ABU DHABI // Investigations are under way into members of a "foreign-linked group" who have been arrested, the Attorney General said last night.
"Initial investigations and confessions of the suspects revealed plans which jeopardise the security of the state, as well as ties between the organisation's members and suspicious foreign parties and organisations," said Ali Salim Al Tenaji.
He warned against "false news reports and unfair rumours" spread to influence the investigations, Wam, the state news agency, reported.
Amnesty International said on July 31 that about 35 men had been detained since July 16, bringing the number arrested since March to 50.
Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah, told a local television channel last week the arrests were necessary to protect the state.
"It is a matter of dealing with the situation, not a matter of punishment," he said. "We have a big duty to protect this country … to every mother whose son was held, I tell her … please let us fix the situation … the son made a mistake, you didn't deal with it, let us do it."
The results of the investigations will be made public when complete, the Attorney General said.
* Additional reporting by Reuters and Agence France-Presse
Racecard
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Gender pay parity on track in the UAE
The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.
"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."
Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.
"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.
As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general.
