PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 25/005/2009

08 June 2009

UA 142/09 Incommunicado detention/Fear of torture or ill-treatment

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (UAE) Khalil Abdul Rahman Abdul Karim al-Janahi (m), aged 38

Khalil Abdul Rahman Abdul Karim al-Janahi is being held in incommunicado detention without charge or trial at an unknown location in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He was deported from Saudi Arabia on 24 November 2008 and is believed to be held by members of Amn al-Dawla(State Security). Amnesty International fears that he may be at risk of torture or ill-treatment.

Khalil Abdul Rahman Abdul Karim al-Janahi, a UAE national, was a student of Shari’a(Islamic) law in Saudi Arabia. On 26 April 2007 he went to the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh to catch a plane to Bahrain where his wife and other relatives live. He was arrested at passport control in the airport, and taken to ‘Ulaysha Prison in Saudi Arabia where he was held incommunicado for four months. However, his family were eventually able to visit him on several occasions, but neither they nor he were ever given the reasons for his detention. He was not charged or tried and was not given access to legal assistance.

Several months later, on 24 November 2008, Khalil Abdul Rahman Abdul Karim al-Janahi was deported to the UAE where he was immediately detained. He has been allowed to make brief calls to his wife in Bahrain from his place of detention. Despite repeated queries by his relatives, the UAE authorities have refused to allow them to visit him or to inform them of the reasons for his arrest and detention.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Political suspects in the UAE are commonly held incommunicado in undisclosed locations. Those arrested by Amn al-Dawla are reportedly often kept in solitary confinement. A few political detainees have been allowed to make brief and limited phone calls to their families. Political parties do not exist in the UAE; political dissent is not tolerated and there are severe restrictions on freedom of expression and association. Websites have been targeted for closure and their owners prosecuted for defamation. A draft Press Code was passed by the country’s Federal National Council - a body of appointed parliamentarians- but rejected by the UAE’s President following international pressure. For example, the code would institute heavy fines for “insulting” specific members of the government. Permits are required for demonstrations but are rarely granted.

The use of torture of political detainees has been widely reported. Methods have included sleep deprivation, suspension by the wrists or ankles followed by severe beatings to the soles of the feet and even the use of electric shocks to various parts of the body.

The UN Human Rights Committee has commented that routine prolonged solitary confinement is inconsistent with the obligation on states to ensure prisoners are treated with humanity and with respect for their inherent dignity. (General comment 21/44, 6 April 1992).

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in English or your own language:

- expressing concern that Khalil Abdul Rahman Abdul Karim al-Janahi has been held incommunicado since 24 November 2008 at an unknown location;

- requesting clarification of the reasons for his arrest and detention; - calling for him to be given immediate access to family and legal counsel; - asking that he be charged with a recognizable criminal offence and brought promptly to trial, or released

APPEALS TO:

Vice-President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai

Shaikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al-Maktoum

Office of the Prime Minister

POB 73311

Dubai

United Arab Emirates

Fax: +971 4 330 4000

Salutation: Your Highness

Minister of the Interior

Major-General Shaikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Ministry of the Interior

PO Box 398

Abu Dhabi

United Arab Emirates

Fax: + 971 2 4414938

Salutation: Your Excellency

National Security Advisor

Sheikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Higher National Security Council

C/o Ministry of Presidential Affairs

POB 280, Abu Dhabi,

United Arab Emirates

Fax: +971 2 622 2228

Salutation: Your Excellency

Minister of Justice

Dr Hadef Jouan Al Dhahiri

Ministry of Justice

PO Box 753

Abu Dhabi

United Arab Emirates

Fax: + 971 2 681 0680

Salutation: Your Excellency

Minister of Foreign Affairs

Shaikh ‘Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

PO Box 1

Abu Dhabi

United Arab Emirates

Fax: + 971 4 3572113

Salutation: Your Excellency

COPIES TO: Diplomatic representatives of UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (UAE) accredited to your country.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 20 July 2009.