Questions as prominent UAE dissident dies in London car crash

Gulf rights activists announced the death of prominent Emirati dissident Alaa Al-Siddiq in a car crash in Britain, where she resides, amid questions whether the accident was deliberate.

The news was confirmed by members of her family and Emirati oppositionists.

The London-based Emirati academic and dissident Ahmed Al-Shaiba Al-Nuaimi said that Al-Siddiq died in a car crash, without revealing further details.

Al-Nuaimi added: “For those who ask about the cause of death, she (May Allah rest her soul) died in a car accident.”

The news was confirmed by researcher and writer Ibrahim Al-Haram, who is also known for opposing the regime in Abu Dhabi.

ALQST mourns the death of its Executive Director, icon of the Emirati human rights movement Alaa Al-Siddiq, in a tragic traffic accident.

Alaa was a friend, colleague and sister to all of those around her, and always did what she could to help others.https://t.co/K8hGNIePzj pic.twitter.com/976itIdcH7

— ALQST for Human Rights (@ALQST_En) June 20, 2021

A number of writers and activists put forward hypotheses related to the accident and whether the Abu Dhabi authorities were involved in plotting Al-Siddiq’s death.

Alaa Al-Siddiq is an Emirati citizen who was forced into exile as a result of her human rights activism. She first moved to Qatar and later onto London where her husband resided. She continued her work to highlight rights abuses by authorities in the UAE and call for  the release of her father.

She headed the ALQST organisation and had her Emirati citizenship revoked.

READ: UN condemns UAE’s arbitrary detention of human rights defenders