Human rights activist Asim Ghafoor was arrested in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday. The American was the lawyer for the murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi. According to human rights organization Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN), of which Ghafoor is a board member, his incarceration is “politically motivated”.
Ghafoor has been sentenced in absentia to three years in prison and a fine for tax evasion and money laundering. He said he was not aware of the conviction.
According to DAWN, the human rights lawyer was arrested on Thursday at an airport in Dubai. He was on his way to Istanbul for a relative’s wedding. Ghafoor would be held in a prison in Abu Dhabi.
“We are outraged at the unwarranted detention of our board member and are deeply concerned for his health and physical safety, as abuse – including torture and inhumane treatment – is common in the United Arab Emirates,” said Sarah Leah Whitson of DAWN.
According to human rights groups, the United Arab Emirates has hundreds of political prisoners held without due process.
US does not think there is a connection with Khashoggi
A spokesman for the US government says to CNN that there is no indication that Ghafoor’s arrest has anything to do with Khashoggi. “But we are aware.”
DAWN had called on US President Joe Biden to secure Ghafoor’s release before his meeting with United Arab Emirates leader Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed.
Biden was in Saudi Arabia last week to strengthen ties with the country. He also met regional leaders there, such as Bin Zayed and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi.
Khashoggi, who wrote for, among others, The Washington Post, was murdered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in early October 2018. According to US intelligence agencies, among others, the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman personally ordered the murder, but he has always denied it.
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