UAE urged to remove 11 political dissidents from 'terrorist list'
The United Arab Emirates has been urged to end its sweeping crackdown on dissent after 11 political dissidents and their relatives were placed on a terrorist list.
In January, the UAE announced that it was adding 11 individuals and eight British-based companies to its terrorism list over their alleged links to the Muslim Brotherhood.
In a report released on Tuesday, Human Rights Watch said at least nine of the 11 designated individuals are political dissidents or their relatives and only two were accused or convicted for a terrorism offence.
"The authorities did not inform these individuals or entities prior to the designation, nor was there any opportunity to respond to or contest the allegations," HRW said in a statement.
"The move represents an escalation of the United Arab Emirates’ transnational repression, targeting not only dissidents but also their family members," the statement added.
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According to the rights group, the individuals only discovered they were designated as "terrorists" after Wam, the UAE’s official news agency, published a list of names in a report.
One of the people named on the list said they they were “surprised that our names just appeared on the terrorism case” because there was “no case, no judge’s decision”.
According to HRW, all eight of the companies are "solely registered in the United Kingdom" and are either currently or formerly owned by Emirati dissidents and their relatives.
No dissent
The UAE is a federation of seven emirates ruled by the Al Nahyan family in Abu Dhabi. Dubai and Abu Dhabi have become free wheeling business hubs, but the country brokers no dissent and cracks down on any opposition.
During the 2011 Arab Spring, when popular protests toppled several Middle Eastern autocrats, the UAE rooted out any opposition. Throughout 2012, the UAE’s State Security Apparatus (SSA) launched a campaign of arrests targeting individuals who were members of the Muslim Brotherhood.
In 2014, the UAE blacklisted 83 organisations as "terrorists." Human Rights Watch noted that the UAE's 2014 counterterrorism law uses an "overly broad definition of terrorism" and allows the government to designate individuals and entities as "terrorists without any corresponding legal requirement to demonstrate the objective basis of the claim."
Earlier this year, the UAE came back under the spotlight when Lebanon forcibly deported Abdul Rahman Yusuf al-Qaradawi to the UAE.
Qaradawi, the son of prominent deceased Islamic scholar Yusuf al-Qaradawi, was critical of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi who came to power after a 2013 coup against Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi.
Individuals designated “terrorists” by the UAE are subject to immediate asset freezes and property confiscations even if they reside outside the UAE.
The designation also criminalises communication with those deemed “terrorists” and imposes penalties of up to life in prison. The draconian measures have isolated these individuals from their families, especially family members who reside in the UAE.
"I have called several times and they don’t respond, which was never the case before," one individual told HRW.
"Now I am calling my mother, my sisters and no one is picking up the phone. It is a clear thing… Previously I was able to call my mother to talk to her, but now I am not able to reach out to her. This is part of the pressure on the family there."
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