The Telegraph
The United Arab Emirates has been urged to drop "politically motivated" terrorism charges against dozens of human rights activists after a secret mass trial was held.
More than 80 Emiratis, including famous prisoners of conscience, were accused of creating or supporting and financing a terrorist organization during the closed hearing.
International and regional rights organizations including Amnesty International on Wednesday urged the Gulf state to drop the charges, dismissing them as" politically motivated", and to"immediately release all arbitrarily detained individuals".
An open letter signed by the group said that the moves, which became public during the recent 28th climate summit in Dubai, targeted a number of individuals who peacefully lobbied for the promotion of human rights in the country.
"The prosecution of these individuals for peaceful human rights advocacy, while many of them have already been arbitrarily detained for years on similar charges, is a shameful act that reaffirms the desire of the UAE authorities to continue to punish and intimidate any potential critics into silence,"she said.
"Among those who have been confirmed so far and are not in exile are defendants who have been detained for years, most of whom have long finished their sentences but are still being arbitrarily detained,"she added.
Defendants living in exile
The organizations went on to condemn what they said was "the UAE authorities' use of the criminal justice system as a tool to keep these individuals behind bars and suppress peaceful criticism or calls for reform".
Among the 87 Emiratis facing the new charges are Islamist activists jailed in the wake of the 2011 Arab Spring protests, which included calls for democratic elections in the UAE.
Long-time Emirati human rights defenders such as Ahmed Mansoor and Mohammed Al-Roken are also among the group. Some of the defendants facing new charges live in exile.
The United Arab Emirates, which consists of seven emirates ruled by sheikhs, has long been in decline for its human rights record.
It has been accused of systematic violations, including the use of the infamous Pegasus spyware produced by the Israeli group NSO to target activists. She has always denied the allegations.
Telegraph and the Spectator are currently under an acquisition offer from RedBird IMI, a fund supported by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President and deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates.
Censorship concerns and the influence of foreign countries
In November, Lucy Fraser, the culture secretary, intervened to prevent the trust from taking control of the Telegraph amid fears of censorship and foreign state influence.
It has issued a public interest intervention notice to RedBird IMI which will trigger preliminary investigations by Ofcom and the competition and Markets Authority into the planned takeover.
The organizers were asked to submit their reports by January 26.
Ms. Fraser's move means that RedBird IMI, led by Jeff Zucker, the former head of CNN, could face legally binding restrictions on how it is allowed to operate the Telegraph, or even that the deal could be blocked.
A series of Tory MPs have raised concerns about the planned takeover, along with the Liberal Democrats and Sir Richard Dearlove, the former head of MI6.
Earlier this month, it emerged that Mr Zucker had rejected a plan to reduce Abu Dhabi's cash stake behind the acquisition and ease concerns about press freedom.
