Free the UAE 5

Five activists in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been detained after calling online for democratic reforms. Their arrest comes as part of a wider clampdown on dissent in the UAE, where people can be jailed simply for the peaceful expression of their views.

The UAE 5 include blogger, Ahmad Mansoor; and economist, lecturer and advocate of political reform, Nasser bin Ghaith, who was arrested on 10 April in Dubai. The others are Fahad Salim Dalk, Ahmed Abdul Khaleq and Hassan Ali al-Khamis. All are charged with ‘publicly insulting’ the president and other top officials.

These five men are prisoners of conscience. Please sign our petition calling on UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed to unconditionally release them and ensure that the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly in the UAE are protected.

We will hand in the petition to the UAE Embassy in London at the end of August, ahead of the five activists' trial, now set for the end of September.

Alternatively, if you’re in the UK, you can add your name to the petition by texting the word FREEDOM followed by your full name to 81222.

More about the 5 activists

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