and three others in just a few days. All the men in custody signed the reform petition along with at least 130 other Emiratis.

The charges in the trial, which opened in June, include publicly insulting ruling sheiks, which is a crime in the UAE.

Bin Ghaith had often criticized the Gulf’s ruling sheiks for failing to have the country’s legal codes keep pace with the staggering economic development of the past decade. He also questioned the cash-for-stability remedies by Gulf rulers to blunt Arab Spring-inspired demands.

“They have announced ‘benefits and handouts’ assuming their citizens are not like other Arabs or other human beings, who see freedom as a need no less significant than other physical needs,” bin Gaith wrote in an article posted on the blog www.darussalam.ae on April 11 — less than a week before his arrest.

“No amount of security — or rather intimidation by security forces — or wealth, handouts or foreign support is capable of ensuring the stability of an unjust ruler,” he wrote.

His family remains baffled by bin Gaith’s fall from respected insider to accused opponent.

“What did he do to deserve to be treated in such way?” said bin Gaith’s brother, Sultan. “He is a distinguished citizen of this country, a war veteran, a decorated pilot and economist and a lawyer. What is his crime? This article?”

Since 2006, bin Gaith has served as legal adviser to the military and was responsible for negotiating contracts with major defense contractors in the U.S. and Europe. He had lectured on international trade law at the Sorbonne in Abu Dhabi since 2009, but never received a salary, family members said.

The administrators of the Sorbonne in Abu Dhabi could not be reached for comment. They have previously told reporters bin Gaith was not a member of the university’s teaching staff, but acknowledged that he had given lectures. The university referred other questions about the case to UAE authorities.

The state-run WAM news agency ran a brief item April 25 saying five activists in custody were accused of “opposing the government.” In June, the five were charged with various anti-state crimes including “perpetrating acts that pose a threat to state security” and insulting the rulers of Abu Dhabi, according to WAM.

If convicted in the state security court, bin Gaith and other activists have no right to appeal, legal experts say. The three-judge panel normally tries terrorism suspects and other anti-state crimes.

International rights groups have repeatedly called on the UAE to release the activists, saying authorities have presented “no legitimate evidence” to support the charges.

Rights groups also see bin Gaith’s case as a cautionary tale because of his deep connections to the ruling system.

“If it happened to him, it can happen to any Emirati,” said Samer Muscati, a Middle East researcher for the New York-based Human Rights Watch.
___

Associated Press writer Adam Schreck in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report.

News Courtesy by CBS News

Cairo – First Published on August 1st 2011

ANHRI said today that Emirati authorities have to stop abusing the Emirati prisoner of conscience, blogger and activist Ahmed Mansour. He has been ill treated to the extent that he was not provided health care. Although he is still under pending trial confinement, he was held with sentenced criminal convicts after being released from solitary confinement; which had been an unjustified and arbitrary punishment in itself.

It has come to ANHRI’s knowledge that Ahmed Mansour is not only facing terrible conditions imposed by the prison administration, but is also facing incitement by a number of prisoners to assault him inside his cell. It was intended to look like a fight inside the prison, but all these attempts failed due to Mansour’s maturity and calmness, which deprived Al-Wathba prison administration in Abu Dhabi city from abusing him even more.

Ahmed Mansour and four other activists are facing charges of insulting the president of the state, stirring sectarian strife, and destabilization. These charges come after their electronic participations through the on-line forum “Emirati dialogue (Emirati Hiwar Forum)”, without specifying the nature of these charges.

“The practices of the prison administration against Ahmed Mansour are disturbing. It is difficult to imagine that these are individual practices by a bad administration of this prison. The big picture is clear when we link the blackout attitude on the case, and the defamation campaign against him and his fellow prisoners of conscience.” Said ANHRI. “If these practices continue, U.A.E will turn from a moderate state to a despotic state”

ANHRI added “The U.A.E. Authorities have to take the initiative to protect all the rights of Ahmed Mansour and other activists, as well as protect them from all the harassments they are facing, in order to prove that it is serious about respecting the principles of human rights, especially freedom of opinion and expression”

For more information:

http://www.anhri.net/en/?p=3039

http://www.anhri.net/en/?p=2625

http://www.anhri.net/en/?p=2423

Cairo: First Published on  April 19^th , 2011

The Egyptian human rights organizations signatories to this statement today, strongly denounced the crackdown launched by the UAE authorities in the past few days against Internet activists, especially those who signed a national petition issued in March 2011 demanding political reforms. On Aprill 15^th ,security services arrested the human rights activist and one of the signatories of the petition Abdullah alShehhi .  A week earlier on April 8, the human rights activist and prominent blogger Ahmed Mansour was arrested from his home  as well as the activist Internet Fahd Salem Al-Shehhi who was arrested on April 9 evening. On April 10 , security arrested the internet activist and financial and economic analyst Nasser Bin Gheith  without giving any reasons or pressing charges against  any of them.

Activist and blogger Ahmad Mansour has been subjected to severe harassment by UAE authorities after he signed the petition demanding political reforms and a real role for the  parliament as he declared on a TV show. Firsr Mansour received death threats and at the same time a decision was taken by Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications, in which Etisalat is a major shareholder , to  move him to the company’s branch in Pakistan.

On April 8^th dawn, there was an attempt to arrest Mansour by when security tried to raid his home, but Mansour managed to stop them. However, they  returned again and detained him in an undisclosed location without declaring the reasons for his arrest. They stormed his house, searched it  and  confiscated his computer.

Saturday April 9 evening, security  raided the house of activist, Fahd alShehhi, blogger and  friend of Ahmed Mansour, who  assisted Mansour in writing  his blog in  Ajman. Fahd was arrested and detained  in an undisclosed location without charge or trial so far.

On Sunday, April 10, security arrested the writer and economic analyst Nasser Bin Gheith, who owns and manages a web site. Authorities did not declare reasons or place of detention of Bin Gheith. In Ras Al Khaimah security arrested the human rights activist and former army officer Abdullah Al Shehhi, on  April 15, and took him to an unknown place without a declaration of reasons or place of detention. It is expected that he was  arrested for signing the petition for political reforms.  Abdullah alShehhi has been arrested and arbitrarily detained three times since he left  the armed forces over political and human rights activities.

The organizations signing this statement said, “We fear that the security services of UAE will put activist to trial over fabricated criminal charges in the coming days. This is confirmed by reports about accusing Mansour of possessing alcoholics , despite that he earlier,  received death threats  after having signed a petition for political reform. As well, he wrote an article on his blog telling the details of an earlier attempt to  arrest him which reveals a plan to arrest him and his colleagues  for fear of spreading protests in  the Arab world in which Internet had a key role as well as in UAE”.

“The arrest of four Internet activists within one week after a few days of signing a  national petition  for democratic reforms was to punish those activists for  using their legitimate right to express their views , terrorize opponents in the UAE and seize their legitimate and guaranteed rights under national and international legislation”, added the organizations.

The undersigned organizations warn the UAE government of using  security methods that have proved their failure in the protection of Arab dictatorships to suppress the right to expression. They demanded the UAE authorities to release  Ahmed Mansour , Fahd Salem alShehhi, Nasser Bin Ghaith and Abdullah alShehhi,  who were detained arbitrarily. UAE government should prosecute  those responsible for detaining the activists ,  start a national dialogue and make  real reforms instead of security solutions that increase the tension between the opponents and the government.

Signatory Organizations:

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information

ElNadeem Center for Psychological Treatment and Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence

Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights

New Woman Foundation
Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights

Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies

Association for Human Rights Legal Aid

Egyptian Association for Community Participation Enhancement

Andalus Institute for Tolerance and Anti-Violence

Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression

Hisham Mubarak Law Center

For more information:

http://www.anhri.net/en/?p=2391

At 4:30 p.m. on April 8, eight to ten members of UAE security forces, including two police officers in uniform, took Mansoor away after they carried out a three-hour search of his apartment in Dubai. The security forces also confiscated laptops, books, and some documents belonging to Mansoor. The security forces did not give a reason for Mansoor’s detention and did not produce an arrest warrant, his wife told Human Rights Watch.

“We believe the detention of Ahmed Mansoor is aimed at scaring and intimidating others in the UAE who may wish to make public their demands for democratic reforms,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “While other governments in the region are discussing democratic reforms, the UAE government is digging in its heels and sticking to outmoded repressive ploys.”

Mansoor has been a leading and vocal proponent of a petition submitted last month to UAE authorities demanding democratic reforms and has given numerous television and other media interviews on the issue. Mansoor is also a member of the Middle East and North Africa advisory committee at Human Rights Watch, and Human Rights Watch honored and recognized his efforts to promote human rights in the Emirates at a news conference in Dubai on January 26.

Mansoor’s wife, who was guarded by a female officer during the search of the house, told Human Rights Watch on April 9 that she has yet to hear from her husband or the authorities about his whereabouts. UAE authorities did not respond to repeated phone calls and emails from Human Rights Watch seeking information on Mansoor’s detention.

Hours before his detention on April 8, three men identifying themselves as police came to Mansoor’s apartment, at about 2:50 a.m., ostensibly to ask him some questions about his car. The men left after Mansoor refused to leave his apartment because he was afraid they would kidnap him. He also feared that the government would seek to confiscate his car and plant weapons or other illegal items there as a guise for later prosecution. Later that day, the second group of security officers came and took him away.

“The UAE has a lot of explaining to do, not only about why it has detained Mansoor, but why it sent police at 3 a.m. to question him about his car,” said Whitson. “Such predawn arrest maneuvers are a heavy-handed effort by the UAE security forces to instill terror into the hearts of its citizens.”

Mansoor’s detention follows a campaign of harassment against him after he and dozens of other UAE nationals signed a petition published on March 9 that demanded constitutional and parliamentary changes in the Emirates, and free elections for all citizens. “The [petition] group calls for comprehensive reform of the Federal National Council (FNC), or parliament, including demands for free elections by all citizens in the method of universal suffrage,” a statement from the petitioners said.

“Does the UAE government’s plan for progress include prosecuting and jailing citizens who seek democracy and freedom?” said Whitson. “No gilded towers, no world-class museums or universities, can mask the fact that UAE authorities refuse to grant basic rights to citizens.”

Before his detention, Mansoor told Human Rights Watch that since the beginning of April, he had received six death threats and has been subject to an online smear campaign on social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter. One of the death threats sent to Mansoor through Facebook on April 5 read: “Ahmed Mansoor, you are dead. I swear that I will search for you in every house. I swear to God that I will cut you in pieces … if I don’t slaughter you, my cousins will cut your head, you dog.”

Human Rights Watch said the government has a duty to investigate the death threats against Mansoor and take appropriate measures to ensure his security.

In the days leading up to his detention, Mansoor said that his employer, a telecommunications company, had pressured him to transfer to a position in Pakistan, a move he also thought was motivated by his political activities.

Imprisonment in itself is a very torturous word, and its meaning further intensifies if you are lodged in prisons on the contrary to the Law and Judicial decisions of the highest Court in the country. This site brings you word-to-word account of what goes behind the walls of some of famous (infamous) prisons of UAE.

Lots of blogs and websites have been dedicated to the inmates lodged at various prisons across the world. There are very few chronicles which document the life of prisoners lodged in various jails across United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The articles on lives of inmates lodged in UAE prison will be updated from here on. There have been many written accounts about foreigners and locals languishing in UAE jails. Some people claim that many of these accounts actually fabricated or exaggerated in order to grab international attention. This criticism may be true up to some extent, but still we wouldn’t want anyone to go through such experiences.

The articles published on this website depict unbiased and true accounts of life in the UAE prisons. None of the facts are exaggerated, and none of the stories have been tailored in order to dramatize the experiences. All these articles are the one-on-one account of prison life as told by people who have served in the prisons of United Arab Emirates.

The articles are not restricted to any particular prison or any particular person. We will be adding accounts of life of prisoners who are currently lodged in some of the UAE prisons as well some who have already served their terms in contrary to the UAE Law.

AN INTRODUCTION – JABIR’S CASE:-
The right to livelihood cannot be subjected to individual fancies of the person in authority.

In sharp contrast with countries abiding by the Rule of Law, those who live and work in the UAE do not have the protection of Law. Those who have access to the corridors of power can violate the Law with impurity. Due to various considerations, economic and political, the countries from where people migrate do not protect their citizens.

Here in this case, the UAE authority cowardly committed cruelty and discrimination against a victim of police brutality. On the other hand, both the courts in Abu Dhabi, including Supreme Court, the legal court of appeal, were fully satisfied and praised the conduct of the victim throughout the judicial proceedings.

The offending State of UAE which is responsible vicariously for the crimes, torts and other illegal actions of its officials. The right to livelihood cannot be subjected to individual fancies of the person in authority. (Full Text)