“UAE94” detainee Abdullah al-Hajeri detained indefinitely under pretext of “rehabilitation needs”
Name(s):
Abdullah Abdulqader Ahmad Ali al-Hajeri
Status:
Arbitrarily detained
Profession:
Student leader
Nationality:
Emirati
Date of arrest:
Abdullah al-Hajeri was arrested on July 16, 2012, as part of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities’ crackdown on intellectuals, activists, and human rights defenders who had openly criticised the Emirati government. He was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment during the UAE94 mass trial. He completed his sentence in July 2019 but remains detained. On March 30, 2023, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued an Opinion considering that his detention under the Munasaha regime was arbitrary and in violation of international law.
In March 2011, after a group of 133 Emirati academics, judges, lawyers, students, and human rights defenders signed a petition addressed to the President of the United Arab Emirates and the country’s Federal Supreme Council calling for democratic reforms, the UAE’s State Security Apparatus (SSA) initiated a campaign of arrests against the individuals who signed the document.
Abdallah Abdelqader AlHajiri is a student leader who was arrested in 2012 as part of the crackdown against the “UAE94” for signing the petition calling for democratic reform in the UAE.
Arrested individuals were later sentenced in the UAE’s largest mass trial, known as the “UAE94”, before the Federal Supreme Court.
On January 27, 2013, the 94 defendants were charged with founding, organising and administering an organisation aimed at overthrowing the government, contrary to article 180 of the penal code.
On July 2, 2013, the Emirati authorities convicted 61 of the 94 defendants, in addition to eight individuals in absentia. AlHajeri was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment.
In 2014, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued Opinion 60/2013, in which it found that the detention of the 61 individuals convicted in the UAE94 trial was arbitrary. Al Hajiri was among these 61 individuals who were arbitrarily detained.
AlHajeri’s sentence ended in July 2019, but under the pretext of “rehabilitation needs”, pursuant to the UAE’s Counter-Terrorism Law and the Munasaha Centre Law, the authorities have extended his detention indefinitely. He suffers from ongoing violations, as he continues to this day to be held arbitrarily.
On September 7, 2022, MENA Rights Group and the Emirates Detainees Advocacy Center submitted AlHajeri’s case to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), asking them to issue an Opinion as to the arbitrary nature of his detention. In our Request for Opinion, we recalled that the UAE authorities kept AlHajeri detained after the completion of his sentence on the basis of laws, namely the Counter-Terrorism Law and the Munasaha Centre Law that contain imprecise and ambiguous provisions that defy the principle of legal certainty. We also pointed out that his detention in a Munasaha Centre was not the result of a court decision that respected fair trial standards. Finally, we argued that, beyond his original sentence, his placement under the Munasaha regime is directly linked to the exercise of his rights and freedoms.
On March 30, 2023, the WGAD adopted an Opinion concerning 12 prisoners in the UAE94 case, including al-Hajeri, who are detained under the Munasaha regime. It recognised that their detention is arbitrary, since the 12 individuals were held “owing to their status as human rights defenders and on the basis of their political or other opinion in seeking to hold the authorities to account.”
In addition, the WGAD’s Opinion considered that their detention is not justified by a valid legal basis because the Counter Terrorism Law “creates significant risks of overbroad application and is thereby incompatible with article 11 (2) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”
The WGAD has therefore recommended the government of the UAE to “release all the 12 individuals immediately and accord them an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations.”
| Name(s): |
Abdullah Abdulqader Ahmad Ali al-Hajeri
|
| Status: |
Arbitrarily detained
|
| Profession: |
Student leader
|
| Nationality: |
Emirati
|
| Date of arrest: |
|
In March 2011, after a group of 133 Emirati academics, judges, lawyers, students, and human rights defenders signed a petition addressed to the President of the United Arab Emirates and the country’s Federal Supreme Council calling for democratic reforms, the UAE’s State Security Apparatus (SSA) initiated a campaign of arrests against the individuals who signed the document.
Abdallah Abdelqader AlHajiri is a student leader who was arrested in 2012 as part of the crackdown against the “UAE94” for signing the petition calling for democratic reform in the UAE.
Arrested individuals were later sentenced in the UAE’s largest mass trial, known as the “UAE94”, before the Federal Supreme Court.
On January 27, 2013, the 94 defendants were charged with founding, organising and administering an organisation aimed at overthrowing the government, contrary to article 180 of the penal code.
On July 2, 2013, the Emirati authorities convicted 61 of the 94 defendants, in addition to eight individuals in absentia. AlHajeri was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment.
In 2014, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued Opinion 60/2013, in which it found that the detention of the 61 individuals convicted in the UAE94 trial was arbitrary. Al Hajiri was among these 61 individuals who were arbitrarily detained.
AlHajeri’s sentence ended in July 2019, but under the pretext of “rehabilitation needs”, pursuant to the UAE’s Counter-Terrorism Law and the Munasaha Centre Law, the authorities have extended his detention indefinitely. He suffers from ongoing violations, as he continues to this day to be held arbitrarily.
On September 7, 2022, MENA Rights Group and the Emirates Detainees Advocacy Center submitted AlHajeri’s case to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), asking them to issue an Opinion as to the arbitrary nature of his detention. In our Request for Opinion, we recalled that the UAE authorities kept AlHajeri detained after the completion of his sentence on the basis of laws, namely the Counter-Terrorism Law and the Munasaha Centre Law that contain imprecise and ambiguous provisions that defy the principle of legal certainty. We also pointed out that his detention in a Munasaha Centre was not the result of a court decision that respected fair trial standards. Finally, we argued that, beyond his original sentence, his placement under the Munasaha regime is directly linked to the exercise of his rights and freedoms.
On March 30, 2023, the WGAD adopted an Opinion concerning 12 prisoners in the UAE94 case, including al-Hajeri, who are detained under the Munasaha regime. It recognised that their detention is arbitrary, since the 12 individuals were held “owing to their status as human rights defenders and on the basis of their political or other opinion in seeking to hold the authorities to account.”
In addition, the WGAD’s Opinion considered that their detention is not justified by a valid legal basis because the Counter Terrorism Law “creates significant risks of overbroad application and is thereby incompatible with article 11 (2) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”
The WGAD has therefore recommended the government of the UAE to “release all the 12 individuals immediately and accord them an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations.”