Mohamed bin Zayed

Sudan, US lawmakers and several investigations accused the UAE of providing weapons, funding or logistical support to the Rapid Support Forces. In 2025, Sudan brought a case before the International Court of Justice alleging complicity in genocide; the Court dismissed it for lack of jurisdiction without ruling on the merits. In August 2026, further investigations documented mercenary networks linked to UAE-based actors.

Attribution

Direct responsibility

MBZ was the political architect of normalisation between the UAE and Israel in 2020. Diplomatic, economic and security ties were maintained after the outbreak of the Gaza war in 2023, even as regional anger and the high number of Palestinian casualties made the relationship politically costly and Emirati officials criticised Netanyahu's government.

State of the evidence

Documented

Legal status — source text

Not applicable

Attribution

Political responsibility

Algeria severed diplomatic relations with the UAE on 10 September 2026, citing "provocative or hostile" actions by Abu Dhabi without publicly detailing all the grievances. The rupture followed growing disagreements over Western Sahara, the Sahel, normalisation with Israel and Algerian accusations of interference.

State of the evidence

Allegations

Attribution

Political responsibility

Dozens of dissidents and activists were tried in the so-called "UAE84" case, and many defendants received heavy sentences, including life imprisonment. Human rights organisations condemned the collective nature of the proceedings, restrictions on the defence and risks of repeated prosecution for acts already dealt with.

Attribution

Direct responsibility

Person targeted by the proceedings

les accusés du procès UAE84

Role of the person profiled

Protagonist not prosecuted

Investigations based on hacked internal Alp Services files described a UAE-funded campaign to map, monitor and discredit people and organisations in Europe portrayed as close to Qatar or the Muslim Brotherhood. The New Yorker reported that the files identified MBZ as the real political client and that invoices led back to his entourage.

The US Department of Justice established that George Nader, an adviser to senior Emirati officials publicly described as close to MBZ, had participated in a scheme channelling at least 3.5 million dollars in UAE funds to American political committees to gain access and influence during the 2016 election. The DOJ stated that Nader reported his political activities to Emirati officials.

State of the evidence

Established by a court

Role of the person profiled

Protagonist not prosecuted

Under Mohamed bin Zayed's de facto leadership, the UAE was a pillar of the coalition that intervened militarily in Yemen. Human Rights Watch and other observers documented coalition strikes killing numerous civilians, and in January 2022 three attacks attributed to the Saudi- and UAE-led coalition caused at least 80 apparent civilian deaths and 156 injuries.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility

Human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment in the UAE for critical posts. UN experts condemned his isolation and considered that his detention conditions might amount to torture. The controversy concerns the state's policy of repressing dissidents under the Emirati leadership.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility

Person targeted by the proceedings

Ahmed Mansoor

Role of the person profiled

Protagonist not prosecuted

The UAE joined Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt in the diplomatic and economic boycott of Qatar launched in 2017, accompanied by an extensive list of demands. Mohamed bin Zayed was one of the main leaders of the bloc favouring this regional pressure policy.

State of the evidence

Documented

Legal status — source text

Not applicable

Attribution

Direct responsibility

UN reports and Reuters investigations described Emirati military support for Khalifa Haftar's forces in Libya, including air capabilities and equipment potentially violating the international arms embargo. The policy is linked to UAE regional leadership under Mohamed bin Zayed.

Attribution

Direct responsibility

In January 2020, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) released recordings it said it had authenticated. According to MACC, one showed former Prime Minister Najib Razak asking then-Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed to help create a loan agreement intended to give a legitimate appearance to transfers linked to 1MDB. MACC presented the recordings collectively as evidence of an attempted cover-up.

State of the evidence

Alleged

Reuters documented Project Raven, a secret Emirati intelligence operation employing former US cybersecurity professionals to infiltrate the devices of dissidents, journalists and regional targets. Mohamed bin Zayed was then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and the emirate's de facto leader; attribution concerns state security governance, without personally attributing every technical operation to him.

State of the evidence

Documented

Legal status — source text

Not applicable

Attribution

Direct responsibility

During intervention in Yemen, press and NGO investigations described a network of detention facilities controlled or supported by UAE-allied forces, involving allegations of torture, disappearance and arbitrary detention. Mohamed bin Zayed, then Abu Dhabi's principal security decision-maker, is associated with the intervention policy, without established personal criminal responsibility.

State of the evidence

Allegations

Legal status — source text

Not applicable

Attribution

Direct responsibility

US intelligence officials cited by the Washington Post alleged that senior Emirati officials had discussed a plan to hack Qatari government websites and publish false quotations shortly before the diplomatic crisis and blockade of Qatar.

Under Mohammed bin Zayed's de facto leadership in Abu Dhabi, authorities arrested and tried 94 government critics. In July 2013, 69 people were convicted. Human Rights Watch and other organisations described the trial as fundamentally unfair, involving incommunicado detention, limited access to lawyers and allegations of torture.

Attribution

Institutional responsibility

Role of the person profiled

Protagonist not prosecuted