DUBAI – A mass trial in the United Arab Emirates of dissidents that has faced widespread criticism abroad ended Wednesday with dozens of people sentenced to life in prison, activists said.
The UAE did not immediately acknowledge the sentences. However, they had been expected to be issued in court Wednesday, activists said.
Human Rights Watch said at least 40 of the over 80 defendants received life sentences. Four others received shorter prison terms. It did not know the sentences of all of the prisoners.
“These over-the-top long sentences make a mockery of justice and are another nail in the coffin for the UAE’s nascent civil society,” said Joey Shea, a researcher focusing on the UAE for Human Rights Watch.
“The UAE has dragged scores of its most dedicated human rights defenders and civil society members through a shamelessly unfair trial riddled with due process violations and torture allegations.”
The Emirates Detainees Advocacy Center, a group run by an Emirati who lives in exile in Istanbul, said sentences had been handed down.
It said Sultan bin Kayed al-Qasimi, Mohammed Abdul Razzaq al-Siddiq, Abdul Salam Darwish al-Marzouqi and Nasser Bin Ghaith were among those who received life sentences.
The trial, dubbed the ‘UAE84’ after the 84 defendants who were tried, has been criticised by UN experts and rights groups, including Amnesty International.
In January, more than a dozen UN special rapporteurs said the trial violated international prohibitons on double jeopardy and retroactive criminal law and had been brought “on spurious terrorism charges”.
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