The free speech agenda for John Kerry’s “listening trip”

February 27th, 2013

The US Secretary of State is headed for the Middle East and the Gulf. Sara Yasin explains the censorship issues in the region he needs to hear about
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UAE blogger and activist beaten

September 19th, 2012

Prominent UAE blogger Ahmed Mansoor says that he was beaten by an unidentified man on 17 September. Mansoor was attacked as he was approaching his car at Ajman University of Science and Technology, where he studies law. The attacker knocked Mansoor to the ground and began punching him, but ran away once people entered the parking lot. Once Mansoor was free, he tried to follow him, but was quickly blocked by another unidentified man, who drove off with the attacker. Mansoor says this is the second time that he has been beaten. The United Arab Emirates has been cracking down on political activists and groups, most recently arresting 13 activists tied to Islamist group al-Islah on 16 July. Mansoor was imprisoned and released last year for posting messages critical of political figures in the now-banned UAE Hewar forum. The blogger has been active in speaking out against the crackdown, which has also resulted in the arrest of prominent human rights activist and lawyer, Mohammed al-Roken.

UAE: Activist deported to Thailand

July 17th, 2012

The United Arab Emirates deported an online activist to Thailand yesterday, it has been reported. Ahmed Abdul Khaleq was stripped of his rights to live in the country as a result of his campaigning. His website included appeals for a greater public role in the UAE’s political affairs. Political parties are banned in the Gulf nation. Khaleq was among five other activists who were convicted last year of anti-state crimes for insulting the UAE’s leaders. They were later pardoned, but the charges against them were not officially dropped.

UAE: Rapper jailed over scandalous video

April 25th, 2012

A rapper has been sentenced to a minimum of three months in prison after releasing a violent music video in the UAE. The singer, known as Dangour, was arrested in June. In the footage, Dangour raps about drug abuse and his hatred of white people. A clip went viral on messaging service BBM, and several people complained to the police. The court ruled that the rapper created the video to make people scared of him and issued the “light sentence”. They added that it ”harmed public decency and order and spread terror and panic among people”.

UAE man faces jail time after tweeting insults to public official

March 2nd, 2012

A 42-year-old Emirati man faces up to three years in prison or a fine of 30,000 AED (£5,122) for tweeting insults to a public official. The man reportedly sent messages “using foul language” to Police Chief Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, and in court denied insulting the official, claiming that his comments were actually aimed at Tamim’s cronies. Tamim filed the case against the man after he reportedly tweeted insults at him for a second time. His case has now been adjourned to 11 March after his request for bail was rejected by a judge on Wednesday.

UAE: Fourth pro-democracy activist detained

April 18th, 2011

Human rights lawyers say the authorities on Friday (15 April) detained an activist participating in an online forum that called for free elections in the country. Abdullah al-Shehhy becomes the fourth activist who has been arrested since demonstrators began calling for political reforms in the country. The government had previously arrested the leader of the forum, Ahmed Mansour.

UAE: News website shut down

November 29th, 2010

The Emirates Local News website (http://localnewsuae.com), which translates and posts all news about the UAE from around the world, has been blocked within the UAE. The ban came 10 days before the site’s first anniversary and the government have offered no reason for the decision. Visitors to the site will find only an announcement that the site has been “banned as per the regulations of the Internet access department in the UAE”. This follows the closing of the alHewar alEmirati forum at the start of the year.

UAE: BlackBerry ban suspended

October 13th, 2010

A UAE regulator has withdrawn its threat to suspend BlackBerrys mobile communication services. In August, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority said it would ban BlackBerry’s messenger, e-mail and web-browser services on October 11.  It claimed BlackBerry’s use of internal encrypted networks raised national security concerns. Research in Motion (RIM), the Canadian maker of BlackBerry entered negotiations and the regulator has now determined that Blackberry has become “compliant” with UAE law. RIM has refused to specify any of their concessions. They are thought to have granted some access to communications passed between devices to the government. The authorities in India, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, and Lebanon have expressed similar reservations.