POSSIBLE SMEAR CAMPAIGN AGAINST AMCIT TIP ACTIVIST AND HER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DUBAI 000092 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP, INL, DRL, NEA/ARP, L/DL, CA/OCS/ACS G/TIP FOR GPATEL; CA/OCS/ACS FOR GLYNN E.O. 12958: DECL: 3/13/2018 TAGS: PREL PHUM PREF KCRM KWMN ASEC ELAB AE SUBJECT: POSSIBLE SMEAR CAMPAIGN AGAINST AMCIT TIP ACTIVIST AND HER UNOFFICIAL WOMEN'S SHELTER, CITY OF HOPE REF: 07 DUBAI 629 DUBAI 00000092 001.2 OF 002 Classified by CG Paul Sutphin, reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary and comment: A simmering conflict between an outspoken human rights activist (dual national AmCit/Emirati) and management of the newly established Dubai Foundation for Women and Children (DFWC, reported reftel) boiled over into public view with a front page article and two inside stories in the March 9th issue of "Gulf News" (a widely-read local English language daily published in Dubai) accusing her of "profiting from women's misery". Articles both defaming and defending the activist have appeared throughout the week in Arabic and English language papers. The articles included allegations made by abused women formerly housed at City of Hope, a shelter she personally leads. More disturbingly, specific accusations by DFWC Chairman Ahmad Obaid Al Mansouri, unnamed Dubai police officials, Bakhtiyor Madaev, Consul General of the Republic of Uzbekistan, and Ebrahim Mahari, a "representative of the Consulate General of Ethiopia" are also on the wires. (Note: While CoH has been operating unofficially for years in Dubai, it just finalized this month its legal status as an NGO based in Ethiopia. End note.) ¶2. (C/NF) Post is deeply concerned about the impact these allegations may have on the shelter and its founder, Sharla Musabih. Musabih is well known to Post management and has successfully sheltered AmCits in need for years. Numerous Post and USG officials have visited CoH, never noting any improprieties. If CoH closed, Post would be without a suitable shelter, as the newly founded DFWC requires referrals to be directed first through Dubai police, a policy unpalatable with Post ACS procedures (see reftel for additional concerns regarding DFWC). Of more concern, the attacks on CoH and Musabih appear at some level to have either Dubai Government involvement or, at least, acquiescence. End summary and comment. ¶3. (C) Since October 2007, a conflict between outspoken UAE human rights activist Sharla Musabih (dual national AmCit/Emirati and founder of City of Hope, the first women's and children's shelter in the UAE) and management of the newly established Dubai Foundation for Women and Children (DFWC, initially reported reftel)has been quietly escalating. On March 9, the issue erupted into public view with a front page article and two stories on page 6 in the March 9th issue of "Gulf News" accusing Musabih of "profiting from women's misery". Given the fact that trafficking and abuse are topics often self-censored by UAE reputation-conscious editors, the press coverage has been extensive by UAE standards. Over the past week, pejorative news stories about CoH and Musabih have also appeared the Arabic language "Emarat Al Youm" and "Al Bayan" newspapers. CoH and Musabih has been accused in blogs, including the "Emirates Economy Forum" and email chains, and according to Musabih, CoH has even been discussed on local Arabic radio talk shows. ¶4. (C) While Musabih has received limited rebuttal coverage in Gulf News (a side bar article on March 9) and two articles in the daily English language tabloid "7 Days", she states she has also spoken with reporters from "The New Yorker" and "New York Times" and anticipates breaking US coverage over the upcoming week. Harsh accusations from Several Sources -------------- ¶5. (C) According to detractors, including unnamed "former CoH residents", Ahmad Obaid Al Mansouri, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the DFWC, and Uzbek Consul General in Dubai Bakhtiyor Madaev, accusations against Musabih and CoH include selling abuse/trafficking victims' stories to foreign media organizations for "thousands" of dollars (with Musabih allegedly pocketing the money); selling a victim's newborn baby to a British family; forcing victims to make negative statements about their home countries, including Uzbekistan; isolating victims from their consulates and refusing to return victims to diplomatic missions; and treating victims as servants; and smuggling a mentally ill women into the DFWC. Lt. Col. Dr. Mohammed Abdulla Al Mur, Director of Human Rights Care Department, Dubai Police, has denied collaboration with Musabih over recent years, noting her objectives and activities "have become shadowy and mysterious" and claiming that Dubai Police has completely stopped working with Musabih. (Note. Musabih directly denies this, claiming she works frequently with the Dubai Police. End note.) Why the Defamation Now?? -------------- DUBAI 00000092 002.2 OF 002 ¶6. (C/NF) Musabih, a strong and outspoken personality in a culture that does not generally value public dissent, has long been a very public advocate about abuse of women in the UAE and against trafficking in persons. Her public profile (including press comments) has in the past offended conservative Emirati sensibilities. A more likely proximate cause to the current negative press stems from her ongoing conflict with DFWC Executive Director Afra Busti. This feud has been simmering since prior to the opening of the DFWC (reftel),and has also resulted in Musabih being removed from the DFWC Board of Directors. As part of the feud, Musabih has been sending a barrage of emails and text messages to senior UAEG officials (up to and including the Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai, Prime Minister and Vice President of the UAE) complaining about how CoH and Musabih have been treated. Finally, to PolEcon Off (and presumably others) she has accused the Uzbek Consul General of corruption and aiding trafficking. ¶7. (C/NF) It is an improbable coincidence that the negative press started while Musabih is in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia celebrating the official opening of the City of Hope, Ethiopia, as a licensed NGO. For years, Musabih had been unable to legally license CoH in the UAE and with the escalating tensions she feared imminent closure of CoH by the Dubai government. According to Musabih, there is a UAE legal loophole that allows CoH to operate in the UAE if it is an extension of a NGO licensed in another country. Musabih believes this will provide CoH Dubai with much needed legal status and a platform for donation solicitation. COMMENT -------------- ¶8. (C/NF) The Musabih/CoH/DFWC saga has become increasingly ugly and public. Post has known and worked with Musabih and City of Hope for years, and has used the CoH shelter regularly for at-risk AmCit women and children. Most recently, a Post staff member referred her housemaid to the shelter (to escape an abusive husband). Nothing Post has seen in years of dealing with Musabih and CoH corroborates any of the public accusations that have been leveled at Musabih. Musabih is an outspoken (and admittedly sometimes prone to hyperbole) advocate for abused/trafficked women and children. In Post's opinion, it defies reason and evidence that she, herself, might be an abuser. ¶9. (C/NF) Post is deeply concerned about the long-term impact the current smear campaign will have on the City of Hope shelter. After having visited DFWC and learning that DFWC requires all women entering the shelter to have been referred through the Dubai Police, Post is uncomfortable using the shelter for our citizens with legal ties to an Emirati (husband, dual nationals, etc.) as we believe Police and DFWC standard operating procedures would urge, and possibly require, an at-risk woman to return to an abusive situation. If CoH were to close, Post would not have a suitable alternative shelter for AmCits in need. ¶10. (C/NF) Most disturbing to Post is the potential governmental support for, or acquiescence in, what looks to us to be a smear campaign. Ahmed Al Mansouri, DFWC Chairman of the Board, has been regularly quoted in the negative articles. The DFWC is solely funded by the government of Dubai. We are concerned that the use of Al Mansouri as spokesman conveys implicit Dubai government support for the campaign to discredit City of Hope and Sharla Musabih. ¶11. (C/NF) Musabih's most recent outreach to the US press will likely cause an official escalation of tensions. Also, Musabih has repeatedly expressed her fear that she will be arrested upon her return to Dubai from Ethiopia. While the Dubai government would typically understand that such an action would only escalate negative international attention, we are concerned at this point arrest is a real possibility. The Mission is approaching Al Mansouri and other Dubai and UAEG officials to express our concerns and to convey our positive experience with Musabih and her organization. END COMMENT SUTPHIN