The United Arab Emirates has designated several political dissidents and their relatives terrorists, Human Rights Watch said Tuesday, urging the wealthy Gulf country to repeal the decision.
Eleven people and eight British-based companies were added to the terrorist list in January over links to the Muslim Brotherhood political movement that is banned in the UAE, official media said at the time.
At least nine of the 11 are political dissidents or their relatives, and the companies are owned or previously owned by exiled Emirati dissidents or their families, Human Rights Watch said.
"The move represents an escalation of the United Arab Emirates' transnational repression, targeting not only dissidents but also their family members," the rights group said in a statement.
"The authorities should immediately remove the terrorism designations," it added.
The UAE did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the issue at the time of publication.
The decision was made "without any semblance of due process, and with serious ramifications for their livelihoods", said HRW's UAE researcher Joey Shea.
She called on authorities to "immediately reverse these insidious designations and cease cracking down on peaceful expression".
Two of the 11 individuals had been convicted or accused of a terrorist offence, both under "questionable circumstances", HRW said, citing the Emirates Detainees Advocacy Centre, a UK-based watchdog.
One was convicted in absentia as part of 2013's "UAE 94" trial, which followed a round-up of dozens of government critics including activists, lawyers, students and teachers and was strongly criticised by rights groups.
The other was accused in a separate case relating to support for the UAE 94.
The UAE's 2014 counterterrorism law "uses an overly broad definition of terrorism" and allows the government to add people to the list without giving an objective reason, HRW said.
"Emirati authorities are abusing a vague terrorism law to smear and ostracise dissidents, criminalising even mere contact with them," Shea said.
"The UK government should step in to defend British businesses against the spurious claims of Emirati authorities," she added.
The designation also isolates the people listed from their relatives in the UAE, who risk jail by communicating with them, HRW said.
"I am calling my mother, my sisters, and no one is picking up the phone... This is part of the pressure on the family there," one listed person said, according to the rights group.
In 2014, the UAE drew up a list of "terrorist groups" comprising 83 entities including the Muslim Brotherhood -- which backed the pro-democracy Arab Spring protests that swept the region in 2011.
The Emirati justice system has convicted dozens of Emiratis and Egyptians for forming clandestine cells, including members of Al-Islah, a group with ties to the Brotherhood.