ABU DHABI (Reuters) - The judicial system of the United Arab Emirates is "under the de facto control of the executive branch of the government", a U.N. envoy said on Wednesday, expressing concern about reports of prosecutors being influenced by state security services.
Gabriela Knaul, the U.N. special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, raised the allegations at a news conference in Abu Dhabi and said they were based on information she had collected on a nine-day visit to study the Gulf Arab state's justice system.