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UAE: Fourth pro-democracy activist detained

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

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

A UAE regulator has withdrawn its threat to suspend BlackBerrys mobile communication services.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.