13 Jun 17 | Bahrain, Bahrain Letters, Campaigns, Campaigns -- Featured, Statements
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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
We, the undersigned, are writing to express our deep concern over the continued detention of prominent Bahraini human rights defender Nabeel Rajab, and urge you to call for his immediate release and all charges against him to be dropped.
One year ago, Rajab was arrested and remains detained despite a court order to release him on 28 December 2016. He faces three separate legal cases, the trials for two of which have been postponed a total of 22 times. In all cases, Rajab is being prosecuted for exercising his right to freedom of expression and he faces up to 18 years behind bars.
The 2012 Freedom of Expression Campaigning Award-winning Rajab is the President of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, Founding Director of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights, Deputy Secretary General of FIDH and a member of the Human Rights Watch’s Middle East Division advisory committee. Rajab has raised awareness of the practice of torture in Bahraini prisons and protested the inability of foreign NGOs, such as Human Rights First and Reporters Without Borders, to access Bahrain. Exercising freedom of speech has earned Rajab several charges. In one case, in which he faces up to 15 years in prison, Rajab is charged in relation to his social media posts with “insulting a statutory body”, “spreading rumours in war time” and “insulting a neighbouring country.” In a second case, Rajab faces up to three years in prison on charges of “spreading false news”, in relation to interviews given to the media. In September 2016, he was charged again with “spreading false news” after the New York Times published a letter attributed to him from jail.
Rajab has spent at least six of the past twelve months in solitary confinement. The UN Committee Against Torture in May 2017 named Rajab’s case as one of concern and called for his release, alongside all human rights defenders and journalists detained and imprisoned for their work.
We are particularly concerned about Rajab’s health, which continues to deteriorate due to poor conditions and mistreatment in detention. On Wednesday, 5 April 2017, Rajab underwent major surgery at a military hospital to remove some ulcerated tissue from his lower back. Against medical recommendations, he was returned to his cell at East Riffa Police Station two days later, before being rushed to the police clinic for emergency treatment. On 7 June, he underwent minor surgery on the back again. Rajab’s health is also preventing him from attending his court hearings and the judge has persistently refused all requests submitted by his lawyers to release him on bail, despite the length of his detention period in solitary confinement and clear evidence about the deteriorating condition of his health.
We request your support in ending the inhumane detainment of Nabeel Rajab and calling for his immediate release. Only through urgent international advocacy is his release feasible.
As Rajab’s son, Adam notes: “I believe that without international pressure we will not see him walk out of prison anytime soon.”
Please hold the Bahraini justice system accountable and call for the immediate release of human rights defender Nabeel Rajab.
Sincerely,
Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain
ARTICLE 19
Bahrain Centre for Human Rights
Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy
English PEN
European Centre for Democracy and Human Rights
FIDH, within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
Gulf Centre for Human Rights
IFEX
Index on Censorship
Reporters Without Borders
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights
Read this statement in Arabic[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”91338″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center”][/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:1497944455833-e03d2b20-4041-9″ taxonomies=”3368, 716″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”stretch_row_content_no_spaces” content_placement=”middle”][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”91122″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” onclick=”custom_link” link=”https://www.indexoncensorship.org/2017/05/stand-up-for-satire/”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
09 Jun 17 | Bahrain, Bahrain News, Middle East and North Africa, News and features
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Next week the Bahraini human rights activist and Index on Censorship award winner Nabeel Rajab will have spent one year in prison on charges for which he has yet to be sentenced. Almost six months of his imprisonment, which began on 13 June 2016, has been spent in solitary confinement.
Rajab faces four separate legal charges, the trials for two of which – related to tweets criticising the war in Yemen and torture in Jau Prison, and “spreading false information and malicious rumours” over television interviews he gave in 2015 – have been postponed collectively over 20 times.
“We are particularly concerned about Rajab’s health, which continues to deteriorate due to the poor conditions and mistreatment he receives in prison,” said Melody Patry, head of advocacy at Index on Censorship. On 5 April 2017, Rajab underwent major surgery at a military hospital to remove ulcerated tissue from his lower back. He was returned to his cell at East Riffa Police Station two days later against medical recommendations.
“Rajab’s multiple hospitalisations are also preventing him from attending his court hearings and the judge has persistently refused all requests submitted by his lawyers to release him on bail, despite the length of his detention period in solitary confinement and despite the clear evidence about his fast deteriorating health,” Patry added.
Rajab faces two separate trials next week.
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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]
