The following is based on a communication written by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and other UN experts to the Government of the United Arab Emirates on 19 August 2025. The communication remained confidential for 60 days before being made public, giving the Government time to reply. Regrettably, the Government did not reply within this timeframe. If a reply is received, it will be posted on the UN Special Procedures communications database.
This is a shorter version of the original communication.
BACKGROUND
Topic: the alleged arbitrary detention and ill-treatment of Indian human rights defender [name redacted] while transiting through Dubai en route to Kenya in June 2025.
[Name redacted] is Editor-at-large and Director of Projects at a non-governmental organisation that focuses on the rights of migrant workers in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) States. The organisation has published numerous reports on the alleged mistreatment of migrants in GCC States and has also cooperated with a number of United Nations human rights mechanisms.
ALLEGATIONS
On 8 June 2025, [name redacted] was prevented from boarding connecting flight EK719 on Emirates from Dubai to Nairobi which was due to depart at 10.30 a.m. from Concourse B, Terminal 3 of Dubai International Airport. That morning, they had flown on Emirates’ flight EK569 from Bengalaru in India to Dubai, landing at 7.05 a.m.
After being refused permission to board at approximately 9.45 a.m., [name redacted] was detained by a male and female officer from the Dubai airport police. At the request of the police officers, they handed over their passport and electronic devices, before there were searched and taken via a service elevator five floors down to a holding area and held for two hours. During this time, they requested access to consular assistance, but this request was ignored. At approximately 12.30 p.m. they were moved to another part of Concourse B and placed in an isolation cell. They were not informed of the reason why they were being detained. [Name redacted] again requested access to consular assistance, but also this request was ignored.
At 6 p.m., [name redacted] was told that they would be transferred to Abu Dhabi where they would be arrested and brought before a judge the following morning. A third request made for access to consular assistance was ignored. Police officers said they had no information about the charges the human rights defender faced, but that these would be clarified by the judge the next morning. They were once again moved to another holding area where they were told that they were under arrest and had their mugshots taken but were not provided with any formal documentation relating to the arrest.
At 8 p.m., a police vehicle containing [name redacted] left Dubai and following a number of brief stops, delivered the human rights defender at approximately 11 p.m. to a building in Abu Dhabi which they believe was the Criminal Investigation Department. Before being brought into an interrogation room they were blindfolded. This was then removed, and they were interrogated by a man who identified himself as Omar. At this stage, they again requested access to consular assistance, and this request was again ignored. Their blindfold was reapplied when they requested permission to use the toilet.
The human rights defender was questioned about their involvement with [name redacted], its funding sources, the founder of the organisation, whether the organisation had ties with Qatar and groups and individuals with whom [name redacted] works. They were told that their arrest was related to their human rights activism, their reporting on human trafficking and their organisation’s reporting in general. They were asked whether they truly believed human trafficking of migrants was taking place in the UAE. They were told that their reporting was in violation of UAE laws, though they were not told which laws had been violated. Content posted by the human rights defender on their LinkedIn page which related to migrants’ rights in Saudi Arabia was also a focus of the interrogation. During the course of their questioning, devices were brought into the room, and they were instructed to unlock them before they were taken away again.
Between their detention at approximately 9.45 a.m. on 8 June and 1 a.m. on 9 June, the human rights defender was provided with a single bottle of water, which they refilled at a water fountain, and a single cup of coffee. At 1 a.m. on 9 June they were handed a box which contained some food.
At approximately 1.30 a.m., the human rights defender was informed that they would not face any charges and that they would be returned to Dubai International Airport to continue on their journey. They were requested to sign a document in Arabic, which they did not understand, but were told it confirmed the return of their digital devices. They were not provided with a copy.
On leaving the building in which their interrogation took place, [name redacted] was blindfolded and pushed into a partitioned area in the back of a black van, shackled and handcuffed. What should have been a 90-minute journey took three and a half hours, during which time the vehicle appeared to travel off-road, resulting in being bounced around the back of the van. With little ventilation and very high temperatures in the back of the van, the human rights defender sweated profusely and became dehydrated. A bottle of water with which they had been provided earlier in the day had been confiscated before they were pushed into the vehicle. Furthermore, high decibel noise was allegedly played for prolonged periods in the back of the van, causing extreme psychological distress to them.
At approximately 5 a.m. on 9 June, the vehicle the human rights defender was travelling in arrived at Dubai International Airport. They were escorted to Terminal 3 and placed in a holding cell. They requested permission to telephone their family, which was refused. At 8.15 a.m. they were taken to an Emirates ticket desk to book their flight out of UAE. Since the first flight back to India was not due to leave until later that day, they chose to continue their journey to Kenya in order to leave Dubai as soon as possible. At this stage their digital devices were returned to them. From approximately 9.45 am (June 8) to approximately 8.15 am (June 9), the human rights defender was detained, with no possibilities of communication with their family or colleagues.
During their time in detention, the human rights defender’s family and organisation attempted to locate them through calling the Dubai Airport Health Centre and the Ministry of Health and Prevention to check whether they had had a medical emergency. Both agencies unsuccessfully checked admissions to the airport clinic and public hospitals respectively for their name. Their organisation also telephoned the Emirates airline looking for information and although staff confirmed that the defender had not made their connecting flight, they said there was no further information they could provide. Their organisation called the Indian consulate in Dubai at approximately 10 p.m. on 8 June to report their disappearance but were told to call back during normal working hours. During the time of their detention, neither family nor the organisation where the human rights defender works, had any information about their fate and whereabouts.
CONCERNS
In the communication, we express grave concern at the reports of [name redacted]’s seemingly arbitrary detention without being provided with any clear information about the legal grounds for it. We express further concern at the alleged failure to ensure them access to consular protection during their detention.
We express particular concern with regard to the alleged forced exposure of the human rights defender to high decibel sounds for prolonged periods while they were being transferred from Abu Dhabi to Dubai, which may amount to ill-treatment or torture. We recall that in a 2020 report to the 43rd session of the Human Rights Council, the Special Rapporteur on Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment defined as torture acts that “intentionally manipulate or instrumentalize physiological needs, functions and reactions to inflict physical pain or suffering” which could include pain inflicted through “powerful sensory or physiological irritation through extreme temperatures [or] loud noise” (A HRC 43/49).
We express our serious concern that these measures appear to have been carried out in retaliation for [name redacted]’s peaceful work to promote and protect human rights, in particular the rights of migrant workers, and their exercise of their rights to freedom of expression and association in this regard.
