Ahmed Mansoor is a father and husband. He’s a poet, blogger and human rights defender. Before his arrest, Ahmed regularly raised concerns about the detention, torture and unfair trials of dissenting voices in the UAE. He spoke about problems within the justice system and of domestic laws that breach international ones. Now, he too is locked away, held in an isolation cell without a bed.

Before his arrest, Ahmed was one of the few voices within the UAE providing the rest of the world with credible independent information about human rights violations in the country. He regularly raised concerns about the detention, torture and unfair trials of dissenting voices. He spoke about problems with the justice system and of domestic laws that breach international ones.

For speaking truth to power, Ahmed is paying a high price. In March 2017, UAE security forces raided his home and arrested him. For over a year, no one, not even his family, knew where he was detained. In May 2018, Ahmed was sentenced to a decade in prison on charges including “insulting the UAE and its symbols”.

Protesting about his prison conditions, Ahmed has twice resorted to hunger strikes, losing dangerous amounts of weight and putting his life at risk. Despite this he is only allowed outside three times a week. Guards remove all other prisoners from the yard and Ahmed spends the little time he has in the sunlight, alone.