Despite tentative attempts at reform, coupled with an impressive economic performance based on oil, the United Arab Emirates stands accused by human rights activists of curbing freedom of expression. "Freedom of expression does not exist," said Emirati lawyer Mohammad al-Mansoori, who has lived outside the country since a warrant was issued for his arrest in June.
Mansoori, who heads the UAE's independent Jurists Association, told AFP that he has been barred from speaking to the local press for about two years. Another activist lawyer, Mohammad al-Roken, has been banned from writing in local newspapers for 10 years.
Both men are law lecturers in UAE universities, and have been described by the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) as "prominent human rights defenders" who have been "targeted" by UAE security officials and the judiciary.
"The UAE's policies toward human rights defenders are completely inconsistent with the government's message that this is a tolerant and forward-looking country," said Joe Stork, deputy director of HRW's Middle East and North Africa division.
"The authorities should be encouraging these advocates, not harassing them and trying to silence them," he added in a statement issued in October.
The UAE will hold its first limited elections in December, with an electorate of just over 6,000 - representing around one million nationals in seven emirates - electing half the members of the 40-seat Federal National Council, which has no legislative authority.
But for Mansoori, who holds a PhD in international law from the University of Glasgow, the election does not meet the aspirations of UAE citizens, who comprise just 20 percent of the total population of the oil-rich Gulf state. "The forthcoming election is just for display but it is better than nothing," he said in a telephone interview.
"The UAE, which is open to the whole world, should be open to its citizens," Mansoori said, and accused the security apparatus of silencing rights activists and curbing political activity.
All forms of political parties or associations are banned in the UAE. A first non-governmental human rights organisation was authorised in February.
HRW said the arrest warrant against Mansoori was issued for "allegedly insulting the public prosecutor," and that Roken was detained for 24 hours in July and again for three days in August, apparently for his human rights activities and public lectures.
Roken's passport has since been confiscated, HRW said - effectively banning him from leaving the country. Roken declined to comment on the case.
Abdul Rahim al-Awadi, assistant under-secretary for international cooperation at the justice ministry, said Mansoori had been summoned "as is the case with any other person alleged to have committed any breach of the provisions of the federal penal code relating to the offence of defamation and abuse".
Mansoori was summoned by the office of the public prosecutor in the capital Abu Dhabi "to appear at a hearing and to present his defence," he said.
"Since he failed to appear, a warrant for his arrest and arraignment has been issued in accordance with the federal procedural code. This will be revoked once he appears before the public prosecutor," Awadi added.
Dubai public prosecutor Issam Humaidan also downplayed the significance of the case against Roken.
"It is a penal case and has no other dimension. It is no different from hundreds of similar cases that are dealt with regularly in courts," the official WAM news agency quoted him as saying.
But Mansoori accused the judiciary of not being independent, charging that "security (officials) always interfere and (even) stop court rulings" from being carried out. He said the security authorities also torpedoed a seminar he was organising with Roken about the "culture of elections" in 2005. When he raised such "harassment" in an interview with a satellite television channel, he received an "implicit threat" he could lose his job, he added.
Mansoori, who was a legal consultant to the Ras al-Khaimah emirate, was eventually fired. He also upset the UAE authorities by criticising the country's labour law, which governs the working conditions of a huge population of migrant workers.
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