Urgent appeal: Abdulhadi Alkhawaja may be on his deathbed (97 day on hunger strike)
13 May 2012
The wife of AlKhawaja said his condition appears better, but he is still only taking water and juice in his protest against government crackdowns in Bahrain.
Khadija al-Musawi says she visited her husband, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, for about two hours Sunday.
AFP: Bahrain activist says charge over tweets 'vindictive'
16 May 2012
DUBAI — Prominent Bahraini rights activist Nabeel Rajab told a court on Wednesday that a charge that he tweeted insults against the government was "vindictive," as dozens of lawyers turned up to defend him.
"The charge against me is vindictive and is due to my rights activism," Rajab told a judge at Manama's Minor Criminal Court, insisting the decision to arrest and try him was political, according to witnesses.
Amnesty Int'l Urgent Action: Verdict approaching in Bahrain medics' case
Further information on UA: 296/11 Index: MDE 11/031/2012 Bahrain Date: 15 May 2012
The verdict on the case of 20 health professionals on trial in Bahrain is scheduled to be announced on 14 June. If convicted and imprisoned, all 20 would be prisoners of conscience.
On 10 May, the defence lawyers presented their final arguments in the case of the 20 health professionals appealing to the High Criminal Court of Appeal against their convictions of offences including "illegal possession of firearms for a terrorist purpose",
FIDH’s International Board Demands the Immediate Release of its Deputy Secretary General Nabeel Rajab
13 May 2012
The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) on the occasion of its international board meeting in Paris on May 13th 2012, strongly denounces the ongoing detention of its Deputy Secretary General Nabeel Rajab.
Nabeel Rajab, the President of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, has been detained since he was arrested upon arrival at Manama airport from Lebanon on May 5th. He was then charged with “insulting the statutory bodies”. The charges are pressed against him in relation to tweets he posted deemed “insulting” to the Ministry of Interior.
RSF: Authorities arrest leading human right activist
7 May 2012
Reporters Without Borders calls for the immediate release of Nabeel Rajab, the head of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights and Director of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights, and the withdrawal of all the charges against him. Rajab was arrested on his return from a visit to Lebanon on 5 May and was placed in custody for an initial period of a week when he appeared in court yesterday.
Amnesty Int'l: Bahrain: Activist arrested over 'insulting' tweets must be freed
08 May 2012
A prominent human rights activist detained for posting tweets deemed "insulting" to Bahrain's Ministy of Interior must be released, Amnesty International said.
Nabeel Rajab, the director of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, was arrested on Saturday evening and has been charged with "insulting a national institution".
Continuation of the policy of impunity and the participation of security forces in the assaults on private property and funds
The General Prosecution cover up the offenders and the Ministry of Interior supports the militias in their violence against citizens on a sectarian basis in attempts to spread terror and threaten the civil peace
7 May 2012
Bahrain Center for Human Rights continues to monitor the outcome of the policy of impunity adopted by the Bahraini regime in dealing with the violators of the international law and human rights conventions, and those involved in gross violations of human rights. Since 13 March 2011, the authority allowed masses of civil militias to attack the areas and villages that are classified within the opposition in order to spread terror, chaos and cause sectarian problems. In this case, Bahrain Center published a report last September about vandalism, and systematic armed theft committed by the Bahraini security forces and the army against pro-democracy demonstrators, which is worth up to hundreds of thousands of Bahraini dinars. A year after, and despite the recommendations of the fact finding committee, and besides what is claimed by the authorities of hiring experts to train the police and improve their behavior; the same manner is still adopted by the regime and its security institutions and the attacks on private property and funds is still continuing.
CIHRS: Learning from the worst dictators: Human rights defenders under severe attack in Bahrain
07 May 2012
The Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) demands the immediate release of all detained Bahraini human rights defenders and the dropping of all politically motivated charges against them.
Human rights violations in the Kingdom of Bahrain have reached unprecedented levels since the crackdown against mass prodemocracy protests started in February of last year.
Bahrain Authorities Continue to Detain, Target and Harass Human Rights Defenders
BCHR President Nabeel Rajab Arrested
Last Update: 07 May 2012
Bahraini rights activist Nabeel Rajab, a leader of protests against the authorities in the Gulf kingdom, is to be detained for one week for "insulting a statutory body," his lawyer told AFP on Sunday.
"The representative of the public prosecutor has ordered his detention for seven days for insulting a statutory body via Twitter," Mohamed al-Jishi said, referring to what activists said were tweets criticising the interior ministry.
Bahrain on "Freedom of the Press 2012"
07 May 2012
Bahrain
Status: Not Free
Legal Environment: 28
Political Environment: 35
Economic Environment: 21
Total Score: 84
In 2011, restrictions on press freedom increased significantly, as the government cracked down on members of the media covering peaceful prodemocracy protests that began in February.
Several journalists and bloggers were harassed, assaulted, imprisoned, and allegedly tortured as a result of their work. In addition, the government stepped up the filtering and blocking of websites that published criticism of the regime and news about the protests.
