DUBAI, United Arab Emirates—Five pro-democracy activists in the United Arab Emirates who were jailed for insulting the country’s rulers, had their sentences quashed a day later following a presidential pardon.
The men were given sentences ranging from two to three years on Sunday, which Amnesty International called a “travesty of justice.”
They were found guilty of insulting the president and undermining state security, and became pariahs in the eyes of hundreds of patriotic Emiratis who gathered every day of their trial outside the State Security Court in the capital, Abu Dhabi.
“The pardon had been issued,” defense lawyer Mohammed al-Roken told the Financial Times newspaper.
The release of the five was part of the country’s president, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, pardoning 500 criminals to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the country’s founding.
“It’s a great day and I hope that the chapter is closed, I hope for the best for the future for them and for my country,” said al-Roken.
The men have been in jail since April for signing an online petition calling for an expanded role for the country’s fledgling legislature, the Federal National Council.
Currently, the body has only been partially elected by a handpicked group of voters and has no power to make legislation.
The petition was signed by 100 people and has been the only sign of dissent in this oil-rich Gulf monarchy. Officials here have been quick to stifle criticism in the past year when many countries in the region were faced with mass uprisings.
Blogger Ahmed Mansour received a three-year sentence, the harshest of the men who have been dubbed the UAE5.
The other men, Nasser bin Ghaith, Ahmed Abdul-Khaleq, Fahad Salim Dalk, and Hassan Ali al-Khamis received two-year terms.
Amnesty International campaigned for the men throughout their trial, which it described as “flawed and unfair.”
“The defamation charges the UAE5 faced are not internationally recognizable criminal offenses and the trial process has been grossly flawed from the outset. The men are imprisoned for nothing but criticizing the UAE president and other officials,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa deputy director on Sunday, the day before the pardon.
Groups of pro-government supporters gathered outside the courthouse throughout the trial to heckle the men as traitors and Iranian agents.
None of the five men attended the verdict on Sunday, but a relative of bin Ghaith, Khalifa al-Nuami, was reportedly mobbed by pro-government protesters.
