On Monday, 19 June 2023, ALQST and partners gathered outside the United Arab Emirates (UAE) embassy in London to commemorate the two year anniversary of the tragic death of iconic Emirati human rights defender Alaa Al-Siddiq, who was ALQST’s Executive Director, and to call for the release of prisoners of conscience in the UAE.

Representatives of ALQST, FairSquare, English PEN, Amnesty International and Salam for Democracy and Human Rights (Salam DHR) celebrated Alaa’s inspiring life and immense human rights legacy, and spoke about the UAE’s abysmal human rights record ahead of its hosting of the 28th United Nations global climate talks (COP28) at the end of this year. A petition was delivered to the embassy on behalf of over 40 NGOs, outlining the UAE’s unsuitability to chair COP28 and calling for prisoners of conscience to be released. 

Abdullah Aljuraywi, Monitoring and Campaigns Officer at ALQST, read aloud an extract from Alaa’s book on the political situation in the UAE, What Is Happening in the Emirates?, which was published after her death. Drewery Dyke, from Salam DHR, spoke about the plight of prisoners of conscience in the UAE, highlighting the case of Alaa’s father, Mohammed al-Siddiq, who remains arbitrarily imprisoned despite the expiry of his prison term. James Lynch, founding co-director of FairSquare, highlighted concerns around the UAE’s hosting of COP28 in light of the country’s dire rights record and climate policies. Other attendees shared similar messages. 

ALQST would like to thank all those who attended the vigil and took part online using the hashtag #AlaaNeverForgotten. We would also like to express special thanks to artist Gianluca Costantini, who designed a wonderful graphic of Alaa for the event.