A/HRC/48/28 (A/HRC/WGAD/2011/64). Mr. Mansoor has reportedly been subject to torture and held in solitary confinement.251 134. On 25 January 2021, special procedures mandate holders addressed concerns at the continued imprisonment and alleged ill-treatment of Mr. Mansoor, as well as his placement in solitary confinement since 2018 (ARE 1/2021). They noted that Mr. Mansoor reportedly received his last family visit in January 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic restricted inperson visits, and that his family had not received a telephone call from him since April 2020. On 10 February 2021, special procedures mandate holders expressed fear that Mr. Mansoor was among “three human rights defenders serving 10-year prison sentences in the United Arab Emirates [being] mistreated in conditions that may amount to torture and urged authorities to release them.”252 135. On 6 May 2021, the Government responded,253 refuting the allegations as unfounded and noting that all inmates in State penal facilities are allowed to receive family visits and make telephone calls, but that in-person visits have been suspended since early January 2020 due to COVID-19. The Government stated that Mr. Mansoor communicates regularly with his relatives and received a call from his wife in February 2021. The Government stated that Mr. Mansoor has not been subjected to torture or cruel or inhuman treatment nor submitted a complaint that he has experienced any violations amounting to torture. 136. The cases of Ms. Maryam Soulayman Al-Ballushi and Ms. Amina Alabduli were included in the 2020 and 2019 reports of the Secretary-General.254 They were arrested in 2015 on state security charges and sentenced to five years in prison, and it was reported to OHCHR that their conditions had worsened after information was transmitted to the UN. In February 2019, special procedures mandate holders had raised allegations of torture and ill-treatment in detention and lack of appropriate medical treatment (ARE 2/2019), to which the Government responded.255 Subsequently, in July 2019, Ms. Al-Ballushi and Ms. Alabduli were brought before the Federal State Security prosecutor for three new charges under Federal Law No.5 of 2012 on Combating Cybercrimes, relating to their efforts to raise awareness about their cases (see also ARE 2/2019). 256 The Government, in its response, affirmed that the two women were serving their sentences in accordance with the law and that they were not detained arbitrarily, tortured or held in solitary confinement. The Government noted that the charges for which the women were sentenced affected State security and were classified as terrorism offenses. 137. In November 2020, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found the detention of Ms. Al-Ballushi and Ms. Alabduli arbitrary, urged their immediate release and called on the Government to provide compensation and other reparations (A/HRC/WGAD/2020/61, paras. 97–99).257 The Working Group noted that “their prosecution on new charges appears to be a clear reprisal for seeking the assistance of the international community” (para. 77) and took note of allegations that the two women “have faced reprisals, including ill-treatment in detention that appears to be based on their gender, for having brought their conditions of detention to the attention of special procedures” (para. 94). It was reported to OHCHR in May 2021 that Ms. Al-Ballushi and Ms. Alabduli had finished serving their sentences in November 2020 but have not yet been released. It is alleged that they were transferred from Al Wathba prison in 2020, but their current whereabouts are unknown. 138. The case of Mr. Ahmad Ali Mekkaoui, a Lebanese citizen, was included in the 2020 and 2019 reports of the Secretary-General.258 Mr. Mekkaoui allegedly faced reprisals after the issuance of an opinion of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which found his 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 78 https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24571&LangID=E. https://www.ohchr.org/SP/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26735&LangID=E. https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadFile?gId=36081. A/HRC/45/36, Annex II, paras. 128-130; A/HRC/42/30, para. 79 and Annex I, paras. 105-109. https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadFile?gId=34572. https://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25726&LangID=E. Opinion No. 61/2020 concerning Amina Mohammed al-Abdouli and Maryam Suliman al-Balushi (United Arab Emirates), 23-27 November 2020. A/HRC/45/36 para. 131; A/HRC/42/30, para. 78 and Annex I, paras. 103-104.