Washington Enables Violent Repression in the UAE as Dozens of Activists Sentenced in Secret Trial

Today, Human Rights First condemned the secret trial and sentencing of dozens of activists in the United Arab Emirates.

“Washington’s ally has again today demonstrated its violent repression,” said Senior Advisor Brian Dooley. “The Biden administration has struck millions of dollars of arms deals with the UAE dictatorship, and failed to sanction its officials responsible for cracking down on peaceful dissent. The message from Washington to the UAE has been clear for many years: Do what you want, there will be no consequences.”

Among those reportedly sentenced to life in prison after a mass trial is prominent legal scholar Nasser bin Ghaith. He graduated with honors from Case Western Reserve University School of Law in Ohio with an LLM in U.S. and Global Legal Studies in 2001.

Another of those in the mass sham trial — which included 84 defendants — was Ahmed Mansoor, who received his Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical, Computer, & Energy Engineering and his Master’s in Telecommunications for the University of Colorado, Boulder. Human Rights First is still waiting for confirmation on the outcome of his case in the trial.

Bin Ghaith, Mansoor, and other prominent activists in the trial were already in prison serving long sentences for their peaceful activism.

“Washington is enabling this sort of repression by its ally by not stating clearly and publicly what the consequences of these attacks on human rights activists will be, and by failing to sanction those officials responsible,” said Dooley.

To speak with Brian Dooley, please contact [email protected].