Family: UAE detains prominent rights lawyer
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The family of a prominent rights lawyer in Dubai says he has been detained by security forces waging a crackdown on perceived political dissent across the United Arab Emirates.
Lawyer Mohammed al-Roken's wife says he was taken into custody early on Tuesday. Umm Rashid says her husband was taken as he sought information about his son and brother-in-law, who were detained on Monday.
Al-Roken has defended some high-profile activists accused of anti-state crimes. The UAE has sharply stepped up pressures on Islamists factions and other groups that have urged for political reforms since the Arab Spring uprisings.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}There was no immediate comment from Emirati officials. The UAE deported Monday an Emirati online rights campaigner to Thailand — where he has no personal connection — in the first such expulsion.