CIVICUS is deeply concerned about the safety of Bahrain civil society activist and President of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, Nabeel Rajab, who was arrested again on 6 June.
It has been confirmed from reliable sources that the evident reason for Nabeel’s arrest was his appearance on ‘The Stream’ programme of Al-Jazeera on 4 June. His arrest took place despite an assurance being sought by Al-Jazeera from the government of Bahrain that he would not be sanctioned for appearing on television.
“This latest action shows that Bahrain’s rulers do not respect the right to express legitimate dissent and will go to any length to silence people’s voices,” says Katsuji Imata, Acting Secretary General of CIVICUS. “The international community and Bahrain’s military and trading partners have a responsibility to ensure the protection of Nabeel and his fellow human rights defenders.”
Nabeel Rajab has been a prolific campaigner against the continuing and widespread human rights violations in Bahrain, which have been taking place since demands for democracy as part of the Arab Spring were suppressed in March 2011. Nabeel, a keynote speaker at last year’s CIVICUS World Assembly, has only been free from jail since 28 May, when he was released after spending three weeks behind bars on accusations of “insulting statutory bodies.” In his defence, Nabeel rejected the charges against him and told the court, “I only practised my right to free expression. I did not commit a crime.”