A consortium of 15 civil society organisations Tuesday published a joint statement against the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) new cybercrime law for “severely threaten[ing] and unduly restrict[ing] the right to freedom of expression (both online and offline) and the rights to freedom of association and of peaceful assembly” in the country.

The new law has been adopted by Federal Decree-Law No. 34 of 2021 which came into effect on January 2, 2022, replacing the UAE’s former Federal Law No. 5 of 2012 on Combatting Cybercrime. Like its predecessor, the new law criminalises acts that are otherwise protected under international law such as calls for peaceful assembly without obtaining approval from the authorities. However, it also implements greater restrictions against civic space and free speech.

The letter says that the language of the statute creates ambiguity prone to authoritarian misuse, especially regarding issues related to  “national security” which provide the authorities with “excessive discretion to criminalise and impose lengthy prison sentences on individuals exercising their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.” The wording of these various provisions is so broad that they can be used to target journalists, whistleblowers, activists, and peaceful critics working to shed light on human rights violations taking place within the UAE.

The letter also observed that the new law imposes a full prohibition on any form of political opposition within the UAE by imposing harsher punishments such as imprisonment or a life sentence if the State’s existence is challenged or the State’s interests are harmed. The law stipulates no maximum or minimum prison sentence for acts that can be considered to be against the State, which violates Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The organisations have argued the UAE administration to repeal the law or significantly amend it so that it is in consonance with international human rights standards and laws.