United Arab Emirates acknowledges mass trial of prisoners previously reported during COP28

By JON GAMBRELL
Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The United Arab Emirates has acknowledged it is conducting a mass trial of 84 inmates previously reported by dissidents as it hosted the United Nations COP28 climate talks last month. That trial likely includes a prominent activist lauded by rights group abroad. The state-run WAM news agency on Saturday quoted the country’s attorney general, Hamad Saif al-Shamsi, as saying the 84 defendants face charges of “establishing another secret organization for the purpose of committing acts of violence and terrorism on state territory.” In December, a group run by a dissident abroad had said the mass trial was underway during the climate talks.