Our Chair updated us on Dr Mohammed al-Roken's case and his shocking life imprisonment sentence. Ahmed Mansoor, on whose case Amnesty has also worked, received a sentence of 15 years' imprisonment. They are just two of many included in this 'UAE 84' trial. That several of these are effectively 'double indemnity' cases, initiated after the preceding sentences were completed and with the trials starting during COP 28, is deeply disturbing.

Three events to report this month are:

• the Sutton group participated in a Twitter Storm on the occasion of Dr Al-Roken’s 62nd birthday on 26 September
• five local Amnesty groups including our own sent letters to the Foreign Secretary via their MPs asking for further meetings with FCDO officials after Dr Al-Roken was sentenced to life in prison
• Lyndon lobbied the Chair and CEO of AIUK asking if they had been in contact with the new Labour government about its proposals for an International Investment Summit, to which the UAE had been invited. The CEO responded that he was indeed in contact with the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Business & Trade, urging that at this event specifically the UK government is clear on the human rights standards that must be applied in relation to any inward investment.