More UAE government critics jailed

A court in the UAE sentenced two Emiratis, both of them members of Islamist group Al-Islah, to five years in prison and a fine of Dh500,000 ($136,000) on 11 March, for criticising the state crackdown on Islamists. Khalifa Rabia, a 35-year-old businessman from Fujairah, and Othman Al-Shehhi, a 40-year-old Etisalat engineer from Ras Al-Khaimah, were arrested on 24 July, and accused of publishing seditious material on Twitter. They claim to have been subjected to torture between their arrest and their trial, according to the London-based Emirates Centre for Human Rights (ECHR). The two men, who had used their Twitter accounts to criticise state security investigations into Al-Islah and to express support for jailed members of the organisation, were convicted of violating articles 24 and 41 of the 2013 cybercrime law (GSN 936/4), which criminalises using the internet to damage national unity.