DOHA: An Arab human rights body based in the UK has urged the UAE to disclose the whereabouts of two Qatari nationals who it says were taken into custody when they arrived there late last June.
The Arab Organisation for Human Rights (AOHR) based in the UK said on Monday that the two Qatari nationals, 30-year-old Youssef Abdussamad Ali Al Mulla, and 33-year-old Hamad Ali Mohamed Ali Al Hamadi, had gone missing over three months ago following a road trip to the UAE.
According to testimonies by their families, the Qatari nationals left on June 27 to the UAE, via land, and were arrested by the UAE authorities, the AOHR said in the statement posted on its website.
It accused the UAE authorities of “arbitrarily hiding” the men. They were arrested at Al Ghuraifat check-post on their way into the UAE.
“The two families confirmed that the missing citizens had previously visited the UAE several times, and were not subjected to any interrogations, and that all means of communicating with them had been cut since their arrest.
“Their families were not able to know the reasons behind their arrest or their whereabouts, nor have they received any calls from those who have arrested them.” AOHR said.
“The AOHR demands the UAE authorities to disclose the fate of Qatari nationals, and urges the UN special rapporteurs in the committees against torture to help find the men and press the UAE authorities to stop this policy,” it added.
The families of the duo said they had no idea why and here they were detained.
AOHR said that while Al Mulla had chronic back problems due to degenerative disc disease, Al Hammadi suffers from intermittent kidney stones.
Both families filed a complaint with the consular section of Qatar’s foreign ministry but the UAE authorities failed to give any details to the ministry.
AOHR said the families of the duo are deeply concerned and fear that they might be subjected to torture. The Peninsula
