UAE: Leading Academic Detained

Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, the highly-regarded professor of political science at UAE University, has been reportedly detained by state security on unknown charges. Abdulla, a thoughtful voice on regional politics, is heavy user of Twitter; his social media account has been silent since 16 January when he was tweeting about the Egyptian court decision to prevent the ceding of two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia. His arrest will spark concerns given the treatment of other academics. Economics professor at Abu Dhabi’s branch of La Sorbonne Nasser Bin Ghaith has been detained several times, most recently for criticising the government on Twitter in August 2015 (GSN 999/6).