DUBAI: Eighteen out of 69 UAE Islamists serving jail terms for plotting to overthrow the government are on hunger strike in protest at alleged maltreatment, Amnesty International said yesterday.
Six of the prisoners began their hunger strike on July 31, and three of them collapsed between August 21 and August 28, the rights group said. “Their hunger strike is a protest against alleged ill-treatment by Al Razeen Prison authorities,” the London-based group said.
“They have complained of beatings by prison guards and restrictions placed on family visits. They have also complained of light deprivation and say that prison authorities turn off air conditioning in high temperatures.”
Amnesty urged the UAE to make sure that prisoners “have regular access to their families, are given any necessary medical treatment, and are held in adequate conditions of detention, including ventilation and lighting in line with the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners”. AFP
