Campaign demands release of Jordanians in UAE prisons amid fears of coronavirus outbreak

Using an Arab hashtag that translates to ‘Jordanian detainees in the US', families of the detainees and their supporters called on the UAE to urgently release them.

According to the families, an increasing number of prisoners in al-Wathba prison, near Abu Dhabi, Awir prison and the new al-Barsha detention centre in Dubai have shown Covid-19 symptoms.

An outbreak in the prisons could be disastrous for the inmates.

The families spoke to Human Rights Watch, and told the group that the inmates, some of whom have chronic health conditions, have suffered from medical negligence and unsanitary conditions created by overcrowding.

Roqaya Matar, mother of detained Bahaa Adel Matar who is serving a 10-year prison sentence in Al-Wathba prison, said her son needs to be released immediately as he has coronavirus and a number of respiratory illnesses that could exacerbate symptoms.

The mother appealed to King Abdullah II to intervene, adding that her son has already served five years of his prison sentence.

Adel Matar, the father of Bahaa, said he had been arrested after sending “joke” messages.

Abu Dhabi arrested brothers Omani Yasser and Abdullah Abu Makr on 30 October 2015, along with Jordanian citizen Bahaa, on charges of sharing a video and commenting on it on Whatsapp.

“Crowded, unsanitary prison conditions and widespread denial of adequate medical care are nothing new in the UAE’s notorious detention facilities, but the ongoing pandemic is an additional serious threat to prisoners’ well-being,” said Michael Page, HRW’s Middle East deputy director.

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“The best way for UAE authorities to allay concerns of prisoners’ family members is to allow inspection by independent, international monitors.”

HRW said that at least six prisoners in al-Wathba prison were experiencing Covid-19 symptoms in mid-April, and other groups say at least 30 people have contracted coronavirus in the prisons.

Relatives of a detainee in the al-Barsha detention centre say new arrivals in the overcrowded facility showed Covid-19 symptoms, and in May prisoners administered tests before prisoners were transferred to al-Awir central prison where they were held for 17 days in conditions that resembled solitary confinement.

“They had no contact whatsoever with the outside world. We had no information where he was or if he was okay,” his relative, who lives outside the UAE, told HRW.

“I called the prison again and again. They wouldn’t tell me anything. I asked my lawyer to find out. I asked a friend to go to the prison and inquire, [and] they finally acknowledged to him that my brother was alive. My brother later told me that those 17 days he spent in solitary were worse than all of the time he spent in detention [three months] before it.”

Another human rights organisation, We Record, said it had documented at least 30 prisoners who showed coronavirus symptoms in three wards at al-Wathba prison.