The United Arab Emirates: a modern country in the deserts of the Persian Gulf; with four-lane orbital motorways, expensive cars, towering skyscrapers, posh hotels, state-of-the-art shopping centers and all other aspects of modernity except for one: human rights, even in its basic form. For years, Emirati political activists have been devoutly after this Holy Grail, endangering their lives and the lives of their family members. The death of Mohammed al-Nuaimi, the son of the self-exiled Emirati political dissident Ahmed al-Nuaimi, who was suffering from cerebral palsy is a case in point.