UAE uses torture as a law enforcement tool, gives lip service to HRW but no substance ( Archived) (39)

""United Arab Emirates Human Rights
Human Rights Concerns

Amnesty International is concern on reports of arbitrary arrest and torture of detainees. Political suspects in the UAE are commonly held incommunicado in undisclosed locations. Those arrested by Amn al-Dawla are reportedly often kept in solitary confinement. A few political detainees have been allowed to make brief and limited phone calls to their families. Political parties do not exist in the UAE; political dissent is not tolerated and there are severe restrictions on freedom of expression.

The use of torture of political detainees has been widely reported. Methods have included sleep deprivation, suspension by the wrists or ankles followed by severe beatings to the soles of the feet and even the use of electric shocks to various parts of the body.""

Joke of the century

The Major Funder of Human Rights Watch is a convicted felon from "EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS"

I still can not stop laughing my head off!

I have summarized the visual proof (out of millions available) for everybody to watch!












Go back to school grandpa!

Is that why the UAE arrests protestors and activists Max? Because they view it as a simple 'sham?'

""""January 25, 2012
UAE Tries to Muffle Critical Human Rights Report

Phillip Walter Wellman | Dubai

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Officials in the United Arab Emirates have attempted to prevent a leading rights group from publicizing a report that criticizes the UAE's record on free speech.

Human Rights Watch unveiled its World Report 2012 at a conference in Dubai on Wednesday. But after about an hour, a group of men claiming to be government employees interrupted the event and prohibited rights workers from continuing, saying the organizers failed to get proper authorization.

The findings presented by the group before the disruption revealed a campaign of harassment by UAE authorities against citizens who have called for political reform in the monarchy.

The group's researcher, Samer Muscati, says the report and the UAE response show that in a year marked by democratic advances throughout the Middle East, the Emirates is moving in the opposite direction.

"We’ve seen people being detained, charged and imprisoned for expressing their opinions," said Muscati. "So, the UAE has gone against the tide, unfortunately, of the Arab Spring."

In November, the UAE Supreme Court sentenced five local activists to prison for publicly criticizing the government online. The president later pardoned the group, but the men say their passports have yet to be returned.

"The fact that people can be charged for publicly insulting ruling officials is a very vague charge and a complete violation of international law," he said. "People should be allowed to say what they want as long as they’re not inciting people to violence or defaming others."

UAE Authorities also revoked the citizenship of six men last month, some of whom had signed a petition calling for political reform earlier in the year. All of the men belong to the Islamist group al-Islah, and the government says they pose a threat to state security.

Officials also dissolved the elected boards of two nongovernmental organizations - the Jurist Association and the Teachers’ Association - after the bodies signed a public appeal in April calling for greater democracy.

Nadim Houry is the deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa division at Human Rights Watch:

"We want to see this harassment stop immediately, but we also want to see a true commitment for change," said Houry. "The UAE authorities are capable of doing it if they have the will. We’ve seen it with the big towers they built. We know they can build the rule of law if they’re committed to it."

The UAE has made some democratic reforms in recent months, such as substantially increasing the number of eligible voters for last year’s Federal National Council election. The body has no law-making power, however, like all legislatures in the Gulf. Ultimate control rests with the ruling family.""""

Methinks you might be part of this oppressive regime there Max seeing as how you seem to have access to the WWW and yet, go with the regime line which is ignorance of the evils that is part of it all the while, others in your country have to use a censored version and hotel guests have to access pay per internet services to do same.

In any case, have a light heart as your government believes Human Rights Watch is no scam since they dropped all charges against them, Amnesty International and other individuals for various groups so, you may wish to consult with your superiors prior to posting your next turd;

""""DEC 02, 2011, UAE : UAE President Seikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nayan give Pardon to the Political activists who have been jailed for seven months or more for their alleged charges of anti government activities and insulting UAE rulers.

The decision to commute the sentences of five activists recognizes that they should not have been prosecuted in the first place, but authorities should also expunge the convictions from their records, an international coalition of seven human rights organizations said today. On November 28, 2011, the United Arab Emirates president commuted the sentences by the Federal Supreme Court for “publicly insulting” UAE rulers.

While commuting the sentences was a positive step, UAE authorities should now protect the activists, known among their supporters as the “UAE 5,” and their associates from pro-government vigilantes, and immediately investigate the numerous threats against them, said the coalition, which includes Alkarama (Dignity), Amnesty International, the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), Front Line Defenders, the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR), Human Rights Watch, and Index on Censorship. The authorities should conduct an independent judicial review into their arrests and trial, which did not meet international due process standards, and compensate them for the more than seven months they spent in prison, the coalition said.""



Guess they didn't report any of this in the Khaleej Times. Possibly you may wish to subscribe to something else.