BEIRUT; Human Rights Watch on Sunday accused the United Arab Emirates of taking punitive measures against relatives of dissidents, including revoking their citizenships and banning them from travel.
The government of the oil-rich Gulf state has revoked the citizenship of 19 relatives of two dissidents and at least 30 relatives of six dissidents are barred from leaving the country, the rights group said in a report. “UAE authorities, in their determination to crush dissent, have allowed their state security apparatus to use its near-unchecked power to continually punish the families of activists, both detained and living abroad,” said Michael Page, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at HRW. “The authorities should cease these vindictive attacks, which amount to collective punishment,” he added.