Two Singaporeans who expected to spend the next year in an Abu Dhabi prison are home today, following a campaign led by British NGO Detained in Dubai. On August 9th the two, a man and his transgender friend,were arrested in an Abu Dhabi shopping Mall for, according to court documents, “wearing women's clothes in public and for behaving indecently". After two weeks of detention and lack of access to legal help or the media, photographer Muhammad Fadli Abdul Rahman, 26, and Nur Qistina Fitriah Ibrahim, 37 appeared in court and were handed a one year's prison sentence each. On August 27th after massive international pressure from human rights organisations, friends and activists in the ga
ARREST OF PAIR IN ABU DHABI SHOPPING MALL RAISES MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION IN THE U
The recent news that two more foreigners have been arrested in The UAE for impersonating a woman will come as no surprise to many. The UAE’s draconian laws around cross dressing, transgenderism and homosexuality are well publicised and easily breached. The inconsistent way the law is enforced is causing confusion which result in arrests like these, detention and human rights abuses. The Emirates has a significant gay and transgender community including many overtly gay bars & clubs. Because it appears to be out in the open, it is afforded a false air of acceptability and legality. This dual standard has lead to numerous arrests and charges being brought, tourists and those travelling on busi
Only 16.5% of Dubai’s inhabitants are native Emiratis, the rest of the population is made up of large expat communities. Nearly all have come to Dubai to work and to do business. To work in The UAE employees will be entering the country on a work visa sponsored by their employers. Employers are also responsible for providing medical cover for staff. The [Dubai Health Insurance Law No. 11] Law came into effect on 1 January 2014. The roll out phase also states that dependents of sponsors, including domestic workers, must also be covered for the basic health coverage by 30 June 2016. The schemes for both nationals and residents will, at a minimum, cover general practitioner visits, emergency tr
UAE banks still demand blank cheques as security for credit. They can fill out the amount themselves and cash the cheque whenever they see fit, regardless of whether their client is still using the account. It is therefore strongly advised to close down all bank, credit and utility bills officially before leaving The UAE and insist on the return of these cheques, as there is no effective legislation preventing abuse of this outdated system. Clients who have not officially closed all their accounts when they leave the country can find the amounts filled in for them in their absence and used against something seemingly insignificant, such as an unpaid utility bill etc. One American client of
Australia to test new extradition treaty with UAE after 5 men were arrested in relation to a multi m
Australian Parliament ratified an extradition treaty with the UAE in 2011 but included provisions for human rights violations, meaning that if the UAE requests extradition and the requested party is at risk of human rights violations, the request could be denied. Radha Stirling, founder of Detained in Dubai and Expert Witness in UAE extradition cases, along with Senator Kroger, lobbied Parliament in Canberra to either dispose of the Treaty or to at minimum, to include provisions to protect Australians in the same way that the United Kingdom has. Stirling said “this represents the first time that Australia has tested their extradition treaty with the UAE. If the men were charged in the UAE,
