{"id":11351,"date":"2025-01-21T12:28:26","date_gmt":"2025-01-21T12:28:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/?p=11351"},"modified":"2025-01-21T12:28:26","modified_gmt":"2025-01-21T12:28:26","slug":"uae-a-history-of-widespread-espionage-and-surveillance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/2025\/01\/21\/uae-a-history-of-widespread-espionage-and-surveillance\/","title":{"rendered":"UAE: A History of Widespread Espionage and Surveillance"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Watan<\/strong>-Over many years, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has demonstrated blatant disregard for the rule of law and individual rights, amassing a track record of engaging in extensive surveillance and espionage tactics against critics and dissidents, both within and beyond its borders.<\/p>\n<div class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col flex-grow\">\n<div class=\"min-h-8 text-message flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 whitespace-normal break-words text-start [.text-message+&amp;]:mt-5\" dir=\"auto\" data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"87552367-b527-462d-ba04-87d9caa90187\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-4o\">\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden first:pt-[3px]\">\n<div class=\"markdown prose w-full break-words dark:prose-invert light\">\n<p>The UAE regime, including the ruling elite in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, has been accused of employing advanced electronic surveillance tools to infiltrate the phones, email accounts, and digital communications of activists, journalists, and even foreign government officials.<\/p>\n<p>This electronic spying violates the privacy and rights of targeted individuals and poses a broader threat to the security and stability of democratic processes worldwide.<\/p>\n<p>The UAE&#8217;s willingness to engage in such activities highlights a concerted effort to undermine the principles of free expression, opposition, and accountability that form the foundation of democratic societies.<\/p>\n<p>Experts affirm that this cross-border repression extends beyond UAE borders through the use of secret agents, mercenaries, and the exploitation of international law enforcement mechanisms and institutions.<\/p>\n<p>The UAE\u2019s authoritarian agenda abroad reflects its tight grip on domestic politics, suppressing any form of dissent or opposition.<\/p>\n<p>Activists, journalists, and ordinary Emiratis who dare to speak out against the regime face harsh penalties, including imprisonment, torture, and other severe human rights violations.<\/p>\n<p>The UAE\u2019s repressive tactics are not limited to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/2025\/01\/11\/cross-border-repression-abu-dhabis-covert-operations-against-dissidents\/\">dissidents<\/a> and activists; they also target anyone perceived as a threat to its interests, including international businessmen operating within the country.<\/p>\n<p>Two cases illustrate the serious risks associated with doing business in the UAE and its disregard for due process and human rights, even for foreigners.<\/p>\n<p>Ryan Cornelius, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/2025\/01\/19\/widespread-human-rights-violations-in-uae-prisons-the-case-of-british-businessman-ryan-cornelius\/\">British<\/a> businessman, and Zack Shahin, an American executive, were victims of separate cases of arbitrary detention. Cornelius was arrested in 2008 on fraud charges related to a real estate development project in Dubai.<\/p>\n<p>Despite a lack of evidence and a declaration by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention that his detention was arbitrary and a call for his immediate release, Cornelius remains imprisoned under harsh conditions in the UAE.<\/p>\n<div class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col flex-grow\">\n<div class=\"min-h-8 text-message flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 whitespace-normal break-words text-start [.text-message+&amp;]:mt-5\" dir=\"auto\" data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"51a8260c-340f-48af-8bfd-23b115dc1f5e\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-4o\">\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden first:pt-[3px]\">\n<div class=\"markdown prose w-full break-words dark:prose-invert light\">\n<p>Ryan Cornelius is just one of thousands of expatriates who have been imprisoned in Dubai after becoming entangled in the emirate&#8217;s harsh legal system, which is often subject to manipulation by powerful individuals.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure id=\"attachment_10753\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10753\" style=\"width: 1000px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-10753 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/g.jpg\" alt=\"UAE human rights abuses\" width=\"1000\" height=\"573\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/g.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/g-300x172.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/g-768x440.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10753\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Freedom of expression in UAE<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This includes Shahin, a former executive at a major real estate development company in Dubai, who was also arrested in 2008 on embezzlement charges, although none of the allegedly stolen funds could be directly tied to him.<\/p>\n<p>Shahin has been imprisoned for a long time and subjected to severe mistreatment, despite numerous international calls for his release, including those from the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.<\/p>\n<p>This disregard for the rule of law has resulted in cross-border repression beyond the UAE. While the UAE projects an international image of prosperity and economic progress\u2014crafted through an expensive public relations campaign involving Western PR firms and lobbying groups\u2014it reacts harshly to criticism of its well-documented human rights violations.<\/p>\n<p>Abu Dhabi has achieved this not only through a carefully curated PR image but also by strategically placing Emirati officials in influential roles within international organizations, such as Interpol, to expand its influence, reduce international scrutiny, and protect its domestic and global interests.<\/p>\n<p>The rise of Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi\u2014an Emirati official accused of complicity in torture during his tenure as a senior official in the Ministry of Interior\u2014to the presidency of Interpol, an organization designed to facilitate international police cooperation, is a prime example.<\/p>\n<p>Experts emphasize that these tactics by the UAE pose a significant threat to democratic values and human rights.<\/p>\n<p>The UAE&#8217;s global campaign to spy on and suppress dissenters includes operations like Project Raven\u2014a secret program in which former U.S. intelligence agents were hired to help UAE authorities \u201cengage in surveillance of other governments, militants, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/2024\/04\/27\/rights-under-siege-amnesty-internationals-report-on-human-rights-abuses-in-the-uae\/\">human<\/a> rights activists critical of the monarchy,\u201d as reported by Reuters in 2019.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_10601\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10601\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-10601 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/ben-zayed-1024x625.jpg\" alt=\"Mohammed bin Zayed\" width=\"1024\" height=\"625\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/ben-zayed-1024x625.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/ben-zayed-300x183.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/ben-zayed-768x469.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.watanserb.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/ben-zayed.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-10601\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mohammed bin Zayed<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Another tool in the UAE&#8217;s spyware arsenal, known as Karma, enabled the regime to hack into iPhones belonging to activists, diplomats, and rival foreign leaders. This malicious program gave the UAE unrestricted access to monitor the communications and movements of its perceived enemies around the world in secret.<\/p>\n<p>The UAE has also defamed and harassed organizations and individuals who speak out against its human rights abuses. The Islamic Relief Worldwide, a major international charity based in the UK that works regularly with the United Nations, USAID, and European governments, was targeted by an orchestrated media campaign alleging ties to terrorism.<\/p>\n<p>The UAE funded this smear campaign, employing a private intelligence firm in Geneva, after its government listed Islamic Relief on its \u201cterrorist organizations\u201d list\u2014accusations the charity has vehemently denied. This pattern of cross-border intimidation demonstrates the lengths to which Abu Dhabi will go to suppress any perceived threat to its interests.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mb-2 flex gap-3 empty:hidden -ml-2\">\n<div class=\"items-center justify-start rounded-xl p-1 flex\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Watan-Over many years, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has demonstrated blatant disregard for the rule of law and individual rights, amassing a track record of engaging in extensive surveillance and espionage tactics against critics and dissidents, both within and beyond its borders. The UAE regime, including the ruling elite in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, has &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11354,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[131,1304,3556],"class_list":["post-11351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reports","tag-human-rights","tag-the-united-arab-emirates","tag-uae-surveillance"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.6 (Yoast SEO v27.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>UAE: A History of Widespread Espionage and Surveillance - Watan<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"he UAE\u2019s extensive use of surveillance technologies, arbitrary detentions, and cross-border repression.. undermine human rights.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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