Urgent Action: Incommunicado detainee at risk of torture

Lebanese detainee Ahmad Ali Mekkaoui has been held incommunicado since 11 April 2019. He is at heightened risk of torture and other ill-treatment. Ahmad Ali Mekkaoui is serving a 15-year prison sentence in the United Arab Emirates on “terrorism” charges. Legal proceedings against him have been seriously flawed, including arbitrary detention, excessive pre-trial detention, forced confessions, allegations of torture, and lack of access to medical care. In April 2019, the Prosecutor pressed new speech-related charges against Ahmad following a TV news report in which his sister and legal consultant were interviewed about Ahmad’s torture and unfair trial.  

Take action.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 12 JULY 2019

Please write urgently in your own words or using the template letter included in English or Arabic to:

Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan 

Crown Prince Court 

King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Street 

P.O. Box 124 

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Fax: +971 2 668 6622

 @MohamedBinZayed 

Salutation: Your Highness

Please note that we are recommending delivery by making a PDF of the letter, or scanning a printed copy, and posting it as an image Tweeted at the official’s individual Twitter account. This is a bit of an experiment because we have major difficulty in getting valid postal addresses for Arab Gulf states. 

Twitter offers some advantages in that we can be sure the message is transmitted, even if we can’t make the target read it, and in its public nature, which makes it possible that critical Tweets might be noticed if the target is concerned with his public image. 

The UAE government also prioritises social media engagement for its own brand image.

 

Also send copies to diplomatic representatives accredited to your country.

His Excellency MR SULAIMAN HAMID Embassy of the United Arab Emirates 1-2 Grosvenor Crescent, London SW1X 7EF 020 7581 1281 Fax 020 7581 9616 www.uae-embassy.ae/uk

Please check with your section before sending appeals after the above date.