Bahraini citizen disappears in UAE prison system

The family of the 33-year-old Bahraini man, Salah Yafai, was arrested nearly two months ago in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have had no word about his whereabouts, a media reports said. Yafai was arrested at Dubai airport on April 26, 2013 for his membership in a religious society and for tweets in support of jailed political dissidents in the UAE, BBC quoted the Emirates Center for Human Rights as saying. Yafai made one call on his mobile phone to a Bahraini member of parliament at the time of his arrest. The MP, Mohammed al-Emadi described him as sounding "frightened and upset". Since then no-one, including his family, has heard from him. The UAE government has not confirmed his arrest. However, a family friend who asked not to be identified told the BBC that "we want to know where he is, we are worried about his safety". Yafai, a fitness trainer and educator, is a member of the Bahrain al-Islah society, a religious organization. Last year 94 people, most of them members of the al-Islah society in the UAE were arrested and are on trial charged with plotting to overthrow the United Arab Emirates government. The detainees include two prominent human rights lawyers, as well as judges, teachers, and student leaders. If convicted, the activists, including 13 women, each face up to 15 years in jail, with no right of appeal. A verdict in their case is expected in early July. Faisal Fulad of Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society called the arrest of Yafai a "very serious human rights violation". Despite numerous requests for intervention, Faisal said that "the Bahrain government is doing nothing". Faisal said that Bahraini state television and newspapers close to the government were making no mention of Yafai's plight. Fulad called for the Bahrain government to make a public statement about the case and ensure that Yafai has access to a lawyer and to his family. "Al-Islah is a legal entity in Bahrain, Salah Yafai is a citizen of Bahrain, so the government of Bahrain cannot keep silent about this," Fulad added.