Despite completing his ten-year prison sentence in July 2022, Emirati authorities continue to hold prominent human rights lawyer Dr. Mohammed Al-Roken, imposing a life sentence in a new case widely condemned as politically motivated. His extended imprisonment reflects the regime’s systematic use of the judiciary to silence dissent and its escalating crackdown on human rights defenders.
A constitutional law expert and former president of the UAE Jurists Association, Dr. Al-Roken was arrested on July 17, 2012, while attempting to report the disappearance of his son. He was forcibly disappeared for eight months, during which he was tortured, placed in solitary confinement, and denied access to legal counsel or family contact.
In July 2013, he was sentenced to ten years in prison following a mass trial denounced by international human rights organizations as lacking basic due process guarantees. Although his sentence ended in 2022, authorities refused to release him, instead subjecting him to new terrorism-related charges in December 2023, which led to a life sentence in what has been described as a gross miscarriage of justice.
Dr. Al-Roken remains incarcerated in Al-Razeen Prison, a facility notorious for harsh conditions and ill-treatment of detainees. Reports indicate that he has been subjected to prolonged solitary confinement, repeated mistreatment, and medical neglect, resulting in chronic health conditions such as hypertension and severe ear infections, allegedly caused by exposure to loud noise torture. Despite his deteriorating health, authorities have denied him necessary medical care.
His continued detention underscores the regime’s broader campaign against human rights defenders, political activists, and peaceful dissent. While authorities promote an image of modernization and reform, their intensified suppression of opposition voices and reliance on judicial repression have drawn mounting international scrutiny.
Calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Dr. Al-Roken and other political prisoners are growing, as the regime faces increasing condemnation over its human rights record and its use of the judiciary as a tool of repression.
