08 Jun 17 | Bahrain, Bahrain Letters, Campaigns, Statements
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Bahrain suspended independent newspaper Al Wasat.
Index on Censorship, other international press freedom organisations and local Bahraini groups are among fifteen campaigners who today raised alarm over the suspension of Bahrain‘s only independent newspaper, Al Wasat, which has been barred from publishing for four days now. The nine rights groups which today wrote letters addressed to ten countries including the UK, state Bahrain is “effectively silencing the media in Bahrain and violating the right to freedom of expression.”
We are writing to urge your government to call on Bahrain to end the arbitrary suspension of Al Wasat newspaper. The Ministry of Information Affairs suspended Al Wasat, the only independent newspaper in Bahrain, on 4 June 2017, effectively silencing the media in Bahrain and violating the right to freedom of expression. The newspaper’s suspension comes after an escalation of reprisals against civil society, and the killing of five protesters by Bahraini police in May.
Al Wasat’s suspension is the latest in a recent spate of reprisals against independent media and civil society actors, including journalists, writers, and human rights defenders. In this context, journalists in Bahrain have expressed to NGOs serious concerns that the newspaper will not be allowed to resume publication.
The suspension comes days after the decision to dissolve Wa’ad, the last major opposition party on 31 May and the raid on Duraz village on 23 May, when 5 protesters were killed by Bahraini police and 286 arrested in the deadliest policing incident in King Hamad’s reign. Human rights defenders have also been subjected to harassment, torture and sexual abuse in the past weeks, according to Amnesty International.
The Bahrain News Agency reported “The Ministry of Information Affairs suspended Al Wasat newspaper until further notice following its recurrent violation of the law and spreading what would stir divisions within the community and undermine the Kingdom of Bahrain’s relations with other countries.” This accusation relates to an editorial about ongoing protests in Al-Hoceima, Morocco. Prior to the suspension of Al Wasat, Bahrain was already counted among the 20 most restrictive countries for press globally, with Reporters Without Borders ranking Bahrain as 164 out of 180 countries in its World Press Freedom Index.
Bahrain’s print media consists of five major Arabic-language daily newspapers. Of these, four are strongly pro-government and are owned by figures associated with the government. Al Wasat is the exception. Established in 2002 during a period of reforms, Al Wasat takes a critical editorial line and is financially independent of the state. Its editor Mansoor Al-Jamri is winner of the CPJ International Press Freedom Award in 2011 and winner of the Peace Through Media Award 2012.
It is not the first time that Al Wasat has been suspended. In January 2017, the newspaper was barred for two days from publishing online, though the print version was allowed, following a front-page story on the executions of three individuals. All three individuals were torture victims who had been sentenced to death following unfair trials. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said it was “appalled” by the executions. In August 2015, the newspaper was shut down for two days, allegedly because they did not refer to Bahraini casualties in Yemen as “martyrs”. In April 2011, in the middle of the March-June 2011 State of Emergency, the government suspended Al Wasat for one day. Karim Al-Fakhrawi, a co-founder of Al Wasat, was arrested on 2 April 2011 and tortured to death in police custody.
The suspension of Al Wasat muzzles the media, unduly restricting the right to freedom of expression and opinion. As the only independent newspaper in Bahrain, its suspension removes a key voice for public discourse and denies the public the right to access information and diverse views. In the context of current, severe human rights violations occurring in Bahrain, calls for the resumption of the only independent newspaper and the respect for freedom of expression and opinion urgently need to be heard and acted on. We, the undersigned, urge your government to publicly call on the Government of Bahrain to allow Al Wasat to resume publication immediately.
Yours sincerely,
Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain
ARTICLE 19
Bahrain Center for Human Rights
Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy
Committee to Protect Journalists
English PEN
European Centre for Democracy and Human Rights
French PEN Club
Gulf Center for Human Rights
Index on Censorship
Norwegian PEN
PEN International
Project on Middle East Democracy
Reporters Without Borders
Signing as an individual:
Dr. David Andrew Weinberg
Senior Fellow
Foundation for Defense of Democracies[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”12″ style=”load-more” items_per_page=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1496910031018-0b3e663a-8fff-7″ taxonomies=”716″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
07 Jun 17 | Bahrain, Bahrain Statements, Campaigns, Campaigns -- Featured
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Rebecca Hickman is a research intern at the Bahrain Center for Human Rights.
I am a citizen of the United Kingdom, and until recently, with the exception of fleeting mentions in school geography classes, I had never heard of Bahrain. When discussing the Arab Spring during university classes professors spoke, for the most part, of Tunisia and Egypt, the fight of the Bahraini people was silenced, rushed over and mentioned as a brief afterthought — if at all.
Now, I talk about Bahrain on a daily basis, I read and write about the cases of people imprisoned for expressing anti-government opinions, tortured for fighting for human rights, and forcibly disappeared for daring to expose government brutality. I help to tell the story of the Bahraini people, to raise the voices of those imprisoned, their families, and the Bahraini people.
My government is a friend of Bahrain, representatives of my country frequently visit the Gulf state, most recently my Queen was pictured laughing with the Bahraini King at the Windsor Horse Show. A year ago I would not have had a second thought about this picture, I would have skipped over it in the newspaper, and scrolled past it on my social media. This time, I was disappointed, disappointed in my country for failing to address the human rights abuses in Bahrain. That is not my country, not the one that I belong to, nor the one my friends and family call home.
The pro-democracy movement has been met with brutal and violent repression by the Bahraini government. The people of Bahrain have continued to take to the street to protest against the government; campaigning for human rights and democracy. The government brutally repress dissent. Peaceful protesters have been killed, activists have been tortured, and opposition leaders have been arrested and detained. Yet the Bahraini people continue to fight, they continue to protest, they continue to support activists who are detained, and they continue to expose allegations of torture, and instances of impunity.
There are around four thousand people in prison for their involvement in the pro-democracy movement. On 15 January 2017 three of these individuals, alleged torture victims, were executed. Two more men are at risk of imminent execution.
The Bahraini government want to silence the voices of the Bahraini people, yet they continue to fight for freedom, they continue to press for reform in the face of severe government repression, and it is integral that the international community come together to support them in this fight. It is our responsibility to ensure that prisoners voices are heard, to ensure that the world is unable to ignore what is happening in Bahrain, and to remind the Al-Khalifa regime that their actions are not going unnoticed.
Prisoners ask their friends and family to tell the world about what is happening to them. #WeHearYou is a campaign to raise the voices of those being silenced by the regime. After being arrested prisoners are blindfolded. The blindfold often stays on for days, weeks or months. By depriving detainees of their sight the Bahraini security forces are ensuring individuals cannot recognise their torturers, or see the confessions placed in front of them to sign.
We are asking people to wear a blindfold to show solidarity with prisoners of conscience who continue to sacrifice their freedoms for ideals we sometimes take for granted. We need to continue using our voices to raise that of those imprisoned.
I am lucky, I have human rights. I can criticise my government, I can take to the streets and protest without fear of being shot by birdshot pellets, I am at no risk of being woken in the night by security forces breaking down my door, and I do not have to worry that my actions, my fight for human rights and democracy, will result in retaliation being levied against members of my family.
We need to continue working for democracy and human rights in Bahrain and let the Bahraini people know that #WeHearYou.
Rebecca Hickman tweets @beccifelicia.
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Take Action
In Bahrain, you are not allowed to call for freedom or democracy. If you do you will be punished by the monarchy who has been ruling the country for the last 230 years: The Al-Khalifa. The regime has killed and injured peaceful protesters, arrested thousands of people, tortured activists, and denied journalists entry to the country to silence any voice for freedom. When prodemocracy protesters, activists, bloggers and journalists get arrested, they get blindfolded. The blindfold stays on for days, weeks and sometimes months, so they cannot identify their torturers and interrogators, they would then be forced to sign confessions with blindfolds on and those confessions would be used against them in court where they are sentenced to years in prison.
Today around four thousand people are in prison in Bahrain for being involved in the pro-democracy movement. Three have been executed. The purpose is to silence them. ”Please tell the world” is what many political prisoners ask their friends and family to do after describing the conditions inside Bahrain’s infamous prisons.
Let prisoners know we hear them. Let dictators in Bahrain know that people around the world care about freedom and human rights. Wear a blindfold to show your solidarity with prisoners of conscience. Use your voice to give voice to those behind bars by saying: #WeHearYou
Join the campaign:
1) Take a photo with a blindfold on
2) Share it on social media using hashtags #WeHearYou and #Bahrain
3) Follow us to know more and to help us spread the word
Twitter: @TogetherforBH Instagram: @TogetherforBahrain Facebook: @TogetherforBH
To be more involved contact us on [email protected][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”12″ style=”load-more” items_per_page=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1496837400908-4bd2c57b-b33a-3″ taxonomies=”716″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
02 Jun 17 | Bahrain, Bahrain News, Middle East and North Africa, News and features
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Nabeel Rajab with his son, Adam Rajab
On Tuesday 30 May, one of two trials against the Bahraini human rights activist Nabeel Rajab, who has been imprisoned for almost a year, was postponed for the eighth time. The case against him for “spreading false news” is now due to be heard on 12 June.
The other trial against him, which has been postponed 13 times, is related to his anti-war messages and for exposing torture in Bahraini prisons. This case is due to be heard on 14 June.
Rajab’s son, Adam Rajab, told Index on Censorship: “My father is sacrificing himself to see a country which respects human rights, and he is happy to do that. I’m not exaggerating when I say he is unbreakable.”
During his time in prison, Nabeel Rajab has undergone two operations, suffered two bouts of heart palpitations that required emergency medical care and has developed a range of other medical conditions, including low white blood cell count.
On 8 April, the activist’s family expressed concern that an open wound from surgery is at risk of infection due to the unhygienic conditions of his cell at East Riffa Police Station.
It has not been clear what kind of treatment Nabeel Rajab is receiving in jail, but Adam Rajab explained that although the police clinic gives “good” treatment, “after the surgery in the military hospital he went through inhumane degrading treatment and he was transferred back to solitary confinement”.
Even the doctors were shocked when Nabeel Rajab was transferred to the Public Security Forces Clinic in Qalaa because under normal circumstances he would have been kept in hospital for a longer period, Adam Rajab explains. “My father is healing from painful surgery, but his health is deteriorating largely due to the conditions he is being kept in.”
He says that the real reason his father is being kept behind bars “is that they can’t risk having him out during this critical time in Bahrain, where severe human rights violations are being committed on a daily basis. Unfortunately, the mighty state fears the voice of one man, and can’t stand having him out”.
According to the Middle East Eye, Bahrain experienced its “bloodiest day” since protests began in 2011 just last week on 23 May. The Bahrain court sentenced Sheikh Issa Qassim to a year in prison for “collecting funds illegally”. As Bahrain’s strongest Shia figure, Qassim’s work includes religious charitable donations, which is common practice in Bahrain.
The day after Qassim’s sentence, violence continued with hundreds injured and 250 in detention, while the internet was cut off.
Despite the deteriorating situation in his country and his current imprisonment, Adam Rajab says his father’s spirits are always high and filled with hope. He says Nabeel Rajab is well aware of the immense support he is receiving around the world and it means a lot to know he’s not alone in his struggle.
If Nabeel Rajab is convicted on both charges he faces 18 years in prison. But he has told his son: “I have nothing to lose and I will not back down whatsoever happens.”
On 22 May 2017, US President Donald Trump visited Bahrain during his first international tour. According to the Middle East Eye, the violent aftermath in Bahrain following President Trump’s visit indicated his “repression of democracy in the Gulf”.
In a letter published in the New York Times in the run-up to Trump’s visit, Nabeel Rajab urgently expressed the need for help, saying US citizens “must all call for an end to the Trump administration’s unconditional support for my country’s misdeeds at home and abroad”.
Adam Rajab reiterated this urgent need for international support: “I believe that without international pressure we will not see him walk out of prison anytime soon.” [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1496397492023-35ccbbad-5554-4″ taxonomies=”716″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
30 May 17 | Bahrain, Bahrain News, News and features
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Today the trial of Bahraini human rights activist Nabeel Rajab has been pushed back yet again, this time until 12 June 2017. His next trial date will take place just one day shy of a year since he was detained.
The fifty-four-year-old Rajab is currently detained in Kalaa Hospital following surgical complications from a procedure on 5 April. He has spent most of the past year in solitary confinement, resulting in a deterioration of his health.
Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, director of advocacy Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, said: “Today’s mock trial, in which Nabeel is punished for speaking the truth, shows how desperate Bahrain’s rulers are to silence and punish those who dare to expose the truth. The authorities have treated him in a degrading way for the past year and for what. This would not happen without the green-light from its allies Washington and London. This disastrous policy must be overturned.”
Rajab was jailed on 13 June 2016 for exposing human rights abuses in Bahrain, insulting Saudi Arabia and spreading “rumours and false news”. In September 2016, he published a letter in the New York Times highlighting the fact that journalists and NGO’s cannot enter Bahrain. After his letter was published, he was accused of “false news and statements and malicious rumours that undermine the prestige of the kingdom”.
Rajab’s trial on 12 June will address the accusation of spreading false news that journalists and NGO’s are being barred from the country. Another trial, which has been postponed 13 times, is scheduled for 14 June. It will address charges on his criticism of Bahrain’s capitol’s role in the military campaign against Yemen. If convicted Rajab could face 18 years in prison.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1496328210946-80160fea-3861-4″ taxonomies=”3368″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
