 |
The day before his arrest, officials from the Federal Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi had informed Al Hadidi and several other relatives of the defendants that the authorities would no longer allow certain family members to attend the trial.
On 28 March 2013 Abdullah Al-Hadidi was charged under Article 265 of the Penal Code for publishing details of a public trial session "without probity and in bad faith." The court invoked Article 46 of the 2012 federal decree on cyber-crime, which incriminates the use of the internet or information technology. This punitive law was the subject of numerous recommendations for amendment or abolishment during the second Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the United Arab Emirates in January this year.
On 8 April 2013, the Abu Dhabi Court of First Instance sentenced Mr Al Hadidi to 10 months in prison for 'disseminating false information on Twitter', accusing him of having negative intentions when reporting on what was taking place during the Federal Supreme Court 'public' hearings regarding the case of the 'UAE 94'.
Abdulhamid Al Hadidi had attended the hearings held at the Federal Supreme Court, and played an important role in providing information through social networks on these hearings to international human rights organizations as international observers and media personnel were all denied access, despite various attempts to attend the trial. In addition, Mr Al Hadidi coordinated the families of the defendants, and helped compile evidence, particularly of videos and documents to be used in the defense of the 'UAE94'.
Mr Al Hadidi's arrest and verdict are just one example of a generalized crackdown targeting people exercising the rights guaranteed to them by the Emirati constitution and legislation, including freedom of expression. They also constitute a violation of the United Arab Emirates' obligations under international law, as the right to freedom of expression is guaranteed by Article 19 of the UDHR, which states that "everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."
Alkarama fears, given the excessive nature of the verdict against Mr Al Hadidi and the publication of his name in the local press, that his case is being used to set an example as to what might happen to anyone reporting on the highly sensitive case of the 'UAE94'.
Al-Hadidi's appeal to the verdict against him is scheduled for 8 May 2013.