Former UN rights commissioner Robinson urges UAE to free activist

Former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson speaks at the World Green Economy Summit at Expo 2020 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, October 6, 2021. REUTERS/Alexander Cornwell

DUBAI (Reuters) -Former U.N. human rights commissioner Mary Robinson, visiting Dubai, urged the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday to free a pro-democracy campaigner jailed in 2018 for criticising the government on social media.

Rights groups say Ahmed Mansoor, who is serving a 10-year sentence, may be suffering treatment amounting to torture. The UAE has denied mistreating him.