HRW: 8 Lebanese face unfair trial in UAE

The Human Rights Watch said on Monday that Emirati authorities detained eight Lebanese nationals for more than a year.

The defendants face terrorism related charges and the formation of a terrorist cell linked to Hezbollah, according to the HRW

Their trial started on February 13, 2019, while a third session is scheduled for March 27.
 
The International non-governmental organization also noted that the defendants have been held in solitary confinement for prolonged periods of time and denied communication with their families, legal counsel, and the evidence against them.
 
The men – all of whom are Shiites – have each lived and worked in the UAE for years. Seven worked at Emirates Airlines. Family members said that none had any known political affiliations.

 

They were arrested between December 2017 and February 2018.

 

This as the Middle East director at Human Rights Watch Sarah Leah Whitson said that “the UAE authorities reveal in their treatment of these men how unwilling they are to reform their unjust state security apparatus.”

 

“These men deserve, at least, to be treated humanely and to receive a fair trial,” she added.