Johannesburg, 20 November 2012: Global civil society network CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation expresses deep concern at the continuing reprisals against Bahraini human rights defenders and urges the government to respect its international law obligations.
On-going persecution of human rights defenders for engaging with Bahrain’s Universal Periodic Review was highlighted by UN Secretary General, Ban ki Moon in his August 2012 report, Cooperation with the United Nations, its representatives and mechanisms in the field of human rights.
Widespread protests demanding democratic reforms in Bahrain have been on-going since February 2011. In recent months, Bahrain’s government has stepped up its campaign against civil society members highlighting continuing severe human rights abuses in the country. A shocking nation-wide ban on protests was announced on 30 October even as scores of pro-democracy protestors languish in prison. Many of them have reported being tortured and subjected to cruel treatment at the hands of the authorities.
In the latest instance of reprisals, Dr Nada Dhaif of the Bahrain Rehabilitation and Anti-Violence Organization (BRAVO), a group of doctors campaigning for human rights, was deported from Kuwait on 15 November. She was questioned about her role in the protests by the Kuwaiti authorities and informed that she was not welcome in the country on the basis of a list released by Bahrain’s government.
In October 2012, the appeals court confirmed sentences given to nine doctors and nurses for their role in the pro-democracy protests. Ali el Akry, Senior Surgeon, was given a five-year prison sentence while eight others were given sentences ranging from one month to three years in prison. A number of medical professionals in Bahrain have been subjected to judicial persecution for highlighting brutality by security forces against protestors whom they treated as their patients.
Nabeel Rajab, president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) is presently serving a three-year sentence for organizing ‘illegal protests’ after his appeal was rejected in October 2012. BCHR’s acting Vice-President, Said Yousif Al-Muhafdah, was also detained by the authorities on 2 November for “participating in an illegal gathering”. From all indications, it appears that his arrest was linked to his participation in Bahrain’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR) at the UN Human Rights Council in September this year.
Furthermore, on 6 November 2012, the citizenship of 31 persons including political and civil society activists was revoked by the Interior Ministry on the grounds that they were “damaging the security of the state”. In September this year, the nationalist Al Watan newspaper published photographs of activists who participated in Bahrain’s UPR ringed in red. They were described as being part of a ‘terror cell’ funded by foreign hands. Defamatory videos of activists have also been posted on the internet as part of a government sponsored intimidation campaign against civil society members. It is reported that an “army of trolls” is active in Bahrain to spread disinformation and discredit the testimonies of pro-democracy activists.
Bahrain’s government must respect its commitments under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by allowing free exercise of the freedoms of expression, association and assembly. CIVICUS urges King Hamad Ben Aissa Al Khalifa of Bahrain to ensure that necessary steps are taken to (i) withdraw the blanket ban on protests, (ii) review the cases of imprisoned activists, (iii) stop the harassment of human rights defenders through legal and extra-legal means, and (iv) institute criminal proceedings against government officials responsible for deaths and torture of pro-democracy activists.