Ahmed was arrested from his home in the early hours of March 21, 2017 and was held in solitary confinement ever since. The UAE’s official news agency stated that authorities detained Mansoor on suspicion of using social media sites to publish “flawed information” and “false news” to “incite sectarian strife and hatred” and “harm the reputation of the state.”
In the days leading up to his detention, Mansoor had posted numerous links covering a range of topics to his Twitter feed, including a reminder to release an imprisoned compatriot, who had served his sentence.
A prominent human rights defender, Ahmed Mansoor spoke out against the disappearance of Emirati intellectuals and reformers. Ahmed worked alone and was subjected to intense harassment as a direct result of his engagement for human rights. He spent 7 months in jail in 2011 for facilitating an online discussion forum, and has endured death threats, smears and physical assaults after his release. In August 2016, the media dubbed him “the million dollar dissident” after researchers uncovered attempts to install Pegasus, a costly spyware, on his phone.
In October 2015, Ahmed was awarded the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders, an award for activists who have shown deep commitment and face great personal risk. He is a member of Human Rights Watch’s Middle East Advisory Committee and Amnesty International consider him to be a prisoner of conscience.
Keep posted:
Friends of Ahmed Mansoor on Twitter and on Facebook
Read more:
‘The Last Human Rights Defender in the United Arab Emirates’- an interview with Ahmed Mansoor. Surveillance&Society May 2016
Human Rights Watch
Martin Ennals Award 2015
Amnesty International
SANID