Dr Mahmoud al-Jaidah was arrested on 26 February 2013 by plainclothes UAE security officials while in transit at Dubai International Airport and held in solitary confinement in secret detention for almost nine months until after his trial had started. He was also denied access to his lawyer until his trial began and his lawyer has been unable to obtain his case files.
He has been charged with having ties with al-Islah (Reform and Social Guidance Association), an association legally established in 1974 in the UAE where it has been engaged in peaceful social and political debate. Two members of al-Islah, who were witnesses at his trial sessions on 23 December and 30 December, told the court that they did not know who Dr Mahmoud al-Jaidah was and had never had any association with him.
He is facing, what Amnesty International, describe as an unfair trial in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), next month. If convicted, he will have no right to appeal under UAE law. Amnesty International has been told that when he is taken back to prison after his trial sessions, he is strip-searched and forced to sit naked for some hours before being allowed to enter his cell, in an apparent attempt to humiliate him and lower his spirits. He has alleged that he was tortured (including beatings and sleep-deprivation) during this time.
His family, fearing reprisals, have not visited him in prison or attended his latest trial hearing, held on 30 December, since his son, Abdulrahman al-Jaidah, was arrested on 23 December for publicly campaigning for his release. Abdulrahman al-Jaidah was released the next day and escorted on a flight back to Qatar by state security officers after an interrogation by state security.
We agree with Amnesty that the authorities should immediately charge Dr al-Jaidah with an internationally recognizable offence or else release him. He must be granted a fair trial, including the right to be assisted by a lawyer of his own choosing and the right to an appeal. Any statement tainted with torture allegations should not be submitted as evidence, yet such allegations should be fully investigated impartially.
We are planning to submit this letter/petition on Jan 31st as his next hearing is Feb 3rd when he may well be convicted with no prospect of appeal so this is URGENT.
References:
http://dohanews.co/amnesty-decries-h...jailed-in-uae/
DOCUMENT - UAE: FURTHER INFORMATION: QATARI DOCTOR HARASSED IN UAE PRISON: MAHMOUD AL-JAIDAH -
http://goo.gl/5C7aOG