Dr. Nasser bin Ghaith

Background and Work

Nasser bin Ghaith is an economist and academic who specialised in economic policy and development. Before his imprisonment, he taught at institutions in the United Arab Emirates, including the Sorbonne's Abu Dhabi campus. His professional work centred on economic reform, public finance, and the relationship between governance and economic stability. He also engaged in public discourse about political and civil rights, frequently using social media to discuss the need for transparency, accountability, and institutional reform in the UAE.

Bin Ghaith first attracted government attention in 2011 when he and four other Emirati activists were prosecuted for statements made online advocating economic, political, and social reforms. The five were convicted on 27 November 2011 of publicly insulting the UAE's President, Vice-President, and Crown Prince. Bin Ghaith received a two-year prison sentence but was granted a presidential pardon the following day, along with his co-defendants.

The 2015 Arrest

On 18 August 2015, Emirati authorities arrested Nasser bin Ghaith a second time. He was held incommunicado for over seven months without charge or access to legal counsel. His family did not know his whereabouts. He was not brought before a judicial authority until 4 April 2016, when he appeared at the State Security Chamber of the Federal Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi.

At that first hearing, bin Ghaith told the court he had been tortured and beaten in detention. He said he had been deprived of sleep for up to a week and remained in secret detention. He stated that he had been denied the opportunity to prepare an effective defence because authorities had severely restricted his access to his lawyer.

Legal Proceedings and Convictions

On 29 March 2017, the Federal Supreme Court sentenced bin Ghaith to ten years in prison. The charges included posting false information about UAE leaders and state institutions, and harming the reputation of the state. The conviction was based largely on tweets in which he asserted that he had not received a fair trial in the 2011 case, known as the "UAE 5."

Prosecutors also accused him of communicating and cooperating with members of Al Islah, a banned organisation, based on visits he made to individuals convicted in the 2013 "UAE 94" mass trial. Another allegation involved his participation in a presentation on Islamic economics delivered at the invitation of a member of the banned Emirates Ummah Party, an engagement tied to his professional role as an economist.

In July 2024, the Abu Dhabi Federal Appeals Court handed down sentences in the UAE's second-largest mass trial, known as the UAE 84 case. On 10 July 2024, the court sentenced 53 defendants to terms ranging from ten years to life. Bin Ghaith received an additional fifteen-year sentence for allegedly cooperating with and supporting a terrorist organisation through articles and tweets, despite the fact that his earlier conviction had already criminalised much of the same conduct. His total sentence now stands at 25 years.

Detention Conditions and Health

Nasser bin Ghaith is held in Al-Razeen Prison in Abu Dhabi, a facility known for harsh conditions and restricted access to medical care. In November 2018, he began a liquid-only hunger strike to protest the ill-treatment of detainees, denial of medical care, and inconsistency in family visits. He also demanded his own release following the presidential pardon granted to British academic Matthew Hedges on 26 November 2018, a week after Hedges had been sentenced to life on spying charges.

The hunger strike caused a severe deterioration in bin Ghaith's health. He ate only small amounts of food a handful of times over the course of months. According to credible reports, he has lost much of his sight and is too weak to stand or walk without assistance. Prior to his arrest, he suffered from high blood pressure, which had already led to cardiomegaly, an enlargement of the heart, and early-stage fatty liver disease. The prolonged hunger strike and denial of adequate medical treatment have exacerbated these conditions significantly.

International Response

Nasser bin Ghaith's case has drawn attention from international human rights organisations, academic networks, and governments concerned about fair trial standards and conditions of detention in the UAE. His treatment illustrates the broader pattern of repression facing human rights defenders, academics, and critics in the country. Despite repeated calls for his release, Emirati authorities have not reconsidered his sentence, and he remains imprisoned with no prospect of early release.