HRW slams UAE over 'cruel' treatment of British student jailed without trial

Human Rights Watch on Sunday condemned the United Arab Emirates for detaining a British academic for months without charge, saying he has been denied his due process rights and has faced cruel and degrading treatment.

Matthew Hedges, a 31-year-old who was researching the UAE's foreign and internal security policies after the 2011 Arab Spring revolutions, was detained at Dubai airport on 5 May.

Last week, he was charged with "spying for a foreign country" and "jeopardising the military, political and economic security of the state", the UAE's attorney general said.

"The UAE invests considerable time and money painting itself as a progressive and tolerant country, but Hedges' case shows the face of an autocratic government with a fundamental lack of respect for the rule of law," Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said.

Read also: Britain must speak up on UAE's human rights violations

"UAE rulers cannot claim to preside over a global knowledge and education hub while locking up academics for months in solitary confinement."

Hedges' wife, Daniela Tejada, told Human Rights Watch that he has been held in solitary confinement for much of his detention, having been held incommunicado for two weeks following his arrest.

Prolonged solitary confinement is strictly prohibited under international law and can amount to "cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment", HRW said.

Hedges was denied legal counsel for more than five months, and was only able to access a lawyer on 10 October, seven days after his first court hearing.

UAE authorities only informed Hedges about his trial five days in advance and provided little information on the charges against him.

"This has majorly jeopardized Matt's possibilities to get external legal representation," Tejada told HRW.

More than 20 lawyers turned down her pleas to represent her husband, saying they did not have enough time or information to prepare a case.

As a result, Hedges he being represented by a court-appointed lawyer who is not fluent in English.

Degrading treatment

Tejada says UAE authorities have only allowed her husband a handful of visits, including one from her, one from other family, and others by British officials.

Hedges told her that he was denied weekly showers and forced to sleep on the floor for the first three months of his detention.

He has also been prescribed a a "worrying cocktail of antidepressants, anti-anxiety medicine, and sleeping pills", Tejada said, but had been denied access to a psychiatrist.

Hedges was hospitalised for excessive vomiting on 9 October, a British consular official told Tejada. No further information about his medical condition has since been released.

From 2010 to 2015, 47 complaints by British nationals of torture or mistreatment in the UAE justice system were made, according to the Foreign and Commonwealth office

The conditions of Hedges' detention, and his lack of access to a lawyer, especially during his interrogation, raise concerns regarding whether his confession was "obtained under duress", HRW said.

Allegations of UAE security forces abusing UK nationals are not new.

From 2010 to 2015, 47 complaints by British nationals of torture or mistreatment in the UAE justice system were made, according to the Foreign and Commonwealth office.

HRW said it has previously documented allegations of torture and mistreatment at state security facilities, and violations of due process and fair trial guarantees in the UAE.

UAE has carried out a sustained assault on freedom of expression since 2011, detaining peaceful critics, political dissidents, rights activists and academics, HRW says.

In the same month as Hedges' arrest, a court in Abu Dhabi sentenced award-winning human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor to 10 years in jail for "defaming" the UAE on social media.

"In light of the UAE's record of mistreating state security detainees, and its apparent record of mistreating British nationals, the UK should be raising Hedges' cases with UAE authorities at the highest levels," HRW's Page said.