Open Letter to the King of Bahrain

King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa
Office of the King
The Amiri Court
Rifa'a Palace
The Kingdom of Bahrain

8 May 2012

Your Majesty
CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation and the organisations and individuals listed below are deeply concerned about the arrest of Nabeel Rajab, President of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, Director of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights and FIDH Deputy Secretary General.

Mr Nabeel Rajab was arrested on 5 May 2012 upon arrival at Manama airport. He has been accused of "insulting the statutory bodies" pursuant to Article 216 of the Penal Code, which carries an imprisonment for a term up to three years and a fine. These charges come in relation to tweets that Mr Rajab posted deemed "insulting" to the Ministry of Interior.

We call for the immediate and unconditional release of Mr Nabeel Rajab and other human rights defenders in Bahrain. The authorities of Bahrain must ensure respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in accordance with international human rights standards and instruments, including the end of all acts of harassment against Mr Nabeel Rajab and all human rights defenders.

Sincerely,
Katsuji Imata
Acting Secretary General
CIVICUS: World Alliance for CIVICUS Participation

Signatures:
•    Accion Solidaria on HIV/Aids, Venezuela
•    All Africa Council of Churches, Kenya
•    Arab NGO Network for development (ANND), Lebanon
•    Barug Katungod Mindanao, Philippines
•    Caucus of Development NGO Networks (CODE-NGO), Philippines
•    Centre for the Development of Democracy and Human Rights, Russia
•    Centro Mexicano Para la Filantropia (CEMEFI), Mexico
•    CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
•    CIVILIS, Human Rights, Venezuela
•    Civil Society Organisation Network for Development in Burkina Faso (RESOCIDE)
•    Coalition for Democracy and Civil Society, Kyrgyzstan
•    Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, India
•     CONCORD - European NGO Confederation for Relief and Development, Belgium
•    Global Call for Action against Poverty (GCAP), South Africa
•    Groupe de Recherche et d'Action pour la Promotion de l'Agriculture et du Developpement (GRAPAD), Benin
•    Habitat International Coalition, Egypt
•    KEPA, Finland
•    Mauritian Council for Social Service
•    National Association of Non Governmental Organistions of Zimbabwe (NANGO)
•    National Council of Voluntary Organisations, UK
•    Nigeria Network of NGOs
•    Open Forum for CSO Development Effectiveness, Belgium
•    ProBono.org, South Africa
•    Red Cross, Jamaica
•    Scottish Council of Voluntary Organisations, Scotland
•    Sinergia, Venezuela
•    Southern Africa Human Rights Defenders Trust, South Africa
•    Transparency International, Germany
•    TUSEV, Turkey
•    Venezuelan Association of Civil Society Organisations
•    World Movement for Democracy, USA
•    Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA), Switzerland
•    Shaazka Beyerle, USA
•    Karen Brummel, Netherlands
•    Rod Campbell, USA
•    Dr Peter Carter, Canada
•    Nora Lester Murad, Palestine