His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Ruler of Abu Dhabi and President of the United Arab Emirates
Dear Sheikh Al Nahyan,
I write to you on behalf of the Middle East Studies Association and its Committee on Academic Freedom to express our deep concern over the arrest of Professor Nasser bin Ghaith. According to published reports, state security forces removed Dr. bin Ghaith from his home in Dubai on April 10, 2011 and seized his computer. Dr. bin Ghaith is a highly regarded lecturer on economics at the Abu Dhabi branch of France's Sorbonne University. He was an active participant in the 2010 Doha Debates, a respected forum for dialogue, and has participated in symposiums sponsored by the Dubai School of Government, a research and teaching institution that focuses on public policy in the Arab world. He has also been affiliated with the UAE Armed Forces Staff College.
The Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA) was founded in 1966 to promote scholarship and teaching of the Middle East and North Africa. The preeminent organization in the field, MESA publishes the International Journal of Middle East Studies and has nearly 3000 members worldwide. MESA is committed to ensuring academic freedom and freedom of expression, both within the region and in connection with the study of the region in North America and elsewhere.
Your Embassy in the United States explains on its website that the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MOHESR) is “committed to developing a well-educated citizenry, promoting [the] country’s economic development, contributing to the UAE’s global competitiveness and enhancing [the] UAE’s quality of life." Its vision is “...to evolve a well-educated society that can cope with development.” These are precisely the goals to which Professor bin Ghaith has been committed and which he has long expressed in his academic work.
Thus, his arrest raises deep concern about its motivation. It also raises serious questions about the restrictions upon free speech in the Emirates in general and about respect for academic freedom in particular. Pending his earliest release, we ask that you disclose his whereabouts, ensure his well-being, and provide him regular access to medical treatment and to his family. We would like to urge that he be released promptly, accorded his full right to self-expression, and allowed to resume his professional responsibilities without conditions or limitations on his academic freedom and without professional sanction or penalty.
We look forward to your reply.
Yours Sincerely,
Suad Joseph
MESA President
Professor of Anthropology and Women's Studies
University of California Davis
cc:
His Highness Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President, Prime Minister, and Co-Chair of the Higher National Security Council (fax +971 04 353 1974)
His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research (fax +971 02 631 3778-Abu Dhabi; +971 04 299 4535-Dubai)
His Excellency Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Interior (fax +971 04 398 1119)
His Excellency Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahya, Minister of Foreign Affairs (fax +971 02 444 7766)
His Excellency Humaid Mohammed Obeid al Qattami, Minister of Education (fax +971 03 7611198)
His Excellency Yousef Al Otaiba, Ambassador of the UAE in the US (fax 202 243 2432)
His Excellency Mohammed Mir Abdullah Al Raeesi, Ambassador of the UAE in France (fax +01 47 55 61 04)
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