(MENAFN) The United Arab Emirates arrested a leading political activist on charges of spreading sectarianism and hatred on social media, the state news agency reported on Tuesday, in a move criticised by rights groups.
Ahmed Mansoor, an electrical engineer and poet, had used social media "to publish false information and rumours as well as promoting [a] sectarian and hate-incited agenda", WAM quoted the public prosecutor on Tuesday as saying.
His posts "harm national unity and social harmony and damage the country's reputation", the statement said, adding that Mansoor had been arrested on Sunday.
Mansoor is a prominent dissident in the UAE and last year won the Martin Ennals award, named after the former secretary general of Amnesty International, which has been described as the Nobel Prize for human rights.
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