Dozens of people have been sentenced to jail in the United Arab Emirates in a mass trial held outside the country

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A grand trial of dissidents in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday sentenced 43 people to prison, while several other defendants received lengthy prison terms in a case largely criticized by activists. Was criticized. out of the country.

The sentences handed down by the Abu Dhabi Federal Attraction Court came in a case described by the UAE government as involving the Muslim Brotherhood, a pan-Islamist group declared a terrorist group by the emirate. On the other hand, activists condemned the case, saying that the case focused on dissidents, a point that attracted attention Protests over the COP28 issue organized by the United Nations in Dubai in November,

The state-run WAM information agency reported the verdict, with close human rights activists noting that the sentences were handed down poorly. Five defendants were sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment while five others were sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment. WAM reported that the circumstances of some 24 other defendants were ignored.

The court ruled that those convicted had “acted to create and replicate violent incidents in the country, as have occurred in other Arab states – including protests and clashes between security forces and protesting crowds – which led to There were deaths and injuries and destruction of facilities, as well as resulting panic and terror among people,” WAM said.

The company reported the court’s refusal to cite clear evidence tying those convicted to violence or the Brotherhood.

The decision, which will also be appealed to the UAE’s Federal Court of Justice, prompted an immediate complaint from the country.

“These ultra-long sentences make a mockery of justice and are another nail in the coffin for the UAE’s budding civil society,” said Joy Shea, expert researcher in the UAE for Human Rights Watch. “The UAE has dragged its most dedicated human rights defenders and members of civil society through a brazenly unfair trial filled with due process violations and allegations of torture.”

Emirates Detainees Advocacy Middle, an advocacy staff in exile, reported one by one that the sentences were passed down poorly.

“Sadly, these sentences were completely predictable,” said center director Mohammed al-Zaabi. “From the very beginning, it was clear that this trial was merely a sham designed to keep prisoners of conscience in custody even after they have completed their sentences.”

Amnesty Global also criticized the sentencing, saying the defendants were “held in solitary confinement for long periods of time, deprived of contact with their families and lawyers and subjected to sleep deprivation due to constant exposure to loud music ” It added that those who were extradited were “denied access to even the most basic court documents”.

“The trial was a shameless travesty of justice and violated many basic principles of law, including the principle that you cannot prosecute the same person twice for the same crime, and the principle that you One cannot retroactively punish people under laws that did not exist. At the time of the alleged crime,” said Amnesty Global researcher Devin Kenny.

Kenny described some of those tried as “prisoners of conscience and renowned human rights defenders”.

WAM did not confirm those sentenced. However, activist Nasir bin Ghaith is also among those who were sentenced to time. An educational event was organized on his social media posts from August 2015, Shia mentioned.

He was one of dozens of people sentenced in the wake of a sweeping crackdown in the United Arab Emirates following the 2011 Arab Spring protests. Those demonstrations saw Islamists come to power in various Middle East countries, including Brotherhood member Mohammed Morsi in Egypt.

The Gulf Arab states did not celebrate the overthrow of their governments in any way and treated protesters and demonstrators with ill-will, making it seem as if they would be dissidents.

Also among those sentenced on Wednesday were Ahmed Mansour, the 2015 recipient of the Martin Ennals Prize for human rights defenders. Mansour periodically drew the ire of the government in the UAE by calling for a remote press and democracy. Independence within the confederacy of 7 sheikhs.

Mansour was troubled by Israeli adware on his iPhone in 2016 Possibly deployed by the Emirati government before his 2017 arrest ten years jail sentence On their activism.

Amnesty Global and Human Rights observe throughout COP28 They had a sign through which they displayed Mansoor’s face Protests were met by Emirati authorities at the peak in the UN-administered Blue Zones.

The United Arab Emirates is, in many respects, more socially broad than its central Japanese neighbours. strict rules governing tone and bans political events and labor unions. This could be seen at COP28, where these Not one of the traditional protests outside the venue As workers are concerned Large community of surveillance cameras in the countryside,