Published on Bahrain Youth Society For Human Rights (http://www.byshr.org)

Urgent Letter

Security Forces and Random Suppression target Activists and Patriotic Figures

Manama, 28 June 2007

Ladies and gentlemen, members of international NGOs, authorities, and Media

Best regards from Bahrain.

Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) addresses this urgent letter to you about targeting and randomly suppressing a protest rally against Bahraini Prime Minister.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We would like to inform you that a group of activists and patriotic figures are planning to launch a rally against Bahraini Prime Minister, Sheikh Khalifa Ben Salman Al Khalifa in protest on granting him UN Human Development and Housing Award. The rally will start at Manama district and moves, then, to the UN building on June 30, 2007.

Call for multi-language campaign for Bahrain amnesty plan to succeed
http://archive.gulfnews.com/region/Bahrain/10135477.html

06/28/2007 11:34 PM | By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief

Manama: A Bahraini rights watchdog has warned that a government amnesty plan to be launched in August to help migrants working illegally in the country, would not succeed without a proper multi-language awareness campaign and strict action against abusive employers.

"We welcome the news of a six-month workers' amnesty ... in August. However, for this move to be more than a cosmetic measure, the Labour Ministry and other parties must make every possible effort to ensure that workers are given clear information about how the amnesty will work," the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights yesterday told Gulf News.

Bahrain: National Security threatens an activist and NGO member

The officer said that a rally will be shot by live bullets

Manama, June 27, 2007

Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) is highly concerned by the situation of activist, Naji Ali Fateel, 33, from Bani Jamra. Security forces summoned him and threatened him in an attempt to stop his civil and voluntary activities. Naji is an activist at The Unemployed and Low-Paid Committee (ULPC) and a supporter of BYSHR. It is noteworthy that Naji has previously suffered physical and verbal attacks by security forces during his participation in a peaceful event of ULPC. He was interrogated twice in one year.

Towards Equity and Reconciliation in Bahrain
National conference of civil society groups
Bahrain, 26th June 2007

Dear organizers,
Dear participants,
Dear friends,

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) wishes to convey the strong support of its President, Souhayr Belhassen and its Secretary General, Driss El Yazami who unfortunately could not be here on this occasion, to the initiative which brings you together today and which has been initiated by among others, both FIDH member organisations in Bahrain, the Bahrain Human Rights Society (BHRS) and the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR).

Bahrain’s income tax, first in Gulf, sparks opposition
(DPA)

26 June 2007

MANAMA, Bahrain - Bahrain has become the first Gulf state to implement an annual income tax, and has done so over the objections of trade unions, religious figures and some political groups.

Some 100,000 workers, including more than 65,000 in the private sector and 35,000 in the public sector, had the 1 per cent tax deducted from their paychecks on Monday. Citizens and non-citizens alike must pay the tax to fund a new unemployment scheme.

The government, which already collects indirect taxes in the form of fees on imports and for services it provides, says the new scheme will put Bahrain on a par with more advanced countries in terms of social insurance for its citizens.

Bahraini NGOs, opposition launch truth and reconciliation panel
By DPA
Jun 27, 2007, 2:51 GMT

Manama, Bahrain - Eleven Bahraini rights organizations and opposition groups, including Islamist Shiites and leftist parties joined forces Tuesday to form a truth and reconciliation committee.

The committee, which will be known as the Truth and Reconciliation Committee (TRC), was officially launched by the founding members in a general meeting following two earlier meetings held in Manama this week.

Its formation comes as part of an effort by civic groups to bring closure to victims of alleged government rights violations during unrest in the 1970s, 1980s and mid-1990s.

MPs urge action to free Bay inmates
By MOHAMMED AL A'ALI
Published: 26th June 2007

MPs are demanding answers from the Foreign Ministry on what it is doing to secure the release of two Bahrainis still being held at Guantanamo Bay.

They accused officials of keeping them in the dark on the status of negotiations between Bahrain and the US.

Parliament's foreign affairs, defence and national security committee yesterday threatened to use its powers to force ministry officials into attending a meeting on the subject.

MPs want to know what is being done to secure the release of detainees Juma Al Dossary and Isa Al Murbati, who have been held at Guantanamo Bay without charge or trial for over five years.

24 June 2007
Foreign workers without legitimate papers and those employing them were urged to regularise their status starting August.

Foreigners as well as employers who breached Law No. 19 for 2006 and other related laws were told by the Ministry of LabourMinistry of Labour yesterday to "readjust their conditions". They can contact the General Directorate for Nationality, Passports and Residence.

The Minister of Labour, Dr Majeed bin Mohsen Al Alawi, who is also the Chairman of the Labour Market Regulatory Authority, said the ministry, in coordination with the Ministry of Interior and authorities concerned, will give a grace period for employers and workers who breached rules on work permits, visas and residency.

Bahraini groups press reconciliation amid official resistance
By DPA
Jun 23, 2007, 19:55 GMT

Manama, Bahrain - Human rights and opposition political groups in Bahrain Saturday mapped out a blueprint for a national reconciliation committee to uncover the truth behind years of state repression, prompting criticism from the current government.

The committee, which is expected to be announced following a rights conference Tuesday, is part of an effort by civic groups to bring closure to the cases of alleged victims of government rights violations during unrest in the 1970s, 1980s and mid 1990s.

Documentary produced by opposition political societies about the illegal naturalization of tens of thousands of Saudi citizens belonging to the Dawasir tribe resident in the Saudi city of Dammam. Consists of interviews from June 2002 with several Saudi recipients of Bahraini passports, detailing how they received Bahraini nationality, how many people received them, and their participation in Bahraini elections.

A transcript of the film can be found here.

Mother loses custody battle
By REBECCA TORR
Published: 22 June 2007

A SHARIA court ruling has left a young divorcee without her children and their shared home, following a year-long court battle for custody and alimony.

The Emirati-born woman, who has Bahraini citizenship, has lost custody of her three young children and rights to the apartment they currently share as a result of the ruling.

The now-dissolved Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) and Women's Petition Committee have announced their intention to support her in challenging the ruling.

The 29-year-old, who is the former wife of a Bahraini Interior Ministry employee, claims she has been the victim of a harassment campaign ever since she spoke on Al Hurra television about her experience in the Sharia courts.

Rights panel to help curb violations
Published: 22 June 2007

A RECONCILLIATION committee could soon be set up in Bahrain to deal with cases of torture, arbitrary detention and people living in exile, it was revealed yesterday.

Bahrain Human Rights Society (BHRS) assistant general-secretary Dr Abdulla Aldeerazi said the move had been made possible after His Majesty King Hamad raised no objection to the proposal during a meeting with rights activists on Wednesday.

The King told the BHRS officials and members of Bahrain Human Rights Watch that Bahrain would not tolerate any injustices or violations of Bahrainis' or expatriates' rights. He also said the government was keen to help vulnerable people and those who need social care.

Middle East News
Bahraini rights activists to launch reconciliation committee
By DPA
Jun 21, 2007, 10:19 GMT

Manama, Bahrain - Bahraini human rights and opposition political activists are planning to launch a national reconciliation committee as early as next week, two Bahraini human rights groups said on Thursday.

A Saturday workshop and consultative meeting of 11 human rights and political societies in Manama is to prepare the blueprint for the new non-governmental committee, while the formation of the committee is expected to be announced after a conference Tuesday, Bahrain Human Rights Society (BHRS) Deputy Secretary General Abdullah al-Durazi told Deutsche Presse-Agentur, dpa.

Middle East News
Bahraini rights activists to launch reconciliation committee
By DPA
Jun 21, 2007, 10:19 GMT

Manama, Bahrain - Bahraini human rights and opposition political activists are planning to launch a national reconciliation committee as early as next week, two Bahraini human rights groups said on Thursday.

A Saturday workshop and consultative meeting of 11 human rights and political societies in Manama is to prepare the blueprint for the new non-governmental committee, while the formation of the committee is expected to be announced after a conference Tuesday, Bahrain Human Rights Society (BHRS) Deputy Secretary General Abdullah al-Durazi told Deutsche Presse-Agentur, dpa.

مركز الحقوق سيعرض فشل البحرين في تنمية الأسر المنتجة في الأمم المتحدة ووسائل الإعلام
قضية "مؤسسة بحرين بازار الاجتماعية التنموية"
السلطة تغلق مشروعا نموذجيا لثلاثين أسرة منتجة بعد أن استفادت منه إعلاميا في الخارج

Sunday June 17, 07:20 PM
By Mohammed Abbas

MANAMA (Reuters) - A patch of congealed blood still stains the road where Ashokan Vammoora hit the tarmac, the second Indian worker in three months to jump from a bridge spanning one of Bahrain's busiest highways.

Hamza Kannu, an Indian salesman who also jumped from the bridge, crashed through the front windscreen of a passing car.

A growing number of migrants who have left their homes and families behind to make a living as low-wage workers in the tiny Gulf kingdom in Bahrain have been taking their own lives, apparently unable to cope with financial difficulties.

By GEOFFREY BEW
Published: 15th June 2007

A US report blacklisting Bahrain for failing to tackle human trafficking was dismissed as baseless by the Interior Ministry yesterday.

It is the second day in a row that Bahraini authorities have hit back at the report, by the US State Department.

No foreign embassy has ever complained to Bahrain about human trafficking, the Interior Ministry said in a statement released to the GDN.

It questioned the legitimacy of the report, released earlier this week, which ranked the country in a blacklist of nations accused of not doing enough to prevent human trafficking.

http://archive.gulfnews.com/region/Qatar/10132394.html

06/15/2007 12:24 AM | By Barbara Bibbo', Correspondent

Doha: Nguyen Van Dung, a 23-year-old Vietnamese national, has been stranded in Doha for eight months without money, food and documents after the Qatari company he was working for shut down and its management disappeared.

Since November 2006, Dung and another 65 Vietnamese and Nepalese nationals without personal documents can neither be repatriated nor find other jobs and sponsors because the Qatari law considers them illegal immigrants.

"I want to go back to Vietnam, but I have no passport and no money," Dung told Gulf News.

http://archive.gulfnews.com/region/Bahrain/10132470.html

06/15/2007 12:20 AM | By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief

Manama: Bahrain, ranked by the United States among countries that are destinations for trafficking victims exposed to sexual exploitation and forced labour, on Wednesday dismissed the listing which carries the threat of financial sanctions as unjustified.

"The issue of trafficking in people is not limited in its geography. It encompasses several countries and requires concerted efforts from all segments of society and time to achieve results," the foreign ministry said in a statement to the press.

US lumps Middle East allies, Malaysia on trafficking blacklist by P. Parameswaran
Wed Jun 13, 3:07 AM ET

US Middle East allies Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar, as well as key trading partner Malaysia were added Tuesday to a Washington blacklist of countries trafficking in people.

Algeria and Guinea were the other additions to the blacklist of the US State Department's annual "Trafficking in Persons Report," which analyzed efforts in about 164 countries to combat trafficking for forced labor, prostitution, military service and other purposes.

The seven countries, all of whom were on a special watch list last year, join Myanmar, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Uzbekistan and Venezuela in the dreaded "Tier 3" list as the worst offenders of human trafficking.

Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000: Trafficking in Persons Report 2007
U.S. Department of State

BAHRAIN (Tier 3)
Bahrain is a destination country for men and women trafficked for the purposes of involuntary servitude and commercial sexual exploitation. Men and women from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Ethiopia, and Eritrea migrate voluntarily to Bahrain to work as laborers or domestic servants, but some are subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude when forced to pay off large recruitment and transportation fees, and faced with the withholding of passports and other restrictions on their movement, non-payment of wages, threats, and physical or sexual abuse. Women from Thailand, Morocco, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia are trafficked to Bahrain for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation or forced labor. The Thai government reported repatriating 256 Thai women who had been deceived or forced into prostitution in Bahrain.

Manama, 10 June - Heavy clashes broke out as the Bahrain police targeted some 500 demonstrators protesting against the seizure of their village's seashore lands by a cousin of the king, who claims the real estate as his private property. The residents of the village al-Malkiyah, west of Manama, many of whom are fishermen, have been protesting for over a year now against the construction of a 500 meter long wall on the orders of Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed Salman al-Khalifa, the king's cousin.

The wall is preventing them from reaching the seashore, depriving them of their livelihood. The fact that the al-Malkiyah village is Shiite, while the royal family as well as its political supporters are Sunnis, adds a grim note to the ongoing tension in Bahrain.

By REBECCA TORR
Published: 13th June 2007

RIGHTS of migrant workers in Asia and Arab regions were discussed at the first of its kind inter-regional conference held in Qatar.

Participants from Bahrain and other countries in the region called upon all governments to safeguard and strengthen human rights and basic liberties, including those of migrant workers, civil societies and other stakeholders.

They recommended all countries to publish national action plans and policies to protect the labour rights of all workers, including migrant workers without discrimination.

Capacity building activities and training for government, police, parliamentarians, civil society and other stakeholders were also among the list of recommendations.

By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Writer
47 minutes ago

The Bush administration on Tuesday added seven nations, including several key U.S. allies in the Middle East, to its human trafficking blacklist for failing to halt what it called the scourge of "modern-day slavery."

Countries on the list are subject to possible sanctions for not doing enough to stop the yearly flow of some 800,000 people, 80 percent of them female and more than half of them children, across international borders for the sex trade and other forms of forced and indentured labor.

Among U.S. friends getting a failing grade were Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar, which along with Algeria, Equatorial Guinea and Malaysia joined for the first time perennial offenders like Myanmar (Burma), Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Syria in the State Department's annual "Trafficking in Persons Report."

Publish Date: Tuesday,12 June, 2007, at 01:23 AM Doha Time

Kanwal Tariq Hameed (second from right) addresses the meeting
Staff Reporter
THE ‘kafala’ (sponsorship) system not only violates human rights for those living under it, but by creating inhumane conditions, it contributes to the issue which the governments of the GCC region claim to be working against, said a human rights activist, Kanwal Tariq Hameed.
Speaking at the concluding session of a two-day Conference on International Migration held in Doha, Hameed, who has researched issues of female migrant domestic workers in Bahrain for many years, said that labour laws in most GCC countries, where Kafala system is in force, do not cover domestic workers.

Activist wants rights of maids secured
Web posted at: 6/12/2007 2:17:13
Source ::: The Peninsula
DOHA • The issue of domestic workers, especially housemaids in the GCC countries came up for a lively discussion at the regional conference on migrant workers which concluded at the Millennium hotel yesterday.

Two papers presented at the meeting by two women human rights activists were devoted to housemaids in the GCC countries and the impact of the sponsorship system on their lives.

In her paper titled "female domestic workers under the Kafala (sponsorship) system" Kanwal Tariq Hameed, a Bahrain-based journalist and human rights worker said, many elements of the slavery system which was officially abolished 200 years ago, can be found in the situation which female domestic workers live under the Kafala system.

Alert

Upper house passes press law amendments to decriminalise press offences; RSF urges lower house to approve changes

Country/Topic: Bahrain
Date: 04 June 2007
Source: Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
Person(s):
Target(s):
Type(s) of violation(s):
Urgency: Bulletin
(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has welcomed amendments to the press and publications law that were approved on 28 May 2007 by the Majlis al-Shura (Consultative Council), the upper house of the Bahraini parliament. If the lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, approves the amendments, press offences will no longer be punishable by imprisonment.

Bahrain: Ahmed Khamis, a victim of Security violence

Fractions prevented him from movement for life

Bahrain, 12 June 2007

Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) is highly concerned by the sufferings of the Bahraini citizen, Ahmed Khamis Abdullah, 23, from Al-Malkia village. Khamis was injured during Fighting Riots Forces (FRF) raid aided by security men in civil clothes. The purpose of the break-into process was to separate participants in a peaceful strike – permitted by Ministry of Interior – near Al-Malkia coast. The participants were dispersed at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday 9 June 2007.

Unemployed Bahrainis demand removal of labour minister
By DPA
Jun 6, 2007, 10:59 GMT

Manama, Bahrain - Unemployed Bahrainis demanded the removal of the labour minister during a protest over the apparent failure of the country's employment project staged in front of the ministry offices in Isa Town, south of Manama, on Wednesday.

The call for Labour Minister Majid Bin Muhsin al-Alawi's dismissal came after he claimed unemployment had dropped drastically and what the Committee for Unemployment and Low-Wage (CULW) called the failure of the country's National Employment Project (NEP).

112,000 earn below BD99
By Geoffrey Bew
Published: 6th June 2007

MORE than 112,000 expats and Bahrainis working in the private sector earn less than BD99 a month, according to an unofficial report released yesterday.

Another 50,465 are paid less than BD50, according to research by the now-dissolved Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR).

It states that in contrast, a privileged few take home as much as BD50,000 a month.

The report states there are also low wages, disparity in salaries and inequality in the public sector pay-rise system, where senior and middle-ranking workers allegedly receive average rises of BD236 a month, while lower level employees get just BD21.

'Free Bay Bahrainis now' call
By EUNICE del ROSARIO
Published: 6th June 2007

RULINGS by two US courts that they did not have jurisdiction to prosecute Guantanamo Bay detainees have prompted calls for the release of two Bahrainis currently being held at the controversial prison camp in Cuba.

Cases against the only two detainees charged with crimes collapsed on Monday.

Military trials of the terror suspects were thrown into chaos when two courts agreed to drop charges against Canadian Omar Khadr, 20, and Yemeni Salim Ahmed Hamdan, 37.

A judge ruled that he did not have jurisdiction to try Khadr, who has been held at the US naval base since he was 15, prompting a second judge to echo the ruling in the trial of Hamdan, who allegedly chauffeured Osama bin Laden.

BAHRAIN: Upper house passes press law amendments to decriminalize press offences; RSF urges lower house to approve changes

ALERT - BAHRAIN

4 June 2007

Upper house passes press law amendments to decriminalise press offences; RSF urges lower house to approve changes

SOURCE: Reporters sans frontières (RSF), Paris

(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders has welcomed amendments to the press and publications law that were approved on 28 May 2007 by the Majlis al-Shura (Consultative Council), the upper house of the Bahraini parliament. If the lower house, the Chamber of Deputies, approves the amendments, press offences will no longer be punishable by imprisonment.

http://archive.gulfnews.com/region/Bahrain/10129758.html

06/03/2007 11:22 PM | By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief

Manama: The lawyer of the two Bahrainis held at Guantanamo yesterday said that suicides should be expected given the conditions at the world's most famous prison where detainees are isolated in their cells for up to 22 hours a day.

"When people are held indefinitely and in isolation thousands of miles from home, hopelessness and despair are inevitable. Where there is such hopelessness and despair, it is inevitable that some people will choose death over life," Joshua Colangelo-Bryan said.

A Background of the ongoing "Bandargate Scandal":

Published and translated by:
The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights
October 2006

The first poem is written by Shaikh Ahmed Bin Mohamed Al-Khalifa (a prominent poet and member of the ruling family), while the second poem is a response written by Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa, who is now Minister of the Royal Court.

Middle East News
Demonstrators clash with police in Bahrain
By DPA
Jun 1, 2007, 18:51 GMT

Manama, Bahrain - A picket against increasing poverty in Bahrain turned violent Friday when demonstrators and police clashed in the Shiite village of Sanabis, near Manama.

The protest was organized by the Islamic Action Society (IAS), which adheres to Shia followers of the Najaf-based Ayatollah, Hadi al-Mudarrisi, known as the Shirazi faction.

IAS president Shaikh Muhammad al-Mahfud criticized the government for failing to adopt sound economic policies during the past three decades which had led to a lack of development compared to neighbouring countries.

By Geoffrey bew
Published: 3rd June 2007

THE village of Malkiya was inaccessible to traffic last night after youngsters clashed with police for more than two hours.

Loud explosions could be heard echoing through the streets as protesters lit fires and threw Molotov cocktails and stones at the security forces.

Police used tear gas and fired rubber bullets in an attempt to disperse the crowd.

The trouble flared at around 4pm and continued until after 6pm.

Protesters told the GDN they were angry after a patch of the sea had been fenced off without notice.

They said this was preventing villagers from fishing, which is their main source of income. l Northern Police director-general said in a statement last night that two vehicles were damaged in the clashes.

'Help us' plea by custody row mothers
By REBECCA TORR
Published: 3rd June 2007

TWO Bahraini mothers claim they and their children are suffering at the hands of Sharia judges because there is no family law to protect them.

One of them claims she risks losing custody of her six-year-old daughter to a husband under whose care their child was allegedly sexually abused at the age of four.

Another claims she is being followed, harassed and threatened while she battles for custody of her children.

"All women are suffering, we don't have rights," the former, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the GDN yesterday.

May 31, 2007

His Majesty Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa
Office of His Majesty the King
Rifa’a Palace
Kingdom of Bahrain

By fax: +973 1 766 4587

Your Highness:

We write to you with regard to the detention and alleged severe beating of Mr. Ali Sa`id al-Khabaz and Mr. Hassan Yusif Hamid and other abuses allegedly committed by Anti-Riot Police or other security forces on Monday, May 21, in Sanabis.

On Friday, May 25, we wrote privately to Shaikh Rashid, the Minister of Interior, requesting information about the case of Mr. al-Khabaz. For more than a week following his detention, his family had been unable to contact him or even to learn his whereabouts. We have received no response or information from the ministry or any other office of the government.

Bahrain: Jailed Protestors Show Signs of Severe Abuse
Credible Investigation of Police Torture Allegations Needed

(New York, June 1, 2007) – Bahrain’s government should immediately investigate allegations of police torture in connection with the detention of two men following a protest demonstration on May 21, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to the king of Bahrain.

Human Rights Watch called on the government to immediately release both men if they have not been charged with a criminal offense.

In dispersing a demonstration protesting a police action the night before, Bahrain riot police on May 21 detained `Ali Sa`id al-Khabaz, 22, and Hassan Yusif Hamid, 46. Al-Khabaz’s family was unable to learn his whereabouts for more than a week, but a photo of him in detention shows swelling, bruising and other signs of trauma to his face and head. When Bahraini human rights activists attempted to visit al-Khabaz in a military hospital on May 29, they found Hamid recovering from a broken jaw and other injuries. Hamid said police had taken al-Khabaz and him to several nearby locations and beat them severely.

Bahrain Centre for Human Rights & Womens Petition Committee : Victims without protection in flawed system

A Bahraini mother risks losing custody of her child to a husband under whose care their now six-year-old daughter was reportedly sexually abused and raped at the age of four

Case 1:
Nooria Ebrahim, a computer specialist at a private company, was divorced by her husband shortly after the birth of their daughter. The couple were married in 1998, and divorced three years later. Their short marriage was allegedly plagued with financial difficulties and restrictions placed upon her by her husband. The child currently lives with her mother.

Guantanamo detainee condemns US for punitive action
http://archive.gulfnews.com/region/Bahrain/10129121.html

06/01/2007 12:29 AM | By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief

Manama: A Bahraini detained at the Guantanamo prison has condemned the US authorities for taking "horrible" punitive action against a mentally disturbed captive, accusing them of showing no mercy for his case.

Juma Al Dossari, one of two Bahrainis held at the isolated US Navy base in southeast Cuba, described to his lawyer how the anti-riot squad was behaving brutally with an Algerian detainee, Abdul Rahman, who was too deranged to understand the rules.