Geneva, August 27, 2019
At a time when dissidents are silenced, and repression has reached its peak in the United Arab Emirates, the number of torture claims has increased and voices are raising outside the country to call for justice and accountability of torture perpetrators. Despite the clampdown on free speech, the Emirati authorities have not been able to keep control over the voices raised outside its territory.
In the streets of London, Ayham Al Endari is standing a few meters away from the Emirati embassy. He is coming to remind the ambassador and his staff about the torture he suffered when he was detained in the Emirati jails. Al Endari regularly visits the surroundings of the embassy, holding banners and protesting against the human rights violations he suffered years ago. As a victim, he also feels the responsibility to speak out for other victims and denounce the severe abuses that current detainees are still suffering in the Emirates.
Ayham Al Endari is a Syrian national, aged 38 and currently living in London. He had been living and working in the United Arab Emirates for years before his arrest in May 2014. Upon his arrival in Abu Dhabi in 2008, he founded a construction company which he says turned out to be a huge success in the construction industry. “I worked very hard for seven years. I never committed any offence or broke any laws,” he said. He did not know then that this successful business would turn his life into a nightmare.
In 2014, Ayham met Reda, a car dealer, who offered him the opportunity to invest in his car dealership business. Ayham accepted the offer, which he found to be a profitable deal. Weeks later, he found out that this company was a cover for a sex trade business, which his associate claimed to be offering services to members of the ruling family. Ayham immediately withdrew from the deal and sought restitution of his investment. “When I asked for my money back, he became very hostile and threatened me with the royal family.”
In April 2014, after the man attempted to run him over with his car, Al Endari started to take these threats seriously and fear for his life and safety. He immediately filed a complaint at Al-
However, a few days later, he was summoned before Al-Ain Court and informed that the case against him was re-opened. “On June 22, 2014, the court sentenced me to six months in prison without a single hearing and ordered my extradition to Syria at the end of my prison term.” Ayham appealed the sentence and requested not to be deported to Syria, where he was at risk of torture and ill-treatment. “I was wanted by the Syrian regime because of my writings on social media. The risk was increased by the fact that I am from the Druze minority.”
In July 2014, his sentence was reduced to one month but his deportation maintained. Fearing for his life, Al Endari went into hiding for almost a year before surrendering to the police. He was detained for nearly four months at Al-Ain central prison before his deportation to Syria on October 21, 2015.
Al Endari describes how he was tortured and detained in very harsh conditions during these four months at Al-Ain prison. “They beat me up for allegedly insulting the ruling family. The officers threw me on the ground, punched me in his chest and cursed me. You son of Syria, you insulted our Sheikhs, they said while beating me very hard.”
Al Endari said he had his feet and hands chained and exposed to extreme temperatures. He was also forced to sleep on the ground and kept in a dirty cell. Ayham still feels the psychological pain he went through under the constant humiliation and threats, especially when his torturers threatened to sexually assault his mother and sister.
“They put me in solitary confinement, tortured me and humiliated me, and then deported me to Syria amidst the civil war, even though they knew they were sending me to my death.”
In addition to the physical and psychological torture he endured in custody, Ayham also suffered important financial losses. “I was deported to Syria, and everything was taken from me. My company, my bank accounts and all my financial assets.” Al Endari said he suffered over 600 000 dollars of financial loss.
Ayham Al Endari is now seeking compensation for his financial losses and the physical and psychological torture he suffered in the UAE. “I want to be compensated for my illegal detention, the assault and injury I suffered in detention and the deportation to a war zone where my life was at risk.” Al Endari raised his case with the Emirati authorities and international human rights organisations, hoping that his voice will finally be heard.
“I lost everything; they destroyed my life and my future. Until this moment, I am still suffering from everything that happened to me. This is the situation in the UAE, where they have the tallest building in the world.”
For more information, please contact us at info@avtuae.org.
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