In March 2011, 132 activists, some of them members of the Da’wat al-Islah association (al-Islah), signed a petition calling for increased political participation and constitutional reforms in the UAE. In reprisal for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and association, members of al-Islah and other activists were arrested during various waves of arrests, starting in March of 2012, and tried in a case that became known as the “UAE 94.”

Muhammad’s father, Ahmed al-Nuaimi, who is the director of the education department in al-Islah, was in the UK on a business trip in April of 2012 when the wave of arrests was unfolding. Fearing arrest as a consequence of exercising his right to freedom of expression and association, al-Nuaimi’s father decided not to return to the UAE. He was later sentenced, in absentia, to 15 years in prison in 2013, following the “UAE94” trial that was qualified as unfair by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD).

Ahmed al-Nuaimi’s family, including Muhammad, who was 16 at the time, remained in the UAE during the wave of arrests. On two occasions, the family attempted to reunite in the UK. However, during both attempts they were barred from leaving the country as a result of a travel ban. In 2014,Ahmed al-Nuaimi’s wife and five (out of six) children were then able to leave the country through a land border, after which they joined him in the UK.

Muhammad al-Nuaimi, however, was unable to take such an arduous trip due to his health condition and disability. He remained unable to leave the UAE due to the authorities’ travel ban, which barred him from being reunited with his family. Muhammad al-Nuaimi’s cerebral palsy condition needed constant care: he ate through tubes; required regular medication; and his position needed to be changed frequently while lying down. His father, Ahmed, has attempted to reach out to the UAE authorities on several occasions, in order to enquire about the possibility of allowing his son to travel to the UK. The UAE authorities, however, have continuously refused to discuss this matter or take any action in that regard.

On March 19, 2021, MENA Rights Group and ALQST for Human Rights submitted a letter of allegation to the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression, the Special Rapporteur on the right to physical and mental health, the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, and the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities. In the letter, MENA Rights Group and ALQST urged the UN Special Procedures to intervene with the UAE authorities and call for the lifting of the travel ban placed on Muhammad al-Nuaimi, allowing him to be reunited with his family.

On November 5, 2021, Muhammad passed away at the al-Qassimi Hospital in Sharjah, where he had been hospitalised since October 28.