Archive: uae

28th March 2015
By: Brian Whitaker
Two Americans who publicly criticised the exploitation of migrant workers in the United Arab Emirates have found themselves under investigation by a private detective, the New York Times reports. A private investigator called Loren Berger has been making inquiries about Andrew Ross, a professor at… Read more
18th March 2015
By: Brian Whitaker
While developing a relationship with the Church of Scientology in London, the controversial Global Network for Rights and Development (GNRD) has also been active up in the Arctic Circle. It has signed an internship agreement with the world's northernmost university, in Tromsø, Norway. An… Read more
13th March 2015
By: Brian Whitaker
My continuing investigation into the UAE-linked Global Network for Rights and Development (GNRD) has prompted a renewed smear campaign directed against me by the organisation's supporters. At first sight, GNRD appears to be a normal human rights and development organisation. It has consultative… Read more
9th March 2015
By: Brian Whitaker
Scientologist Lord McNair, assisted by Mahmoud Heidari, talks to Iranians about human rights, 11 February 2015. I have been writing rather a lot about the Global Network for Rights and Development (GNRD) lately. It's a story with some strange twists and turns, from the discovery that its founder/… Read more
8th March 2015
By: Brian Whitaker
Last week brought more embarrassment for the UAE-linked Global Network for Rights and Development (GNRD) following the revelation a few months ago that its founder/president had previously run a fake university in Norway. On Thursday, a court in Belgium gave GNRD's extravagantly-titled "High… Read more
26th February 2015
By: Brian Whitaker
As regular readers will know, some odd things have been happening since I raised questions about the Global Network for Rights and Development (GNRD), an organisation registered in Norway which has links to the United Arab Emirates and takes an unusually favourable view of the UAE's human rights… Read more
23rd February 2015
By: Brian Whitaker
Fake Twitter accounts which have been used to promote a controversial human rights organisation are now being used to target me after I criticised the organisation in blog posts. A series of tweets posted over the weekend claimed that I was being paid $50,000 a year by the Qatari government and had… Read more
22nd February 2015
By: Brian Whitaker
In a blog post earlier this month I wrote critically about the Global Network for Rights and Development (GNRD) and raised some questions about a conference on human rights and counterterrorism that it was organising in Geneva. Some of those who attended the Geneva conference seem to have been… Read more
21st February 2015
By: Brian Whitaker
Mansoor Lootah: attacked Human Rights Watch  Human Rights Watch has recently come under attack from a mysterious Swiss-based organisation objecting to a section of its annual World Report which discusses the United Arab Emirates. Summarising the human rights situation in the Emirates, HRW's report … Read more
12th February 2015
By: Brian Whitaker
A gay American wrestler has been barred from performing in the UAE – not by the Emirati authorities but by the company promoting the tour, World Wrestling Entertainment Inc (WWE). In 2013, Darren Young was the first professional wrestler to come out as gay while signed-up with WWE. Although WWE… Read more