UAE arrests national for airing support for Qatar

Activists on social media have called on the UAE free Ghanem Abdullah Mattar who has been arrested for sympathising with Qatar.

In a post on Twitter, Amnesty International said: “We thank all those who have alerted us to the issue of Brother Ghanem Abdullah . The issue is now followed by our team.”

Activists said that Matar was arrested after a video appeared of him saying: “Qatar has proven to us that it cannot be led … It leads its people, but it cannot be led.”

Read: Gulf considering more action against Qatar

He called on Emiratis not forget Qatar’s support during the war in Yemen.

#QatarGate 

In early June, UAE Attorney-General, Hamad Saif Al-Shamsi, issued a decree criminalising expressing sympathy towards Qatar after the Emirates, Saudi Arabia and a number of other countries announced a boycott of Doha.

Anyone found guilty can be jailed for 15 years and fined up to $13,500.