Introduction
Over the past decade, the government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has implemented a series of policies and measures grounded in a security-oriented discourse within the framework of so-called “counter-terrorism” laws. These policies have had a significant impact on civil and political freedoms, leading to an increasing restriction of the space available for civil society activists, human rights defenders, academics, and political dissidents.
Since 2012, with the initiation of the case known as “UAE94,” a pattern of mass trials, long-term sentences, and the systematic narrowing of public space has emerged—a trend that, according to numerous reports by human rights organizations, continues to this day. In recent years, the scope of this approach has extended beyond national borders, with documented cases of transnational repression, including arrests and forced returns of dissidents abroad. Recent mass trials, such as the case known as “UAE84,” as well as government decisions in 2025 to add individuals and organizations to terrorist lists, indicate the continuation and expansion of this pattern.
Within this framework, the 2014 Counter-Terrorism Law has been identified as one of the government’s main instruments for targeting opponents. The law’s broad and at times ambiguous definitions of terms such as “opposition to the regime” or “disturbing public order” enable the imposition of restrictions on peaceful political and civil activities. Moreover, numerous international reports have raised concerns regarding the lack of transparency in judicial proceedings, cases of enforced disappearance, allegations of torture, and the absence of guarantees for fair trial rights.
Taken together, these elements portray a troubling picture of the human rights situation in a country internationally recognized for its discourse on development, modernity, and innovation, yet simultaneously facing profound challenges in upholding fundamental human rights and freedoms.
Incidents
- Mass Detention on Charges of Affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood
On January 8, 2025, the UAE Cabinet designated eleven political dissidents and their relatives, along with eight companies linked to them, as terrorist entities on the basis of alleged connections with the Muslim Brotherhood[1]. The decision was made under the 2014 Counter-Terrorism Law, which enables the government to label individuals as terrorists without providing an opportunity for defense.
UAE authorities justified the decision by invoking their commitment to international conventions related to countering terrorism and terrorist financing adopted by the UN Security Council[2]. However, neither the listed individuals nor their affiliated companies appear in any internationally recognized terrorism monitoring lists[3] — including the United Nations Consolidated Sanctions List, the European Union Terrorist List, or the United Kingdom’s Consolidated Financial Sanctions Targets List[4].
Prior to this decision, the accused individuals were not notified, nor were they given a chance to contest or respond to the allegations. Two of them had already been convicted under the UAE94 case, and previous in absentia sentences had been issued against them[5].
In the UAE94 trial held in 2013, a total of 94 political opponents and human rights activists[6] faced collective prosecution. With a few acquittals, 69 defendants were sentenced to various prison terms: 56 received ten-year sentences, 5 were sentenced to seven years, and 8 others, tried in absentia, were sentenced to fifteen years’ imprisonment[7]. Those convicted were denied communication with their families; indeed, such contact exposed relatives to security harassment and risk of arrest. For instance, on March 21 of the same year, Abdullah al-Hadidi, son of one of the defendants, was arrested for allegedly disseminating false information and details of the trial online[8].
Among the eight individuals tried in absentia, two were included in the UAE government’s 2025 list of eleven designated terrorists.
The 2014 Counter-Terrorism Law provides an excessively broad definition of terrorism. From its opening provisions, it equates opposition to state authority with terrorism. Article 15 explicitly criminalizes any expression of dissent against the state, the ruling system, or disloyalty to its leadership “through any means of communication,” prescribing temporary imprisonment for such acts[9]. Thus, under this legal framework, any opposition to the UAE government may be deemed terrorism.
This law, enacted under Cabinet Resolution No. 74.2020, authorizes life imprisonment for acquaintances or relatives of convicted individuals. Although Article 63 of the same law grants defendants the right to file complaints, the government has systematically deprived them of this right.
Among the eight companies accused in this case, four—Waslaforall, Wembley Tree Ltd, Imagine Ltd, and Cambridge Education and Training Center Ltd[10]—are owned by Ahmed al-Nuaimi, a political dissident residing in the United Kingdom, who was added to the UAE’s terrorist list in 2021. Another company, Future Graduates Ltd, formerly owned by Mohammed Saqr al‑Zaabi until September 2021, has no longer been connected to him; yet, UAE authorities included it in the terrorist list, citing its historical association with him.
- Mass Sentences for Political and Civil Activities
On Tuesday, March 4, 2025, the UAE Federal Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi rejected the appeals of 53 security detainees who had been collectively convicted in previous trials. In the initial judgment delivered in July 2024, 43 individuals were sentenced to life imprisonment, five received 15-year sentences, and five others were sentenced to ten years in prison. Each was also ordered to pay 10 million dirhams (approximately USD 2.72 million) in fines[11].
Although the UAE typically refrains from disclosing the identities of the convicts, it is reported that one of them is Dr. Nasser bin Ghaith, a university lecturer and activist arrested in August 2015 for social media posts[12], and now serving a life sentence. Among the forty-three sentenced to life imprisonment are believed to be prominent Emirati human rights defenders, including Abdulsalam Darwish al-Marzouqi, Dr. Mohammed Al-Roken (former president of the UAE Jurists Association), Dr. Mohammed al-Mansour, and Sheikh Muhammad Abdulrazaq al-Siddiq. They were accused of establishing and managing the “Justice and Dignity Committee” allegedly for terrorist purposes within the UAE.
In addition to these individuals, five organizations and companies were also convicted[13]. The UAE government has also been accused of engaging in transnational repression: after Lebanon reestablished central control, Emirati authorities reportedly extradited Abdulrahman al-Qaradawi, a poet and activist, from Beirut, whose current whereabouts remain unknown, as he has had no contact with his family. Similarly, Mohammed Farouk Suleiman, a Sudanese political activist, was arrested on January 19, 2025, during a brief transit stop at Dubai International Airport[14] — a case highlighting the UAE’s cross-border reach in silencing dissent.
These appeals concerned sentences issued in the UAE84 case, adjudicated on July 10, 2024, during the COP28 Climate Conference hosted in the UAE. In this mass trial, 84 political opponents and human rights defenders were convicted, alongside six affiliated companies. Notably, around 67 of the defendants had already spent nearly 11 years in prison before the new verdicts, effectively subjecting them to double punishment for the same alleged offenses.
During trial proceedings, Dr. Mohammed Al-Roken protested: “We cannot be tried twice for the same accusations. This is a clear injustice.” Ahmed Mansoor, another prominent human rights defender, reported that he had been tortured and psychologically pressured to confess to crimes he did not commit. He stated: “We were held for months in dark places without any contact with the outside world. This cannot be called justice[15].”
Out of the 84 defendants, 26 were confirmed to be prisoners of conscience and human rights defenders.
Challenges and Responses
- Domestic Reactions
Ahmed al-Nuaimi, a member of the UAE87 group and a political dissident living in exile in the United Kingdom, stated in an interview with the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (BHRC):
“Article 27 of the UAE Constitution clearly stipulates that no one shall be punished for an act committed before the enactment of the law. Yet, since 2012, political activists, academics, and human rights defenders have been imprisoned under a law passed in 2014. How can people be tried retroactively? In neither Emirati nor international law can anyone be prosecuted twice for the same offense. This is not only unlawful; it destroys the most fundamental principle of justice. No one is safe anymore. Anyone who goes there [to the UAE] risks being accused for any reason—even for a crime they were already tried for.”
This testimony highlights deep inconsistencies between Emirati counter-terrorism legislation and the fundamental rule of non-retroactivity of criminal law, enshrined in international legal standards such as Article 15 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). It also reveals the systematic use of the judiciary as a tool of political suppression rather than justice[16].
- International Reactions
In an official communication addressed by UN Special Rapporteurs, the government of the United Arab Emirates was criticized for misusing counter-terrorism legislation to silence dissent and human rights defenders. The letter referenced the September 2021 cabinet decision that listed several researchers and civil society activists as terrorists without trial or right of defense.
The UN experts emphasized that such actions lack legal clarity and violate the principles of due process and human rights. They warned that the UAE government employs “security instruments” to delegitimize and punish legitimate human rights activities. The letter further cited the 2013 mass trial (UAE94) as a precedent, noting continuing patterns of repression, travel bans, harassment of families, and threats against defenders. The experts concluded that these practices illustrate a systematic policy to silence civil society in the country[17].
The U.S. Department of State, in its annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, has also addressed the human rights situation in the UAE. One such report states:
“There are reports of enforced disappearances carried out by government forces or by agents acting on their behalf. Several individuals were detained due to their political opinions or alleged ties to Islamist groups, and were held incommunicado without disclosure of their whereabouts.”
For instance, Muaadh Musaed Muthanna Hailan, a Yemeni student, has been detained at Al-Wathba Prison since 2019 without formal charges, with his last contact with family reported in 2020. The same report documents cases of transnational repression and extrajudicial killings attributed to the UAE.
According to investigations by the NGO Reprieve, published by the BBC in January 2025, the Emirati government employed mercenaries to conduct targeted assassinations of political opponents in Yemen. Between 2015 and 2018, the UAE was allegedly responsible for 137 killings, most of which involved individuals with no connection to terrorist organizations. Among the targets were Huda al-Sarari, a human rights lawyer and researcher, and Insaf Ali Mayo, a Yemeni politician[18].
A report issued by the MENA Rights Group on 1 May 2025, submitted to the UN Secretary-General for inclusion in his annual report to the General Assembly on the implementation of Resolution 78/210 (“Combating Terrorism and Human Rights”), documented the widespread misuse of counter-terrorism laws by governments across the Middle East and North Africa—including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, and the Occupied Palestinian Territories—to suppress dissent, civil activism, and human rights advocacy.
The report devoted a detailed section to the UAE, emphasizing that the 2014 Federal Law on Combating Terrorist Crimes provides an ambiguous and overly broad definition of terrorism, enabling authorities to criminalize any criticism or peaceful opposition as “terrorist activity.” The State Security Apparatus was identified as the primary body responsible for arbitrary detention, torture, and unfair trials against activists, journalists, and whistleblowers under the guise of counter-terrorism enforcement[19].
Devin Kenney, Amnesty International’s UAE researcher, described the UAE’s mass trials—such as UAE84—as “a shameless parody of justice,” noting that they violate numerous legal principles, including the prohibition of double jeopardy and the prohibition of retroactive prosecution.
He added:
“Defendants have been held in prolonged solitary confinement, denied access to lawyers and families, and subjected to sleep deprivation through the continuous blaring of loud music. Even those who hired private lawyers at great expense were denied access to essential court documents. Family members were repeatedly barred from attending hearings. What is absurd is not only the verdict itself but the entire judicial process, which constitutes an open mockery of the rule of law. This case should be the final nail in the coffin of the UAE’s attempts to conceal its catastrophic human rights violations behind a façade of modernization[20].”
The website World Socialist Web Site also reported on the repression of dissent in the UAE, identifying the UAE84 trial as a striking example of the continuation of repressive state practices and systematic violations of fair trial standards. Dozens of political activists, academics, and human rights defenders—many of whom had already been prosecuted in the UAE94 case—were retried for the same charges, violating the principle of non bis in idem (prohibition of double jeopardy).
The trial was conducted in secrecy, with no public access to proceedings or defense evidence, and multiple reports cited torture, prolonged solitary confinement, and inhumane treatment. International observers described the process as a show trial designed to silence dissenting voices.
While the UAE promotes itself internationally under the rhetoric of reform and democracy, it systematically restricts freedom of expression, assembly, and political participation at home. Simultaneously, the open political and economic support of the United States and its allies has enabled international silence toward these grave human rights violations.
Analysts argue that the UAE’s political structure has evolved into a security-driven system of governance built on surveillance and control, serving the geopolitical interests of major powers. The continued detention of prisoners of conscience, tight control over media, and suppression of civil society demonstrate that justice and the rule of law have been subordinated to the logic of security and power[21].
- Lack of Transparency in Judicial Proceedings
One of the major challenges concerning violations against political activists and defendants in the UAE is the lack of transparency regarding personal data, legal charges, and court rulings. The absence of official information compels media and observers to rely on speculation.
The judiciary is not independent; judges are appointed by executive decree, and the entire system operates under the authority of the executive branch. As a result, systematic violations of international fair trial standards are evident in numerous high-profile cases, particularly those involving political dissidents, human rights defenders, and foreign nationals[22].
- Enforced Disappearances
Another critical issue involves the use of enforced disappearance as a systematic tactic against political and human rights activists. Many detainees are abducted by security forces and held in undisclosed locations without access to legal counsel or family contact. Some remain disappeared for years.
Family members who attempt to seek information or maintain contact often face intimidation or arrest themselves—reflecting a pattern of collective punishment extending beyond individual defendants.
For example, Ahmed Mansoor, detained since September 2017, has been subjected to enforced disappearance since his wife last saw him that year. Despite repeated condemnations from UN experts and international human rights organizations, Emirati authorities continue to hold him incommunicado. The Ministry of Interior has denied any knowledge of his whereabouts and referred inquiries to the police, who also claimed ignorance[23].
Reports indicate that Mansoor spent at least six months in solitary confinement, denied the right to independent legal counsel and family contact[24]. Prior to his detention, he was widely recognized as “the last remaining human rights defender in the UAE[25].”
Conclusion
The set of events and documents presented shows that the political structure of the United Arab Emirates, rather than seeking to establish a legal order, reproduces a security order through legal instruments. The use of counter-terrorism laws to silence critics is not only a clear violation of fundamental human rights principles, but also indicative of the emergence of a form of legal authority that places law in the service of politics. The lack of transparency in the judicial system and the enforced disappearance of activists signify a denial of the right to know and a negation of human dignity at the highest levels of governance. Moreover, the alignment of certain global powers with this structure and the silence of the international community effectively confer legitimacy on the continuation of the cycle of repression. Overall, this trajectory reveals a pattern of technological authoritarianism in which surveillance, digital control, and transnational terror have replaced dialogue and reform.
References
[1] Reuters. (2025, January 8). UAE puts 19 individuals and UK entities on terrorism list for Muslim Brotherhood affiliations. Reuters. From: https://www.reuters.com/world/uae-puts-19-individuals-uk-entities-terrorism-list-muslim-brotherhood-2025-01-08/
[2] UAE Legislation. (2025). Cabinet Resolution No. (1) of 2025 Regarding Approving the List of Terrorist Persons and Organizations. UAE Legislation. From: https://uaelegislation.gov.ae/en/legislations/2786/download
[3] ADHRB. (2025, May 7). Guilty by association: The UAE’s repression now targets dissidents’ families and businesses. ADHRB. From: https://www.adhrb.org/2025/05/guilty-by-association-the-uaes-repression-now-targets-dissidents-families-and-businesses/
[4] Danagher, K. (2025, April 24). UAE urged to remove ‘terrorism’ designation of political opponents. Jurist News. From: https://www.jurist.org/news/2025/04/uae-urged-to-remove-terrorism-designation-of-political-opponents/
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[7] International Commission of Jurists. (2013). Mass Convictions Following an Unfair Trial: The UAE 94 Case. International Commission of Jurists. From: https://www.icj.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/UAE-report-4-Oct-2013smallpdf.com_.pdf
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[13] Emirates News Agency-WAM. (2025, March 4). Federal Supreme Court rejects appeals in ‘Terrorist Justice and Dignity Organisation’ case; upholds sentences. Emirates News Agency-WAM. From: https://www.wam.ae/en/article/bihvj6d-federal-supreme-court-rejects-appeals-terrorist
[14] CIVICUS. (2025, April 30). Court rejects the appeals of 53 people in the “UAE84” case and organisations express concern for other persecuted HRDs. CIVICUS. From: https://monitor.civicus.org/explore/court-rejects-the-appeals-of-53-people-in-the-uae84-case-and-organisations-express-concern-for-other-persecuted-hrds/
[15] Emirates Detainees Advocacy Center. (2024, July 2). Unfair “UAE84” Trial Illustrates Total Disregard for International Law. Emirates Detainees Advocacy Center. From: https://en.edacrights.com/post/759
[16] Bar Human Rights Committee of England & Wales. (2024, July 18). Rule of Law in Jeopardy in the UAE | BHRC Event Report. Bar Human Rights Committee of England & Wales. From: https://barhumanrights.org.uk/rule-of-law-in-jeopardy-in-the-uae-bhrc-event-report/
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