(WASHINGTON D.C., 7/19/2022) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today warned Americans engaged in human rights activism related to the Middle East, especially American Muslim activists, to avoid travel to or transit through the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after that nation unjustly detained U.S. citizen and human rights advocate Asim Ghafoor.
Video: CAIR’s Nihad Awad Interviewed About the Unjust Detention o Asim Ghafoor by UAE Authorities
Ghafoor, a Virginia civil rights attorney who represented murdered Washington Post writer Jamal Khashoggi and serves as a board member with Democracy for the Arab World Now, was arrested while transiting through the UAE last Thursday.
DAWN said in a statement that Ghafoor was detained Thursday on “politically motivated” charges at Dubai airport while transiting to Istanbul to attend a family wedding. Ghafoor says that he has no previous knowledge of any legal action against him. The pro-democracy human rights organization noted: “UAE officials routinely use the country’s legal system to intimidate, persecute, and punish its critics.”
American officials said on Monday said that they had not sought Ghafoor’s arrest, contradicting the UAE’s official explanation of his detention.
In a statement, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:
“In the wake of the UAE’s politically-motivated arrest of U.S. citizen Asim Ghafoor, Americans engaged in human rights advocacy related to the Middle East should avoid traveling to or transiting through the United Arab Emirates. That is especially true for American Muslims.
“The UAE, which has spent years targeting human rights advocates inside and outside of the country as part of its effort to spread secular authoritarianism throughout the Arab world, is no longer a safe place for Americans who speak up for justice around the world.
“We again call on the Biden administration to stand up for American citizens who have been targeted by our so-called allies overseas, from Shireen Abu Akleh to Asim Ghafoor.”
The UAE has a history of arbitrary detention of political opponents and activists.
The latest Amnesty International report on the UAE states: “The government continued to commit serious human rights violations, including arbitrary detention, cruel and inhuman treatment of detainees, suppression of freedom of expression, and violation of the right to privacy. The right to health was partially fulfilled. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) continued to deprive stateless individuals of the right to nationality, impacting their access to a range of services. Courts passed death sentences and executions were reported.”
UAE: Dissidents arbitrarily detained beyond their sentence must be immediately released (Amnesty)
Detainee says China has secret jail in Dubai, holds Uyghurs
https://apnews.com/article/china-dubai-uyghurs-60d049c387b99b1238ebd5f1d3bb3330
UAE could be torturing detained activists, UN says
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-57446746
UAE: Political Detainees Languish Behind Bars (Human Rights Watch)
https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/11/12/uae-political-detainees-languish-behind-bars
Arab Regimes Are the World’s Most Powerful Islamophobes
https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/03/29/arab-regimes-are-the-worlds-most-powerful-islamophobes/
UAE arrests democracy activists (BBC)
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-13043270
Awad noted that last month, CAIR joined Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) for the unveiling of a new street sign for “Jamal Khashoggi Way” outside of the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington, D.C.
He added that this is not the first time CAIR has issued such an advisory.
In 2020, CAIR warned American Muslims against traveling to France amid the French government’s campaign of Islamophobic bigotry targeting French Muslims, mosques and Islamic organizations.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Coordinator Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com