International Centre for Justice and Human Rights

UAE: A Coalition of Human Rights Organizations and Experts

Call for the Release of Mr. Ahmed Mansoor

Geneva on June 28, 2017

Yesterday marked the 100^th day since the arbitrary arrest and detention of prominent human rights defender, Mr. Ahmed Mansoor.

On this occasion, 18 notable figures and 8 organizations including our organization released a joint letter calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Mr. Ahmed Mansoor. The joint letter is attached herewith.

The letter has been signed by a number of academics, lawyers, authors and MPs, such as the American linguist and philosopher, Noam Chomsky, British barrister, Michael Mansfield QC, the co leader of the Green Party, Caroline Lucas MP, and UAE torture survivor David Haigh. A number of organisations including ICFUAE, Citizen Lab, Index on Censorship, and PEN International have also signed the document. A full list of signatories can be found below.

In the joint letter, Mr. Mansoor’s circumstances of arrest and detention is recalled. Mr. Mansoor was arrested in his home in Dubai in the early hours of 20 March 2017, as ordered by the Public Prosecution for Cybercrimes. He is being investigated on charges of “promoting false and shaded information through the Internet and serving agendas aimed at spreading hatred and sectarianism”. Since his arrest and detention, Mr. Mansoor’s family was allowed to visit him only once on 3 April 2017 and he is currently detained in a solitary confinement with no access to a lawyer. His trial date has not yet been scheduled until today.   

It is further reminded that Mr. Mansoor is an internationally respected human rights activist who received the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders in 2015 and is a member of both the advisory committee of Human Rights Watch and the Gulf Centre for Human Rights.

Together with the signatories, the ICJHR, through the joint letter, calls on the UAE government, as a member of the UN Human Rights Council, to:

 1. Immediately and unconditionally release Mr. Ahmed Mansoor;

2. Pending his release, ensure that he is granted access to a lawyer and family visits and that he is protected from torture and other ill-treatment;

3. End all other forms of arbitrary punishment towards Ahmed Mansoor such as the travel ban against him, which violates his freedom of movement;

4. Comply with the international protocols of human rights law and protect the right to freedom of speech, association and peaceful assembly.

 The signatories are:

1. Arab Organization for Human Rights (AOHR)
2. COJEP International
3. Detained in Dubai
4. Index on Censorship
5. International Campaign for Freedom in the UAE (ICFUAE)
6. International Centre for Justice and Human Rights (ICJHR)
7. Martin Ennals Awards Foundation
8. PEN International
9. Tom Brake, MP for Carshalton and Wallington
10. Andrew Byles, Garden Court North Chambers
11. Rt Hon Alistair Carmichael, MPfor Orkney and Shetland
12. Noam Chomsky, Professor
13. Ron Deibert, Director of the Citizen Lab, Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto
14. Jonathan Emmett, Author
15. Andy Fitzpatrick, Barrister, Garden Court North Chambers, Manchester
16. Councillor David Haigh, Solicitor, UAE torture survivor, Former MD of Leeds United Football Club
17. Chris Haughton, Author and illustrator
18. Miles Kenyon, Communications Officer, Citizen Lab, Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto
19. Caroline Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavilion
20. Michael Mansfield, QC
21. Bill Marczak, Senior Researcher, Citizen Lab, Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto
22. Fadi Al Qadi, Human Rights, Civil Society, Advocacy and Media Expert
23. Chris Riddell, Author, Illustrator and Political Cartoonist at the Observer
24. Andy Slaughter, MP for Hammersmith
25. Dr. David Wearing, School of Oriental and African Studies
26. Pete Weatherby, QC Garden Court North Chambers, Manchester

*Read the letter here