He went to Jordan to find a school for his son. Then he vanished

Ben Keith in Middle East Eye on 26 June 2023

Ben Keith is quoted by Middle East Eye speaking on the occurrence of extraterritorial rendition at the hands of the UAE in this article about the state-sanctioned kidnap of Khalaf al-Romaithi.

Romaithi is one of 94 Emiratis, including lawyers, professors, and activists, who in 2012 were named as defendants in the largest mass trial in the UAE’s history for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government. In 2013, Romaithi was among 61 people convicted in the trial and he was sentenced in absentia to 15-years in prison. Romaithi had already fled to safety in Turkey.

In May this year Romaithi travelled to Jordan where he was promptly arrested and detained only to disappear for almost two weeks before an Emirate state-run news agency announced that Romaithi had been “received” in the UAE, describing him as a “terrorist” convicted on charges of creating a secret organisation belonging to the “terrorist” Muslim Brotherhood group and reporting that he will be retried again.

The article explores the role of the Arab Interior Ministers’ Council in this and other instances of extraterritorial rendition at the hands of the UAE.

You can read the article in full, here.