ECDHR in Conversation

Brian Dooley is a human rights activist and author, and has been involved both in international organizations and in NGOs. He reported about the situation in many regions of the world, including the Gulf countries. 

In this episode, he will give us an insight on the way torture works in the GCC countries, and on which tools can be used to end or reduce torture in the region. 

Ali Mushaima is a Bahraini activist and the son of opposition leader Hassan Mushaima, based in London. He has been advocating for democracy and human rights in the Kingdom and went on hunger strikes for the release of his father. 

In this episode, he will give us an insight on the methodology of torture in Bahrain, the motivations of the authorities to commit torture, those responsible for the torture in Bahrain, and how to end torture in the Kingdom and support the victims.

We are delighted to present the third season of our podcast "ECDHR in Conversation". 

This season will focus on the way forward towards ending torture in the Gulf countries, and will feature the Bahraini human rights activist Ali Mushaima and Human Rights First senior advisor Brian Dooley. 

Launched on the 29th of June 2022, this season will provide a forum to share best practices and relevant considerations, whilst allowing for an overview of the current mechanisms of international accountability. 

Sunjeev Bery is the executive director of Freedom Forward, a US-based NGO that advocates for the end of US alliances with nondemocratic governments. 

This year, with a coalition of other NGOs, he initiated and launched a social media campaign to boycott Expo 2020 Dubai, as a protest against a façade of tolerance and openness and various PR campaigns used to appease western allies and provide legitimacy to the abuses committed by the UAE’s regime.

In this very last episode, Sunjeev will tell us why it is problematic that the UAE is organizing the Dubai Expo, how he came up with the idea to boycott this event, and what is the main goal NGOs want to reach from it.

Inès Osman is a French-Algerian human rights lawyer, and the co-founder and director of MENA Rights Group, a Geneva-based legal advocacy NGO defending victims of human rights abuses and promoting fundamental rights and freedoms in the Middle East and North Africa region.

In the previous episode, Ines explained how the UAE’s Anti-Terrorism legislation is used to prosecute and jail human rights activists who argue for political reform under the “vague umbrella of national security or counterterrorism”. In today's episode (second part of the interview), we will discuss the role of Non-governmental organizations and the international community in tackling human rights issues in the United Arab Emirates.

Inès Osman is a French-Algerian human rights lawyer, and the co-founder and director of MENA Rights Group, a Geneva-based legal advocacy NGO defending victims of human rights abuses and promoting fundamental rights and freedoms in the Middle East and North Africa region.

In today’s episode, we will talk about the legal and political framework in the United Arab Emirates and its multiples human rights violations. You will have an opportunity to learn more about how anti-terrorism laws are used to imprison activists, and why the UAE is not a democracy. 

Hamad Al-Shamsi is an Emirati human rights defender, social media activist on Twitter, and one of the ninety-four activists (known as UAE 94) convicted in 2013 for having openly criticized the Emirati government and launched a petition for democratic reform. Before seeking refuge in Turkey, where he still lives, he was the manager of internal auditing in Ajman Municipality, UAE.

In the previous episode, Hamad talked about the grossly unfair mass UAE 94 trial that imprisoned dozens of activists solely for exercising their rights to freedom and association. In today's episode (second part of the interview), he will share his personal story and experience being a member of the UAE94 infamous trial.

Hamad Al-Shamsi is an Emirati human rights defender, social media activist on Twitter, and one of the ninety-four activists (known as UAE 94) convicted in 2013 for having openly criticized the Emirati government and launched a petition for democratic reform. Before seeking refuge in Turkey, where he still lives, he was the manager of internal auditing in Ajman Municipality, UAE.

In today's episode (first part of the interview), Hamad will talk about the famous case of the “UAE 94”, and the massive impact it had on both the UAE and the world.

Brian Dooley is a Senior Advisor at Washington DC-based NGO Human Rights First. He focuses primarily on human rights defenders and civil society in repressive regimes. Also, he is a prominent human rights voice on Twitter.

In today's episode, we will talk about the political context of the United Arab Emirates, Emirati human rights defenders, as well as the state's repressive and undemocratic methods.

ECDHR is excited to bring a second season of the "ECDHR in Conversation" podcast to audiences and to continue shedding light on the serious human rights violations in the GCC countries.

A new season titled "UAE: Not all that glitters is gold" will share the never-before-heard stories about the bleak human rights situation in the United Arab Emirates.

The first series, set to launch on October 29th, untangles the political context of the UAE; the grave situation of political prisoners who are languishing behind bars in the UAE prison for exercising their right to freedom of expression; the state's repressive and undemocratic methods; the role of NGOs and the international community in tackling human rights issues in the UAE, as well as the Boycott Dubai Expo campaign to put an end to this masquerade of lies by the UAE authorities and the Alternative Human Rights Expo, a campaign to counter the narrative of “tolerance” and “openness” that the UAE is trying to uphold at the Dubai Expo.