UAE attorney general receives UN Human Rights rapporteur

Salem Saeed Kubaish, U.A.E. Attorney General, today received in his office at Al Khubaira Palace, Gabriela Kanul, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers. Kubaish and Kanul discussed issues pertaining to justice. The Attorney General briefed the UN official on the role of the public prosecution in the U.A.E. judicial system and protection of human rights through ensuring the basic rights of plaintiffs and defendants in all trial stages. They exchanged views on the regulations that govern the work of public prosecutors in accordance with U.A.E. judicial authority laws. The U.A.E. Attorney General said that torture is banned by the U.A.E. constitution and laws, and perpetrators face severe punishments, noting that the U.A.E. constitution and laws allow freedom of speech. He added that freedom is restricted in the United Arab Emirates only by a court order in case of crime committed against a person with the availability of evidence and the justification for restricting the freedom of the accused. Kanul thanked Kubaish for explaining a number of issues.