The UAE on Thursday (July 18th) joined a US-led call to prevent the abuse of blasphemy laws, AFP reported.
The UAE was one of three Muslim-majority nations, along with Albania and Kosovo, that signed a statement on blasphemy and apostasy laws at the end of a ministerial-level meeting on religious freedom in Washington.
The statement noted that blasphemy laws "are often used as a pretext to justify vigilantism or mob violence in the name of religion, or as a pretext to pursue retribution related to personal grievances".
"We see governments using such laws to wrongfully imprison and punish individuals whose views on matters of religion or belief may differ from official narratives or the views of majority populations," it said.
"We call on governments that utilize these laws to free any individuals imprisoned on such grounds, and to repeal blasphemy, apostasy and other laws that impede the exercise of freedoms of expression and religion or belief, in a manner inconsistent with international law."
A total of 20 countries signed the joint statement on blasphemy including the US, Britain, Italy and Poland.
Blasphemy remains a punishable offense in the UAE. But the Gulf state has won international praise for recent steps, including welcoming Pope Francis in February, and holding a conference as part of the US religious freedom initiative.
