Ninety-four Islamist activists are being accused of plotting a coup in the United Arab Emirates. Officials are worried that these activists have ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, and have formed a secret society in hopes of overthrowing the ruling families of the UAE. Although many of its neighbors, such as Bahrain, Yemen, Oman, and Saudi Arabia, have experienced bits of the Arab Spring in the form of pro-democracy protests, the UAE has not had any yet. This is largely due to its ban on all political parties and demonstrations.
These activists were arrested last year and many of them are members of the Islamist group called al-Islah. Although al-Islah claims to be in support of peaceful reforms in the country and denies any link to the Muslim Brotherhood, authorities denounce this. Human rights groups have called the trial a "mockery of justice" since the defendants were denied lawyers until the last two weeks before the trial. They have also been denied the right to see the documents detailing the charges and evidence against them. They will be tried in the UAE's highest court, which will make the decision final with no right of appeal.
Do you think this is fair?
Here's a detailed article about the situation:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21650810
These activists were arrested last year and many of them are members of the Islamist group called al-Islah. Although al-Islah claims to be in support of peaceful reforms in the country and denies any link to the Muslim Brotherhood, authorities denounce this. Human rights groups have called the trial a "mockery of justice" since the defendants were denied lawyers until the last two weeks before the trial. They have also been denied the right to see the documents detailing the charges and evidence against them. They will be tried in the UAE's highest court, which will make the decision final with no right of appeal.
Do you think this is fair?
Here's a detailed article about the situation:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-21650810
This seems like a really good article to read. It will be interesting to see where it goes, especially since it seems like there's a lot of injustice occurring against those arrested. Also, the varying views of whether the group is linked to the Muslim Brotherhood is something that can't really be proven in one way or another before the trial and those in high power already believe them to be... so it probably won't end well for them even if they are actually a peaceful group.
ReplyDeleteI found this article interesting because the UAE is one of the biggest financial contributor's to the Arab League. If the UAE does experience a pro-democracy arab spring, coup, etc. I wonder how the Arab League and the UAE financial capabilities to the Arab League would be effected?
ReplyDeleteYes, I really can't wait to see what happens as the trials go on and how the Arab Spring affects the governments and politics of some of these Gulf states. It will be interesting to see what changes take place because many of these states are in need of major reforms.
ReplyDeleteThe UAE is perhaps one of the most economically sound country in the world. In fact, it's quite the amusement park of the Middle East. Even if it might seem fair, the UAE economy rests on tourism too. If various groups can have uprisings or protests all the time, thinking in terms of size and scale, this would be TERRIBLE to the UAE. I am not saying that human rights need to be violated, but I think some Western corporations and nations with investments in the UAE would rather it have an iron grip than fall to revolutions and ruin their current capital.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'm just too skeptical