Lawyers pledge allegiance to UAE rulers

Not long ago the UAE government shut down the independent jurist association and replaced it with its own body of jurists.

Now comes this news:

"We, the lawyers of Abu Dhabi emirate, call upon all citizens to deny activists' allegations denouncing our government. We ourselves are united in refuting these false claims, and remain fully loyal to His Highness President Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and all other crown princes and rulers," a statement released by the lawyers said.

"We are fully ready to defend our values and society against false claims, and will follow our government's instruction to preserve unity in the country," the statement added.

The conference was organised in response to a petition drawn up in March by activists in the UAE that called for direct elections and more legislative powers in the UAE.

Speaking to Gulf News on the sidelines of the conference, Dr Shakir Matouq Al Marzouqi, an Abu Dhabi-based lawyer and consultant said anyone who spoke against the current government and the UAE was falsifying real information about life in the country. Petitioning the government for greater democratic freedoms is hardly sedition.

Read the rest in Gulf News.