Page 6 - aruba-today-20240711

A6 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 11 July 2024
Dozens of people are sentenced to life in prison in the UAE in a

mass trial criticized abroad

By JON GAMBRELL been handed down. “Re-
Associated Press grettably, these sentences
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates were entirely foreseeable,”
(AP) — A mass trial of dissi- center director Mohamed al-
dents in the United Arab Emir- Zaabi said. “From the outset,
ates sentenced 43 people to it was clear that this trial was
life in prison on Wednesday merely a facade designed
while several other defen- to perpetuate the detention
dants received long prison of prisoners of conscience
terms in a case that has been even after their sentences
widely criticized by activists had been served.”
abroad. Amnesty International also
The sentences given by the criticized the sentences,
Abu Dhabi Federal Court of saying the defendants had
Appeal came in a case de- “been held in prolonged soli-
scribed by the UAE govern- tary confinement, deprived
ment as involving the Muslim of contact with their families
Brotherhood, a pan-Islamic and lawyers and subjected
organization declared a ter- to sleep deprivation through
rorist group by the Emirates. continuous exposure to loud
Activists, however, decried Activists hold signs during a demonstration for Egypt’s jailed leading pro-democracy activist music.” Those tried also were
the case as targeting dissi- Alaa Abdel-Fattah and Mohamed al-Siddiq, jailed activist, at the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, “forbidden from receiving
dents, something that drew Saturday, Dec. 9, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. the most basic court docu-
attention and protests at Associated Press ments,” it said.
the United Nations COP28 The court ruled that those The agency reported on no Joey Shea, a researcher fo- “The trial has been a shame-
climate talks held in Dubai convicted “have worked to specific evidence the court cusing on the UAE for Human less parody of justice and vio-
in November. create and replicate violent cited tying those convicted Rights Watch. “The UAE has lated multiple fundamental
The state-run WAM news events in the country, similar to violence or the Brother- dragged scores of its most principles of law, including
agency reported the ver- to what has occurred in other hood. dedicated human rights the principle that you can-
dicts after human rights Arab states including pro- The verdict, which can be ap- defenders and civil society not try the same person twice
activists said the sentences tests and clashes between pealed to the UAE’s Federal members through a shame- for the same crime, and the
had been handed down. Five the security forces and pro- Supreme Court, drew imme- lessly unfair trial riddled with principle that you cannot
defendants received 15-year testing crowds that led to diate criticism abroad. due process violations and punish people retroactively
sentences while five others deaths and injuries and to “These over-the-top long sen- torture allegations.” under laws that didn’t exist
received 10-year sentences. the destruction of facilities, tences make a mockery of The Emirates Detainees Advo- at the time of the alleged
Another 24 defendants had as well as the consequent justice and are another nail cacy Center, an advocacy offense,” said Devin Kenney,
their cases dismissed, WAM spread of panic and terror in the coffin for the UAE’s group in exile, separately re- an Amnesty International
reported. among people,” WAM said. nascent civil society,” said ported that sentences had researcher.q

Armed bandits interrupt a rescue of migrants in the Mediterranean

off Libya, an aid group says

ROME (AP) — An aid group panic among the remain- the SOS Mediterranee crew operations. Often, when grants to take the risky voy-
that rescues migrants in the ing passengers, who threw plucked people from the Italian maritime authorities ages, a charge they deny.
Mediterranean says one of themselves into the sea. The sea. encounter such boats, they The rescue was one of sev-
its missions was interrupted bandit took control of the It wasn’t clear if the bandits intentionally sink them as a eral reported by rescue
by armed bandits who empty boat and steered were trying to recover the matter of maritime safety. groups this week, as smug-
boarded the overloaded it away from the scene as boat for future smuggling But Valeria Taurino, general glers appear to be taking
smugglers’ boat and sped director of SOS Mediterra- advantage of summer’s
away with it after the mi- nee, said governments are often calm seas. That said,
grants threw themselves into providing fewer resources to the number of migrants ar-
the sea. SOS Mediterranee rescue operations, leaving riving in Italy this year by
filmed the incident Tuesday. aid groups to do the job in boat 27,744 is less than
The group said it occurred increasingly dangerous situ- half the 72,036 who had ar-
about 46 nautical miles ations. rived by this time last year,
north of Zuwara on Libya’s “The lack of rescue vessels according to interior ministry
western coast, a frequent left by the states in recent statistics. The right-wing gov-
launching point for smug- years in the central Medi- ernment of Premier Giorgia
gling operations to bring terranean has generated a Meloni has made limiting
migrants to Europe. reckless increase in armed migration a priority. It has
According to the video, presence and illegal and signed deals with individual
SOS Mediterranee volun- dangerous actions for both African countries to block
teers were helping transfer the fleeing shipwrecked departures, imposed limits
the 93 passengers from the people and aid workers,” on the work of humanitarian
wooden boat onto their res- Rescue personnel of the SOS Mediterranee’s volunteers, right, she said in a statement. rescue ships, cracked down
help transfer the passengers from a wooden migrant boat onto
cue vessel when two rubber their own rescue vessel in the Mediterranean Sea as a masked Italian authorities say the on traffickers who reach Ita-
dinghies approached. person seen left, leapt onto the migrant boat as he approached presence of humanitarian ly and taken other measures
A masked bandit leapt onto them using a rubber dinghy, left, on Tuesday, July 9, 2024. rescue ships in the Mediter- to deter would-be migrants
the migrant boat, sparking Associated Press ranean only encourages mi- from setting off.q