A political prisoner died on November 19, 2025, in the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) notorious al-Razeen Prison after more than a decade of unjust imprisonment and torture allegations, Human Rights Watch and the Emirates Detainees Advocacy Center (EDAC) said today.
Ali Abdullah Fath Ali al-Khaja, 59, was found dead in his prison cell the day after prison authorities informed him that his father had died on November 8, EDAC said. He spent more than 13 years in arbitrary imprisonment marked by enforced disappearance, torture, denial of medical care, prolonged solitary confinement, and continued detention beyond the completion of his original sentence. Security officers arrested him in August 2012. He was tried in the "UAE94" unfair mass trial of political dissidents and sentenced to 10 years in prison in July 2013.
"Al-Khaja's death follows years of arbitrary imprisonment, torture, and overall mistreatment by Emirati authorities, though he should not have spent a single day in prison," said Joey Shea, United Arab Emirates researcher at Human Rights Watch. "The authorities should immediately and transparently investigate his death and provide a clear explanation to his family and the international community."
Al-Khaja was found dead on the morning of November 19, but authorities did not inform his family until later that evening, EDAC said. No independent autopsy has been carried out. Al-Khaja's father died on November 8, but authorities did not inform him of his father's death until 10 days later on November 18, according to EDAC. Since al-Khaja's death, family members of other political detainees at al-Razeen Prison have not been allowed to visit.
UAE authorities should promptly and impartially investigate Al Khaja's death, Human Rights Watch and EDAC said.
The Federal Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi convicted al-Khaja alongside 68 other people in an unfair mass trial, following a wave of arbitrary arrests during a crackdown on dissent. These convictions violated their rights to free expression, association, and assembly. Authorities subjected al-Khaja to torture and ill-treatment during his imprisonment, including physical beatings, prolonged solitary confinement, and continuous bright lighting designed to prevent sleep.
Al-Khaja was first detained in August 2012 as part of a wave of arbitrary arrests amid an unprecedented crackdown on dissent. The case had a chilling effect on freedom of expression, assembly, and association.
Al-Khaja completed his 10-year sentence in August 2022, but Emirati authorities continued to incarcerate him using baseless counterterrorism justifications. The UAE's repressive 2014 counterterrorism law appears to permit indefinite detention for prisoners who continue to pose a "terrorist threat," which the law does not clearly define.
These prisoners can be placed in counseling centers upon the request of state security prosecution. Article 1 of the counterterrorism law defines these centers as "administrative units aimed at enlightenment and reform of persons deemed to pose a terrorist threat or those convicted of terrorist offenses."
In December 2023, while hosting the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), Emirati authorities brought new charges against at least 84 defendants, including al-Khaja. The new unfair mass trial raised serious due process concerns, including restricted access to case material and information, limited legal assistance, judges directing witness testimony, violations of the principle of double jeopardy, credible allegations of serious abuse and ill-treatment, and hearings shrouded in secrecy.
Under international law, states have an obligation to carry out independent, impartial, transparent, effective, and thorough investigations into potentially unlawful deaths, including those in custody. The UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Mandela Rules) require countries to provide prisoners access to adequate medical care.
UAE authorities should immediately provide timely and adequate medical care to all prisoners, including those convicted as part of 2013 mass trial, Human Rights Watch and EDAC said.
"Ali al-Khaja's death in custody is not an isolated incident, but the direct result of years of torture, medical neglect, and arbitrary detention," said Hamad Al Shamsi, executive director at the Emirates Detainees Advocacy Center. "Ali was deprived of his most basic human rights, and it is time to hold those responsible to account and take serious steps to protect the remaining prisoners of conscience in the UAE."
