Mohamed Al-Roken
Mohamed Al-Roken is a leading human rights lawyer who provides legal assistance to victims of human rights abuses in the UAE, including to fellow human rights defenders. Among those he has recently defended are the “UAE 5” human rights defenders who were convicted and sentenced to imprisonment by a UAE court for their human rights work in November 2011 and subsequently released as a result of a Presidential amnesty.
Mohamed Al-Roken attended the Front Line Defenders Dublin Platform in 2003. Arrested again on 17 July 2012 the human rights defender is currently imprisoned as part of what has become known as the 'UAE 94' case. While in detention Dr Mohamed Al-Roken has been denied several of his basic rights including access to his lawyer. In addition to this it has been reported that the authorities have subjected him to psychological intimidation. In 2014 Mohamed Al-Roken was nominated as a finalist for the 2014 Front Line Defenders Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk.
The persecution of human rights defenders (HRDs) in the UAE is systematic. Since 2011, the state has intensified its crackdown on freedom of association, assembly and freedom of expression. HRDs and members of their families are subjected to forced disappearance, prolonged arbitrary detention, torture, judicial harassment and unfair trials, travel ban, physical and digital surveillance and arbitrary dismissal from work.
