• Overview

The UAE is the first Arab country in the list of landline users. It is the second in the mobile broadband Internet access rate. Nevertheless, it is the first in the list of countries that monitor activists and human rights defenders in cooperation with Israeli companies. Infrastructure development did not develop the UAE authorities’ visions which are anti-freedom of speech. Public Relations companies exert a lot of useless efforts to improve the image of the authorities which practice suppression and violate human rights.

Glamorous phrases like the Ministry of Possibilities, Year of Happiness, Year of Tolerance, did not help much in changing the nature of repression in this country. UAE exploited all modern technology tools to hack and penetrate accounts of activists, human rights defenders, not only inside the country but also in other Arab countries.

 

  • Developments in the ICT Sector

The population in UAE reaches 9.6 million. UAE owns a fast and efficient telecommunication network, which is organized by the federal telecommunications regulatory agency Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA). The service is mainly offered by the Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat), Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (Du) for landlines, cell phones, Internet and satellite, Specialized Telecommunication (NIDAA) for telecommunication wired and wireless services, offered to all governmental and semi-governmental bodies. Thuraya Telecommunications Company for telecommunication through satellite, Alyah for satellite telecommunication, operating landlines through satellite.

Cell phone users reach around 19 million, forming 198% of the population, landline users are 2.3 million, while broadband users are around 3 million.

 

  • Legal Environment for the ICT Sector

The UAE authorities amended laws and ministerial decrees to siege opinion-makers. The government introduced a new law concerning information technology crimes, Hamad Seif Al  Shamsi, Public Prosecutor, announced on 13th March 2017, a new Ministerial Resolution No. 220 of 2017 established a Federal Public Prosecution specialized in Information Technology Crimes, headquartering at Abu Dhabi. The prosecution is specialized in investigating and following trials concerning information technology crimes.

 

In June 2017, the public prosecutor issued a statement warning that whoever shows sympathy with a written or visual or verbal content supporting Qatar, will be imprisoned for a period not less than three years and not more than 15 years with a fine of 500 thousand Derham (136 thousand US dollars) under the Criminal Act and e-crimes law year 2012.

 

The president of the UAE, on 13th August 2018, introduced an amendment to Federal Law no. 5 of 2012, concerning combating information technology crimes, aiming at pursuing bloggers and opinion-makers under the pretext of “jeopardizing public security”. The law allows security services to pursue users who browse websites and those who comment or share. The amendments included sentences that reach 10 years in jail and a fine of 4 million Derham (one million and 90 thousand US dollars). The amendments target also admins, supervisors, publishers with loose accusations like jeopardizing state security and its interests and damaging public security.

 

  • Social Networks

Statistics point out that 99% of the citizens in the UAE use social media continuously. Some activists uncovered lies about the state of happiness, welfare, and the nothing is impossible slogans. Authorities recruited agents on social media to uncover “seditious” users and pursue them. Moreover, the authorities cooperated with Israeli technology companies to spy on human rights defenders and activists.

 

Statistics point that users are increasing reaching about 9.5 million, forming approximately 98.5% of the population, Facebook users reached around 8.8 million, while Twitter users are decreasing in comparison with 2017 dropping to around 2.3 million only from 2.5 million. This goes back to a procedure taken by twitter administration to delete fake accounts, mostly coming from the UAE. Instagram users are around 3.7 million.

 

  • Blocking and Surveillance

The UAE authorities arrested and tried some Internet activists. It was uncovered that the authorities are using ToTok application to spy on tens of human rights defenders worldwide, as it steals the phone data, traces the application’s users, spies on their audio and video calls and controls the mobile camera and microphone. It has been uncovered also that the authorities are illegally intervening in the regional work of Twitter.

 

On the other hand, the Emirati authorities prevented access to some websites. The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) determined a list of 19 banned categories on the Internet. Among these categories: websites that defame the state or harm public order. This category includes any content that carries satirical hints, defaming the state, its governors, heirs, and parliament members, any content calling for changing the regime, any content that calls for demonstrations or rallies without permission, any content that is viewed by the authorities as harmful to the national currency or perplexing public opinion about the economic situation and any content that is blocked through a judiciary order or a public prosecution decision.

 

The UAE, on 27th July 2017, blocked the Arabian Business website and confiscated the printed issue for one month on charges of publishing false news in a report about a failed real estate project.

After boycotting Qatar in 2017, the authorities blocked al Jazeera websites and most of the websites funded by Qatar.

On 11th April 2019, the authorities blocked Skype under the pretext that the unauthorized use of Voice Over IP (VoIP) jeopardizes privacy and safety.

On 31st August 2019, Mohamed Bin Rashed Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and governor of Dubai, published on his twitter official account a threat to twitter activists for what he called “messing and causing chaos on social media”. He added that “the state’s reputation is not a subject to be played with by those who want more followers”.

 

  • Persecution and Security threats

Violations continued as the authorities did not only target activists and human rights defenders on social media but also it continues to imprison activists after terminating their sentences in another kind of prison which is called “the advice center”. Ossama al Najjar was arrested since 17th March 2017, he was released on 8th August 2019, under the public prosecution decision which expanded his detention because he is “a threat to society”. The court referred him to “the advice center” under article no. 40 of Federal Law no. 7/2014 of the Terrorism Act. The court sentenced Najjar on 25 November 2017 to three years and a fine of 500 thousand Derham (136 thousand US dollar) on charges of “publishing false news, membership of Islah movement and inciting hatred against the state”, on the background of posts he published on twitter asking the minister of Interior about his father who was a member of the UAE 94, as the son, expressed concern about his father’s treatment in prison.

 

Trying activist Ahmed Mansour Al-Shahi

On 20th March 2017, security forces stormed into Ahmed Mansour Al Shahi’s house, searching it and confiscating electronic devices. Shahi was led to an unknown location. Later on, the Federal Public Prosecution specialized in Information Technology Crimes announced that he was arrested. He was accused of “publishing false news and information aiming at spreading hatred and sectarianism, damaging unity and national harmony and defaming the state”, on the background of posts on Twitter.

Since his arrest and until his trial, Mansour was held in solitary confinement. He was deprived of meeting his lawyer and suffered ill-treatment. On 29th May 2018, the appeal court in Abu Dhabi sentenced him to ten years and fined him with one million Derham (270 thousand US dollars) on charges of defaming the state, publishing rumors, and false news to incite hatred and sectarianism through social media”. The court decided to subject him to surveillance after the termination of his sentence, confiscate his devices, delete his posts and suspend his accounts. On the last day of 2018, the Supreme court supported the verdict.

It is worth mentioning that Mansour is a prominent activist and blogger in the UAE. He is the laureate of the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights in 2015. In 2006 he launched campaigns calling for the authorities to respect freedom of expression and civil and political rights. He shared in launching a petition in Emirates Dialogue Forum on 3rd March 2011 calling for democratic reform in the parliament. He was detained with other four activists, later on, on charges of “insulting the Emirates leadership” in a case known as the “UAE 5”. He spent most of 2011 in jail for his opposition through the Internet. A pardon was issued, and he was released in November 2011. Mansour was targeted for his activism, threatened with murder and his accounts were hacked in October 2014.

 

Trying the academic Nasser Bin Ghayth for his opinions on social media

The appealing court of Abu Dhabi, on 29th March 2017, sentenced the prominent economic expert, Nasser Bin Ghayth Al Morri, to 10 years in accordance to the Cyber Crimes Law and Terrorism Act of 2014, on charges of “insulting the state” on the background of his opinions which he published on social media. Ghayth was accused of corresponding and cooperating with Islah banned group, pointing at his visit and meetings with members of UAE 94, which is a group of human rights defenders and opposition figures who were tried in 2013 and were sentenced to long periods.

Security forces in plainclothes stormed Ghayth’s house in Abu Dhabi, on 18th August 2015, searching it and confiscating his devices. He was arrested until he appeared before State Security Chamber in the Federal Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi, on 4th April 2016 the judge referred the case to the court of appeal in December 2016.

Dr. Nasser Bin Ghayth Al Morri, an economic academic, expert, a member of the group ‘UAE 5″, which consists of five activists calling for reform. They were detained since April 2011 on charges of “public insult” against officials.

 

Detention of journalist Tayssir Al Najjar

The Appeal Court in Abu Dhabi, on 15th March 2017, sentenced Jordanian journalist residing in the UAE, Tayssir al Najjar, to 3 years and fined him 500 thousand Derham ($136,000) on charges of insulting state figures. The court also ordered to suspend his accounts on social media, expelling him after the termination of his sentence under article 29 of the Cyber Crimes law of 2012.

Trying Najjar came on the background of comments published on Facebook. On 19th June 2017, the Supreme Federal Court in Abu Dhabi upheld the verdict and rejected the defense of his lawyer.

Najjar fulfilled his sentence on 13th December 2018, yet he was kept in jail till he was released on 12th February 2019 for not being able to pay the fine.

Security forces have banned Najjar from traveling to Amman on 3rd December 2015, ordering him to get back to them daily to check without mentioning reasons. On 13th December 2015, he was arrested without notifying his family or the Jordanian embassy. His arrest was not made public until 22 January 2016. Mystery surrounded his case until March 2016.