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.