As UAE increases surveillance, foreign universities and institutes targeted
A British researcher studying the effects of the Arab Spring on security policies gets life in prison for “espionage". Foreign academics, intellectuals and scholars have been expelled owing to their critical views. For RsF, the UAE "is a master of online surveillance of journalists.”
Abu Dhabi (AsiaNews) – The recent conviction of 31-year-old British researcher Matthew Hedges, who was sentenced to life in prison for espionage, shows how the authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are putting more and more pressure on foreign universities and institutes.
Local sources note increasing monitoring of academic work at the local branches of prestigious Western universities, like the Sorbonne of Paris and New York University.
Hedges, a doctoral student at Durham University in north-eastern England, was sentenced to life in prison by a federal court in Abu Dhabi last Wednesday, a ruling that triggered an angry British reaction with the Foreign Office citing possible “repercussions" against the small Gulf emirate.
The researcher was studying the effects of the Arab Spring on the country’s security policies and law enforcement. According to the prosecution, he provided "confidential" information to British intelligence (M16) and was arrested as a result on 5 May.
Mr Hedges was formally indicted on 10 October and convicted two days ago. The verdict is not final and Hedges' family and lawyers can still appeal to the federal Supreme Court, hoping for an acquittal on all charges, especially since the trial was reached in five minutes and no defence lawyer was present in the courtroom.
Speaking to French newspaper La Croix, a representative for the Middle East Studies Association, a learned society dedicated to the study of the region, said that the case of the British PhD student is further confirmation of the growing repression in the Emirates.
For some time now, the authorities have been closely monitoring academic work and research activities and expulsions of foreign scholars, academics and intellectuals expressing critical opinions are not rare.
Last March, economist and human rights advocate Nasser bin Ghaith was sentenced to ten years in prison for criticising government officials on social media. Activist Ahmed Mansoor and journalist Tayseer al Najjar were also arrested for slamming the authorities.
In addition, “The United Arab Emirates is a master of online surveillance of journalists who often fall victim to its 2012 cyber-crime law,” writes Reporters without Borders (RsF) on their website.
“Citizen-journalists and bloggers are usually targeted for criticizing the regime, and are accused of defamation, insulting the state, or posting false information with the aim of damaging the country’s reputation.”
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21/10/2021 17:59
22/04/2022 19:06
