Amnesty slams UAE over conditions of prisoners of conscience amid COVID-19

Amnesty International has criticised UAE authorities over the deteriorating conditions of prisoners of conscience being held in the Gulf country in light of the outbreak of the coronavirus in prisons.

“It appears that the conditions of prisoners in the UAE are from bad to worse. Family visits have been halted & phone calls interrupted,” Amnesty Gulf wrote on Twitter, adding that the UAE “must be transparent” about the situation in its prisons.

Grave fears for health of Ahmed Mansoor, Abdallah al-Shamsi, AbdelRahman Chouman, & Ahmed Sobeh as word of #COVID19 cases at al-Wathba prison circulates. Family visits have been halted & phone calls interrupted. #UAE must be transparent about situation in its prisons. #FreeAhmed

— Amnesty Gulf (@amnestygulf) June 2, 2020

The organisation said there are grave concerns for the health of Ahmed Mansoor, Abdallah Al-Shamsi, Abdel Rahman Chouman and Ahmed Sobeh especially after Chouman and Sobeh’s families informed it that they had caught the coronavirus while in detention at the Al-Wathba Prison.

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