Ledende aktivist Ahmed Mansoor blev chikaneret og truet efter at have forlangt demokratiske reformer i De Forenede Arabiske Emirater, skriver Human Rights Watch .
(Beirut) – United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities should immediately disclose the whereabouts of leading rights activist Ahmed Mansoor, the reason for his detention, and any charges against him, Human Rights Watch said. The organization is concerned that the detention on April 8, 2011, of Mansoor, a prominent blogger and vocal human rights advocate who recently called for political freedoms and an elected parliament in the UAE, is politically motivated.
At 4:30 p.m. on April 8, eight to ten members of UAE security forces, including two police officers in uniform, took Mansoor away after they carried out a three-hour search of his apartment in Dubai. The security forces also confiscated laptops, books, and some documents belonging to Mansoor. The security forces did not give a reason for Mansoor’s detention and did not produce an arrest warrant, his wife told Human Rights Watch.
“We believe the detention of Ahmed Mansoor is aimed at scaring and intimidating others in the UAE who may wish to make public their demands for democratic reforms,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “While other governments in the region are discussing democratic reforms, the UAE government is digging in its heels and sticking to outmoded repressive ploys.”
Mansoor has been a leading and vocal proponent of a petition submitted last month to UAE authorities demanding democratic reforms and has given numerous television and other media interviews on the issue. Mansoor is also a member of the Middle East and North Africa advisory committee at Human Rights Watch, and he was honored and recognized of his efforts to promote human rights in the Emirates at a news conference in Dubai on January 26.
