Seven months have been passed since the end of the 10-year prison sentence of the leading human rights lawyer Mohammed al-Roken. However, he is still held behind the Emirati bars without any legal basis.

Dr Al-Roken is a pre-eminent Emirati human rights lawyer, who dedicated his life to defending those facing human rights violations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). 

An award-winning academic and professor of constitutional law, he notably represented the group of human rights activists (“the UAE 5”) that was convicted and later pardoned for running a website criticising the UAE government.

For speaking out and protecting the fundamental freedoms of others, Dr Al-Roken paid a hefty price. On 2nd July 2013, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison by the Federal Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi as part of the mass trial of proponents of democratic reform (“the UAE 94”).

Dr Al-Roken’s detention, trial and subsequent prison sentence are riddled with flagrant breaches of international human rights norms. After his initial arrest on 17th July 2012, he was held in solitary confinement at a secret location. He was denied access to a lawyer and had no right to appeal the verdict. On 11th November 2015, Dr Al-Roken was subjected to “music torture” at Al-Razeen. The security guards purposefully blasted propaganda music in his cell at piercing volumes, leading to him losing consciousness due to high blood pressure and exacerbating his ear infection.

“So long as Mohamed Al-Roken remains in prison, a grave injustice continues to stand. We call for his immediate and unconditional release. Pending his release, an urgent improvement of the treatment of prisoners in the UAE is imperative, so that Dr Al-Roken, and other political prisoners, are guaranteed the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.”