14 Dec 16 | Bahrain, Bahrain Statements, Campaigns, Campaigns -- Featured
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Protesters from Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, Index on Censorship and English Pen called for Nabeel Rajab’s release outside 10 Downing Street.
Parliamentarians today joined in calling on the UK government to call for the release of jailed activist Nabeel Rajab.
Twenty-three Members of Parliament have penned a joint letter to the Foreign Secretary calling on the UK government to demand the “unconditional release” of Nabeel Rajab from prison, and for the charges against him to be dropped.
The letter signed by a cross-party group of MPs from the Conservatives, Labour, Scottish National Party, DUP, Liberal Democrats, Green and SDLP, urges the UK Government to follow the lead of the US State Department, the European Parliament, and the United Nations, in calling for Bahrain to release Mr Rajab.
The letter said: “We urge you, in advance of the trial tomorrow, to make it clear to Bahraini officials that the United Kingdom wishes to see his unconditional release from prison, and for the charges brought against him, which are related to his right to freedom of expression and freedom of speech, to be dropped.”
Margaret Ferrier, a Scottish MP who chairs Westminster’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on Democracy and Human Rights in the Gulf, commented:
“This is a matter of freedom of speech and expression. Nabeel Rajab is highly-regarded as a prominent human rights activist, and these charges are little more than an attempt by Bahraini authorities to silence a dissenting voice. I find it concerning that Mr Rajab is facing such a lengthy prison sentence, particularly given that his health has already begun to deteriorate as a result of the time he has spent behind bars already. The Foreign Office has given assurances that they have repeatedly raised Mr Rajab’s case with Bahraini officials, and whilst this is welcome, we are calling for it to go one step further and urge its key Gulf ally to release him unconditionally and to drop all charges.”
Their calls are echoed by Tom Brake, Foreign Affairs Spokesman for the Liberal Democrats. He said: “With Nabeel’s trial imminent, now is the right time for the UK government to call openly and loudly for his immediate release. Anything less will be spineless and destroy the UK Government’s credibility globally on human rights.”
Also today, rights groups including Index on Censorship and the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy protested outside Downing Street and delivering a letter to the Prime Minister.
Theresa May was in Bahrain last week to set out her new “bold vision” for British-Gulf relations. Human rights was not mentioned in her speech to Gulf leaders, nor by Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who was also in Bahrain for a separate security conference.
The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy and Index on Censorship, along with three NGOs also wrote a letter to the Prime Minister: “There is nothing bold in silence over clear human rights violations, and we urge you to now make a public call for Nabeel Rajab’s immediate and unconditional release.”
Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, Director of Advocacy, Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy: “We have seen how Theresa May lashed Boris Johnsons over his comments on Saudi. Nabeel Rajab criticised Saudi Arabia and Bahrain over their bombardment in Yemen and is facing prison for it. If May or her government fail to publicly call for Nabeel’s Rajab release, Bahrain will take it as a green light for their repression.”
Nabeel Rajab is facing up to 15 years in prison on charges related to his Twitter activity. He faces an additional one year charge following a letter he wrote to the New York Times. He has been held in pre trial detention since June 2016. His next court date is tomorrow, 15 December.
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31 Oct 16 | Bahrain, Bahrain News, Middle East and North Africa, mobile, News and features
The trial of prominent Bahraini human rights activist Nabeel Rajab – president of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights – has been postponed for a fourth consecutive time to enable the country’s high criminal court to hire a cybercrime expert to verify who manages his Twitter account.
A new trial date has been set for 15 December.
“Nabeel Rajab’s continued detention is clearly aimed at silencing him and punishing him for expressing his views. The reopening of his case seems to confirm the political motives behind Rajab’s prosecution. He should be released immediately and all charges must be dropped,” Melody Patry, senior advocacy officer for Index on Censorship, said.
BCHR said in a statement that the latest postponement “throws a light on the lack of evidence of any wrongdoing” by Rajab.
It continued: “Rajab is being prosecuted in relation to tweets and retweets about torture in Jau Prison and the human rights violations in the war on Yemen. The prosecution of Rajab is based on Articles 133, 215, and 216 of Bahrain’s Penal Code over charges of ‘false or malicious news, statements, or rumours,’ ‘offending a foreign country’ (Saudi Arabia), and “offending a statutory body” – for which he may be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison.”
On 13 June 2016, Rajab was taken from his home. He was charged the next day and – on orders of the court – has remained in custody since while awaiting his trial, despite recurring health problems for which he was briefly hospitalised in late June after 15 days in solitary confinement.
His trial was initially due to take place on 2 August but was first delayed until 5 September, and then 6 October, 31 October and now 15 December.
Rajab served two years in jail between 2012 and 2014 for taking part in protests in the country.
28 Oct 16 | Bahrain, Bahrain Statements, Campaigns, Campaigns -- Featured, Statements
To: Federica Mogherini
High Representative of the European Union for Foreign
Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the
European Commission
European Commission
Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 200
1049 Brussels
Dear HR/VP Federica Mogherini,
The Government of Bahrain continues to arbitrarily detain Nabeel Rajab, president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, founding director of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights and Deputy Secretary General of FIDH, on charges related to his rights to free expression and his work as a human rights defender. We write to ask you to publicly speak out against this clear violation of human rights, and to make clear the European Union’s stance on Rajab’s case and the human rights crackdown in Bahrain.
Rajab’s hearing is scheduled for 31 October when he is expected to be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison. Rajab has already been held in pre-trial detention for 137 days, mainly in solitary confinement. His health has seriously deteriorated as a consequence of poor detention conditions and lack of sustained medical assistance.
Rajab has been detained since 13 June 2016, based on charges related to his comments on Twitter, documenting allegations of torture in Bahrain’s Jau Prison and criticising the escalating humanitarian crisis caused by the Saudi-led coalition airstrikes in Yemen. Rajab faces three charges in relation to these tweets, including “defaming a statutory body,” “offending a foreign country,” and “disseminating false news in a time of war,” for which he faces up to 15 years in prison.
On 4 September, the New York Times published Rajab’s “Letter from a Bahraini jail”, addressed to the US authorities. In it, he criticised his country for being one “that punishes its people for thinking, that prevents its citizens from exercising their basic rights.” The following day, on 5 September, Bahrain’s Public Prosecutor charged Rajab with “intentionally broadcasting false news and malicious rumours abroad impairing the prestige of the state,” which carries an additional one-year prison term if he is convicted.
Rajab’s case has sparked international outrage from government officials like the spokesperson of the US Department of State, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, and members of the EU Parliament who have all denounced the arrest of Rajab. Whilst we appreciate these efforts, we reiterate our deep concerns over his health and freedom.
We, the undersigned NGOs, believe Rajab is being targeted as a human rights defender by the Bahraini authorities in an attempt to silence all forms of dissent and suppress freedom of expression in the kingdom. All charges against Rajab are in violation of his fundamental human rights – in particular the right to freedom of expression.
In light of the alarming developments in Rajab’s case, who could be sentenced to 15 years in prison on 31 October, we urge you to dispatch an official delegation to the Kingdom of Bahrain, to expressly address EU concerns about the human rights situation in Bahrain, and to support the release of Rajab, and of all other human rights defenders imprisoned in Bahrain.
Rajab’s sentencing is the latest in a series of Bahraini government actions restricting civil society space. The government penalises criticism and human rights work as criminal activities, and Rajab’s prosecution aims to silence the last remaining voice in Bahrain, as well as to instill a culture of fear and impunity. It follows the dissolution of Al-Wefaq, the largest political party in the country, by the Ministry of Justice, the prosecution of over 60 Shia clerics for protesting since June, and the imposition of travel bans against around 20 human rights activists, ahead of UNHRC sessions in June and September this year.
Rajab has suffered for his human rights activism since 2011, including prison sentences between 2012-14 and in 2015. In 2014, the prosecution imposed a travel ban on him after his return from an advocacy trip in Europe, where he visited the UNHRC in Geneva, the European Parliament in Brussels, and other European capitals. This posed a heavy restriction on his human rights work.
Rajab’s comments on Twitter, documenting torture in Bahrain’s Jau Prison and criticising the escalating humanitarian crisis caused by the Saudi-led coalition airstrikes in Yemen led to his arrest on 2 April 2015. Authorities released him on 13 July 2015 when he received a royal pardon during Ramadan for his previous six-month sentence, but prosecutors did not close the cases and ordered his re-arrest on 13 June 2016.
We urge you not to remain silent in the face of gross violations of basic human rights.
We look forward to your reply.
Signatories,
Aabdulnabi Alekry, Bahrain Human Rights Organisation
Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain
Bahrain Center for Human Rights
Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy
Bahrain Press Association
Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights
Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies
Canadian Journalists for Free Expression
CIVICUS
English PEN
European – Bahraini Organisation for Human rights
European Center for Democracy and Human Rights
Freedom House
Front Line Defenders
Gulf Centre for Human Rights
IFEX
Index on Censorship
International Media Support
International Service for Human Rights
Lawyers’ Rights Watch Canada
No Peace Without Justice
RAFTO
REDRESS
Salam for Democracy and Human Rights
Vivarta
07 Oct 16 | Bahrain, Event Reports, Middle East and North Africa, mobile, News and features
Nabeel Rajab, BCHR – winner of Bindmans Award for Advocacy at the Index Freedom of Expression Awards 2012 with then-Chair of the Index on Censorship board of trustees Jonathan Dimbleby
On Thursday 6 October, Index on Censorship gathered outside the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office with English Pen and the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy to hold a vigil for imprisoned Bahraini human rights advocate, Nabeel Rajab.
The 2012 Index on Censorship award-winning Rajab has been in prison since 13 June of this year for comments he made on Twitter. These included details of the torture allegations at Bahrain’s Jau prison and criticisms of the Saudi war in Yemen.
Rajab faces up to 15 years in prison for “denigrating government institutions” and “publishing and broadcasting false news that undermines the prestige of the state”.
Originally Rajab’s sentencing was set for 6 October but has recently been postponed until 31 October. Since 25 September, Rajab has been held in solitary confinement in the East Riffa Police Station despite his health problems and the deplorable conditions.
The protest took place outside the FCO because although it has voiced “concern” over the re-arrest of Rajab it has not called for his release. At the Human Rights Council in Geneva, the UK stated that while it is “concerned” by recent human rights violations in Bahrain, it will continue to provide technical assistance to Bahrain.
It was recently announced that Prince Charles is to visit Bahrain in November. This followed Queen Elizabeth’s sitting beside the king of Bahrain this past spring for her 90th birthday.
While Rajab’s fate is still unknown considering the postponement of the trial until 31 October, the support for Rajab cannot cease. Bahrain has a long history of targeting Rajab in his human rights pursuits, and the UK cannot allow this to continue.
