Why is the UAE legal system being criticized?

The treatment of a British academic imprisoned for life in the United Arab Emirates has been widely criticized by politicians and human rights organizations in the United Kingdom.

Hedges was sentenced by a court in Abu Dhabi for spying.

His wife stated that there was no due process and that the evidence against him was unfounded.

United Arab Emirates Attorney General Hamad Saif Al Shamsi said Hedges had "confessed in detail his crimes" and "been granted all rights" with "a fair and transparent trial".

How did Mr. Hedges's trial unfold?

In the United Arab Emirates, defendants are entitled to counsel at the time of trial, says Hiba Zayadin of Human Rights Watch, but not during pre-trial detention.

According to the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Hedges accepted the services of an attorney-at-law during the first hearing on October 3.

A ministry statement said the Attorney General has opened a thorough investigation into the Hedges case and "convincing and powerful evidence has been presented in court."

The trial of 21 November lasted only a few minutes. But, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this is common because the court session was only meant to announce a verdict and to pronounce a sentence. The court, said the ministry, had already met.

Mr. Hedge's wife, Daniela Tejada, said that he had been kept in solitary confinement for weeks without access to legal assistance.

During this period, his family reported signing what appeared to be a confession in Arabic. Mr. Hedges, according to his family, neither speaks nor reads Arabic.

Legal documents in the UAE must be in Arabic, says Abdul Khaleq Abdullah, a UAE-based academic.

"When [these documents are] introduced to someone who does not speak Arabic, there is a translator who explains it word by word. "

"Yes, he signed an Arabic document because it's the law of the land, but he got a full translation."

Ms. Zayadin says that these rights are not always respected and that the quality of translation services may vary.

The importance of a confession

According to Ms. Zayadin, the charges against Mr. Hedges appear to be largely based on confessions.

She says it's common in Gulf countries that a confession is the main reason for a verdict of guilt, especially in cases of state security such as this one. .

But these, she says, can be problematic.

Human Rights Watch has documented numerous allegations in the region of confessions that were obtained by force without the presence of a lawyer and the defendants refused the assistance of a lawyer or lawyer. access to family members.

What are the wider criticisms of the UAE legal system?

When a senior UN official investigated the UAE's justice system in 2014, she found serious shortcomings.

In her report, Gabriela Knaul – Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers – said that she found reports of "serious violations of fair trial and due process".

The report also noted instances where "judges appear to have lacked impartiality and partiality, particularly with respect to non-UAE nationals".

The UN has also reported difficulties in using translators in the UAE. The Special Rapporteur found that translations and court interpretations involving non-Arabic speakers, required by law, "were not always provided in practice, or that their quality was poor".

Radha Stirling, who is detained in Dubai, an organization that represents foreign nationals in the UAE, said the signing of a confession without an interpreter in the UAE is a "standard practice".

Accusations alone, with "zero evidence," may be enough to prosecute, she says.

In response to criticisms of the UAE, the Ministry of Justice said the constitution guaranteed an independent judiciary and the country was committed to strengthening human rights.

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