Arab Organisation for Human Rights in the UK (AOHR UK) was surprised that the Twitter administration suspended its account, claiming that it “carries out activities violating the regulations of Twitter”.
AOHR UK expressed its strong condemnation of such behavior, stressing that it is merely a cheap attempt to silence the human rights voices speaking against the grave violations committed in the occupied Palestinian territories, and violations of authoritarian regimes in many countries including UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
AOHR UK stressed that its account has not violated any of Twitter’s policies. It stressed that since its establishment, AOHR UK, sought to strengthen human rights with all possible means. The organisation’s publications are all based on tangible evidence and reports, which are in line with the highest professional standards available, seeking to expose the blatant violations, spread awareness of the culture of human rights, and impose pressure on governments through the formation of public opinions to limit the spread of these violations.
After suspending the account on October 22, 2020, the organisation did not hesitate to follow the usual procedures in such cases. It contacted the Twitter administration several times to send the code to unblock the account; however, the administration ignored the repeated requests.
Furthermore, Twitter administration did not clearly disclose the violations it alleges that the organisation committed, nor did it clarify whether it had received reports of abuse from other accounts.
AOHR UK denounces these suspicious practices, which aim to hinder the work of the human rights defenders. It stressed that this a clear evidence of what many users have stated, that social media platforms, including Twitter, are bowing to pressures exercised by authoritarian regimes, by deleting accounts and hashtags of the opposition or hiding tweets exposing the brutal practices of these regimes.
AOHR UK called on Twitter administration to immediately reactivate its account, stressing that it will resort to the judiciary to solve this matter, as is being used repeatedly against activists and human rights defenders in a worrying manner.
