Wide-ranging legal changes introduced by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in late 2021 fail to address the longstanding and systematic restrictions on citizens’ and residents’ civil and political rights,
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February 18, 2021 at 10:35 am
Expatriate workers in the UAE be warned: overzealous securocrats in the Gulf oligarchies are watching you and all other foreigners, ready to pounce if you dare to criticise any of its allies. Fear has gripped foreign workers across various sectors from banking to teaching, following the imprisonment of a Jordanian resident by the UAE authorities.
His crime? Criticising the Jordanian government. Human Rights Watch (HRW) has been monitoring the case of Ahmed Etoum, 46, and reported that he has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his Facebook posts criticising the government of the Hashemite Kingdom.
The ludicrous charges for which the court convicted Etoum are not only a disgrace and a serious violation of his right to free speech, but also intimidation intended to silence expats. These charges include committing acts against a foreign state that could damage political relations with that state and endanger national security inside the UAE.