Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register July 17 (Reuters) – Authorities in the United Arab Emirates arrested Asim Ghafoor, a U.S. citizen and civil rights lawyer who previously served as a lawyer for slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi, said the U.S. rights group DAWN, which includes Ghafoor. A UAE government official confirmed that Ghafoor was arrested while transiting through Dubai International Airport on July 14 on charges related to a money laundering conviction in absentia, according to evidence heard by Emirati courts. A senior US administration official told reporters earlier Saturday that the United States was aware but could not say whether President Joe Biden would raise the issue in bilateral talks with the UAE president on the sidelines of an Arab summit in Saudi Arabia. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register “There is no indication that it is related to the Khashoggi issue,” the official added. Saudi journalist Khashoggi was killed by Saudi agents in 2018 at the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul in an operation that US intelligence says was approved by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The prince denies involvement. Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) said in a statement Friday that Ghafoor, a Virginia-based civil rights attorney, was on his way to Istanbul to attend a family wedding. The Emirati official, responding to a Reuters request for comment, said the United Arab Emirates had accepted the US embassy’s request for a consular visit and that since the original trial was held in absentia, Ghafoor was allowed to request a retrial. “A request has been received and approved, as a result of which the case has been reopened and related legal proceedings are underway,” the official said. DAWN cited US consular officials as saying the lawyer was being held in a detention center in Abu Dhabi and that Ghafoor said he was not aware of any legal case against him. He said the sentence was imposed “without due process” and called for his immediate release. Rights groups say the UAE has jailed hundreds of activists, academics and lawyers on unfair trails on broad charges. The UAE has rejected such accusations as baseless and says it is committed to human rights under the country’s constitutional charters. Biden had said he would raise human rights during his trip to the region, which ended Saturday. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Reporting by Ghaida Ghantous and Jarrett Renshaw Editing by Mark Potter and Raju Gopalakrishnan Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
