Vulnerable Ukrainian women and children are likely being trafficked into sex slavery and domestic servitude in the United Arab Emirates, defence experts have warned. Millions of Ukrainians have fled the war-torn country since Russia began its brutal advance in February, leading to increased concerns about refugees being susceptible to trafficking. Some are reported to have been targeted...
Category: Human Rights
Two Britons testify against Interpol chief in UAE torture claim
Two British men who spent time in detention in the United Arab Emirates have testified in Paris that an Emirati security official who is now the president of Interpol was responsible for their alleged torture. Matthew Hedges, an academic imprisoned in the UAE for seven months on espionage charges he denies, and Ali Issa Ahmad, who was detained...
Candidate to lead Interpol accused of torture
Politicians, human rights organisations and former foreign detainees are concerned about a candidate from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) who is running for presidency of the International Police Organization (Interpol). If elected, Major General Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi would succeed Kim Jong-yang of South Korea, who has been in office since 2018. There is also concern here in Germany....
Candidate to lead Interpol accused of torture
The new head of Interpol will be elected next week. However, one of the candidates — Major General Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi from the United Arab Emirates — has been accused of torture. Politicians, human rights organisations and former foreign detainees are concerned about a candidate from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) who is running for presidency of...
Flemish Environment Minister to skip COP28 and takes a dig at Dubai
After boycotting COP27 in Egypt due to concerns about the human rights situation there, Flemish Environment Minister Zuhal Demir has already confirmed she will not be attending next year’s climate summit in Dubai, either. On Wednesday, Demir announced she will not be attending the 28th UN climate conference (COP28), which will be hosted by the United Arab...
Why did the UAE kidnap, abuse, and deport 700 African workers?
In the early hours of June 24 and 25, 2021, security officials of the United Arab Emirates raided residential buildings in Abu Dhabi and bundled at least 700 African migrant workers into a prison. The workers’ hands and feet were cuffed for the first two weeks in detention, and the women among them were refused...
UAE’s new human rights institute: Genuine or joke?
“This is just another tactic, part of the UAE’s decadelong whitewashing campaign to make themselves look like a tolerant, respectful and open country,” said Hiba Zayadin, a researcher with Human Rights Watch, who focuses on abuses in the Gulf states. “But the situation on the ground is very different,” she told DW. “In fact, there is absolutely...
The Princess Diaries: Shocking secret videos of Dubai’s Princess Latifa
The disturbing saga engulfing the royal family of Dubai has taken another incredible twist. Princess Latifa, the 35-year-old daughter of the Emirates’ ruler Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum, who claims she is being held hostage by her father, has managed to smuggle secret video diaries out of her palace prison. In the recordings she describes the hell...
The UAE: A Human Trafficking Nightmare
This Human Trafficking Awareness Month, we’re shining a light on the dark underbelly of the #UnitedArabEmirates (#UAE), one of the sex tourist capitals of the world. The trading and sexual exploitation of women and girls run rampant in #Dubai, made worse recently by the addition of #Israeli #sex tourists.