Bahrain Center for Human Rights
http://www.bahrainrights.org/en/feed
enOn the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination: The link between all of us is our humanity
http://www.bahrainrights.org/en/node/9260
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden prose"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><p>On March 21 of each year, the world celebrates the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1966, in the belief that it is important to bring lasting peace, which is mainly based on the right to equality and non-discrimination, regardless of race, gender, language, religion, beliefs, political difference, etc. Since racial discrimination is prohibited in all the basic international human rights instruments, states have a duty to eliminate discrimination in all its forms by taking special measures to eliminate conditions that may cause or perpetuate racial discrimination.</p></p>
<p><p>Systematic patterns of discrimination against the Shia majority in Bahrain undermine their fundamental right to freedom of expression, religion, and culture. Violations of human rights committed against the Shia majority in Bahrain have taken forms of destruction of places of worship, attempts to erase signs indicating their presence in the country, marginalization in the country&#39;s historical narratives , misinformation regarding their religious and cultural identity through the educational system and incitement to discrimination and violence against them in the media.</p></p>
<p><p>The climax of this ordeal was on February 14, 2011, in the midst of the Arab Spring, where the vast majority of Bahrainis demanded basic democratic reforms in order to restore the country to a model of living in harmony and justice, and instead of responding to the peaceful demands of democracy, the regime resorted to using force to suppress peaceful demonstrations, and demolished the Pearl Roundabout associated with the pro-democracy revolution. The government also resorted to creating sectarian alignments, which led to the fragmentation of the national fabric of the population. At least 38 Shiite mosques were destroyed throughout Bahrain, and the government has failed to fulfil its obligations to rebuild them until today.</p></p>
<p><p>The role of the official media was effective in fostering sectarian hatred instead of criminalizing incitement to hatred and sectarian intolerance, which is of course contrary to the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and is inconsistent with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which prohibits all forms of racial discrimination.</p></p>
<p><p>The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) invites the members of the Committee to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination at the United Nations, to pressure the government of Bahrain to inform it of its lack of practical compliance with the Convention.</p></p>
<p><p>The Acting Head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, Nedhal Al-Salman, said: &quot;The link between all of us is our humanity. We are all equal. We should all strive for what is good for each other&quot;.</p></p>
<p><p>The BCHR also calls on the government of Bahrain to immediately and unconditionally release all Bahraini human rights activists and political opponents who were arrested for the peaceful exercise of their rights, as well as holding those responsible for the demolition of 38 Shiite mosques in 2011 accountable.</p></p>
<p><p>We also call on the special procedures offices mandated by the Human Rights Council to send missions to Bahrain to investigate human rights situations and submit reports to the Human Rights Council with specific recommendations, especially the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, the Special Rapporteur on the rights of minorities, the Special Rapporteur on cultural rights, the Special Rapporteur on the issue of torture and other forms of treatment and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and the Special Rapporteur on the right to education.</p></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-document-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Document Type: </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/en/document-type/term/9" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">BCHR release</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-feature field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Feature: </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/en/feature/term/74" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Featured</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-issue field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Issue: </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/en/issue/term/17" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">General</a></div></div></div>Sun, 22 Mar 2020 10:33:28 +0000Ghiwa9260 at http://www.bahrainrights.orgBCHR renews its call and urges the Bahraini government to immediately release all activists
http://www.bahrainrights.org/en/node/9258
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden prose"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><p>The authorities in Bahrain began at dawn, on Wednesday 11 March 2020, for several days, to release hundreds of convicts, in the context of the implementation of a royal pardon and alternative penalties.</p></p>
<p><p>The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) welcomes the positive steps to release a group of prisoners on humanitarian grounds, and according to what we have monitored, the vast majority of those released are a mixture of foreigners and Bahrainis held on criminal charges, while only a limited number of prisoners detained on the background of political issues were released.</p></p>
<p><p>In fact, we were disappointed that not more juveniles and inmates suffering from health conditions were included in this royal pardon, and we still are concerned of excluding the head of BCHR, Nabeel Rajab, from the list of those released, as well as the founding member of BCHR, Abdul Hadi Al-Khawaja, and the activist Naji Fateel, all of whom are detained solely for the exercise of their legitimate right to freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly.</p></p>
<p><p>With the Bahraini authorities releasing some political prisoners and leaving many others behind bars amid denying them adequate health care, it is clear that the royal pardon decision issued on 13 March 2020, which issued the release of 1486 prisoners with the application of &quot;alternative penalties&quot;, was limited.</p></p>
<p><p>Many political detainees are still behind bars despite their deteriorating health conditions and amid many international and human rights demands and appeals, as the release did not include those suffering from serious and chronic diseases such as Bahraini activist and academic, Dr. Abdul Jalil Al-Singace, who suffers from post-polio syndrome, sickle cell anemia and musculoskeletal disorders; it also did not include the elderly, such as Muhammad Jawad Parweez, who is one of the eldest detainees in Bahrain.</p></p>
<p><p>Based on the targeting activists for exercising their guaranteed rights is a violation of all international conventions, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) renews its call and urges the government of Bahrain to immediately release all activists and human rights defenders and to stop targeting them and give them space to work without retaliation or persecution.</p></p>
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</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-document-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Document Type: </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/en/document-type/term/9" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">BCHR release</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-feature field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Feature: </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/en/feature/term/74" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Featured</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-issue field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Issue: </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/en/issue/term/17" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">General</a></div></div></div>Thu, 19 Mar 2020 15:12:03 +0000Ghiwa9258 at http://www.bahrainrights.orgOn the ninth anniversary of the "Pearl Roundabout" demolition: these protests sparked an awakening in the country about rights and freedoms
http://www.bahrainrights.org/en/node/9256
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden prose"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><p>Bahrain was among the Arab countries that witnessed protest movements in 2011, but despite its peaceful approach, its protests were met with violence and the government severely repressed it.</p></p>
<p><p>&nbsp;The Bahraini protests began on February 14, 2011 to demand political reform, and thousands of protesters set up tents in the Pearl Roundabout in the capital, Manama (the monument was built in the roundabout in 1981 and is a six-pillar monument representing the six Gulf Cooperation Council states, topped by a pearl symbolizing Bahrain, which is connected to the sea and extracted pearls and its trade). As the wave of protests started, protesters set up a permanent camp in the roundabout, blocking traffic in it in preparation for a prolonged sit-in.</p></p>
<p><p>But at the dawn of February 17, and specifically around three o&#39;clock in the morning, the security forces suddenly attacked, and the distress call for ambulances came, immediately after the news of hitting the roundabout, and the ambulances came out between 3:30 - 6:30 in the morning, and then disappeared.</p></p>
<p><p>The injured people took refuge in the Salmaniya Medical Complex, which is the largest public hospital in the country and is located in a very close area to the sit-in in the Pearl Roundabout. They considered the medical campus a safe place, while the medical staff was in a state of emergency. Nobody knew the size, number and injuries of those effected.</p></p>
<p><p>Cases and injuries arrived at the hospital in private civilian cars, and the crowd flocked to Salmaniya Hospital in a state of extreme agitation and anger after this attack, and two people were killed instantly, Mahmoud Makki Abu Taki (21 years old), Ali Khudair (58 years old), and a seriously-wounded, 22-year-old, Ali al-Moamin, in addition to dozens of wounded and injured.</p></p>
<p><p>After eight in the morning, a massive popular uprising occurred, large numbers gathered at the hospital, and the protesters attempted to return to the roundabout, but the Bahraini security and army forces confronted them with teargas, rubber bullets, and fissile bullets closely, to the extent that the head of Issa Abdel-Hassan (61 years old) was shot in a straight aim.</p></p>
<p><p>The sit-in of the Pearl Roundabout was forcibly resolved on March 14 with the help of the Peninsula Shield forces, a joint force from the Gulf states at the invitation of Bahrain to protect strategic interests, which was condemned by the opposition. The next day the security forces managed to break the sit-in, and that coincided with the announcement of the imposition of a three-month state of emergency. After the sit-in was overturned, and particularly<a name="_GoBack"></a> on the 18th of March, the authorities permanently demolished the monument that was present in the roundabout, and this coincided with a wide-ranging and mass arrest campaigns that included everyone in the sit-in center and everyone who participated in the protest marches in the cities and villages of the country, along with all online activists, the arrests reached to even target whoever &quot;Liked&quot; a post on social media containing any political or movement-related content.</p></p>
<p><p>Although the regime in Bahrain controlled the Pearl Roundabout, demolished its memorial and transformed the vicinity of the roundabout into a closed military zone for years, and joint forces from the National Guard, the army, and the Ministry of Interior prevented any citizen from approaching, the political and field mobility contributed to forming a revision movement around the question of democracy and development in the Arab Gulf region.</p></p>
<p><p>On the ninth anniversary of the protests, which Bahrainis call the &quot;popular revolution&quot;, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) recalls the events of the Pearl Roundabout, stressing that these protests sparked an awakening in the country about rights and freedoms and won the support of most international organizations and the international community and shed light on the human rights situation in Bahrain.</p></p>
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</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-document-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Document Type: </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/en/document-type/term/9" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">BCHR release</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-feature field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Feature: </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/en/feature/term/74" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Featured</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-issue field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Issue: </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/en/issue/term/17" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">General</a></div></div></div>Wed, 18 Mar 2020 09:25:47 +0000Ghiwa9256 at http://www.bahrainrights.orgالبحرين: خطوة لتنفيذ قانون العقوبات البديلة
http://www.bahrainrights.org/en/node/9255
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden prose"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p>مركز البحرين لحقوق الانسان يرحب بقرار إطلاق سراح ١٤٨٦ محكومًا. </p>
<p>بدأت السلطات في البحرين، وعلى مدى أيام، الإفراج عن عشرات من المحكومين فجر الأربعاء 11 مارس/ آذار على خلفية قضايا سياسية،ويبدو أن هذا القرار شمل محكومين قضوا في السجن بين عام و8 أعوام، وتبقّى من مدّة أحكامهم أياماً أو أشهر قليلة.</p>
<p>واليوم صرّح رئيس الأمن العام بأنهم بصدد تنفيذ مرسوم ملكي بالعفو وتنفيذ العقوبات البديلة ل 1486 محكومًا سيغادرون مراكز الإصلاح والتأهيل ل "دواعٍ إنسانية" قد يكون سببها الفعلي فيروس الكورونا COVID19.</p>
<p>نحثّ الحكومة لإطلاق سراح المزيد من المحكومين خاصة و أنها نفسها سبق واعترفت بـسوء حالة السجون ومشكلة الاكتظاظ التي بالفعلتؤدي لمشاكل صحية وأمراض مستعصية وسوء في الرعاية الصحية.</p>
<p>يرحّب مركز البحرين لحقوق الإنسان بقرار الإفراج عن ١٤٨٦ محكوماً اليوم، في خطوة لتطبيق قانون العقوبات البديلة و يأمل ان يكون رئيس المركز السيد نبيل رجب و مجموعة ال ١٣ ناشطًا من ضمن هذه القائمة.</p>
<p>The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) welcomes the decision to release 1486 convicts. </p>
<p>The authorities in Bahrain began, over a period of days, the release of dozens of convicts at the dawn of Wednesday, 11 March, on the grounds of political issues.</p>
<p>Today, the Head of Public Security stated that they are in the process of implementing a royal decree of amnesty and the implementation of alternative penalties for 1486 convicts who will leave the correction and rehabilitation centers for "humanitarian reasons" that may be actually caused by the Coronavirus (COVID 19).</p>
<p>We urge the government to release more convicts, especially as it has already admitted the poor prison conditions and the problem of overcrowding, which already leads to health problems, incurable diseases and poor health care.</p>
<p>The BCHR welcomes the decision to release 1486 convicts today, in a step to implement the Alternative Penal Code, and hopes that the head of the center, Nabeel Rajab, and the group of 13 activists known by “bahrain13” will be among this list.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-document-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Document Type: </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/en/document-type/term/9" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">BCHR release</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-feature field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Feature: </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/en/feature/term/74" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Featured</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-issue field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Issue: </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/en/issue/term/17" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">General</a></div></div></div>Fri, 13 Mar 2020 14:27:28 +0000Ghiwa9255 at http://www.bahrainrights.orgBahrain: Death Sentences Despite Torture Claims
http://www.bahrainrights.org/en/node/9254
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden prose"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><p><a href="<a href="https://www.hrw.org/middle-east/n-africa/bahrain">Bahrain&rsquo;s</a>">https://www.hrw.org/middle-east/n-africa/bahrain">Bahrain&rsquo;s</a></a> authorities should overturn the death sentences following unfair trials against two men who say they were tortured, Human Rights Watch and the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) said today. The Court of Cassation, Bahrain&rsquo;s court of last resort, will issue the final verdict in the coming weeks.</p></p>
<p><p>This is the second time the Court of Cassation will examine the case of Ali Moosa and Mohamed Ramadan. A criminal court on December 29, 2014 sentenced both to death for murdering a policeman, despite their torture allegations. The Court of Cassation confirmed the death sentences in November 2015 but overturned them in October 2018 after a previously undisclosed medical report appeared to corroborate Moosa&rsquo;s torture allegations. Despite the new evidence, the High Criminal Court of Appeal reinstated the convictions and death sentences on January 8, 2020.</p></p>
<p><p>&ldquo;Moosa and Ramadan have now twice been sentenced to death despite compelling evidence that their convictions were based on confessions obtained under torture,&rdquo; said <a href="<a href="https://www.hrw.org/about/people/joe-stork-0">Joe">https://www.hrw.org/about/people/joe-stork-0">Joe</a> Stork</a>, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. &ldquo;This is an indictment of Bahrain&rsquo;s criminal justice system, and the Court of Cassation should not miss the opportunity to correct this grave miscarriage of justice by overturning their death sentences.&rdquo;</p></p>
<p><p>Security forces arrested Moosa, 33, on February 21, 2014 and Ramadan, 37, on February 18, 2014, in connection with the murder of a policeman and other terrorism charges. Both men alleged that Central Investigations Directorate (CID) officers tortured and sexually assaulted them. Ramadan refused to sign a confession, but Moosa told BIRD that he was tortured into confessing to the charges against him and incriminating Ramadan.</p></p>
<p><p>&ldquo;They were kicking me on my reproductive organs, and would hit me repeatedly in the same place until I couldn&rsquo;t speak from the pain,&rdquo; Moosa told BIRD in a voice message recorded on December 11, 2019. &ldquo;Someone at the torture site was telling me, &lsquo;We already have the judgment written. Just say that Mohammed Ramadan is the one who gave you the bomb, and we&rsquo;ll commute your verdict to a life sentence.&rsquo; I decided to tell them what they wanted.&rdquo;</p></p>
<p><p>Ramadan also described to BIRD the beatings and sexual abuse at the CID. &ldquo;During my interrogation, the torture, beating, and insults wouldn&rsquo;t stop, even as I was answering their questions&hellip;And when I told them about my back pain, they lay me down on my stomach and hit me on the back&hellip;they would pull down my pants to show my private parts. I would remain in such shameful condition throughout the interrogation.&rdquo;</p></p>
<p><p>Despite torture complaints from Ramadan&rsquo;s wife and from the United States-based Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB), the Interior Ministry&rsquo;s Ombudsman did not investigate the allegations for two years. In April 2016, in response to a question from the United Kingdom Foreign Office, the Ombudsman and the Bahraini embassy in London <a href="<a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/alanwhite/foreign-office-accused-of-covering-up-bahrain-torture-allega"">https://www.buzzfeed.com/alanwhite/foreign-office-accused-of-covering-up...</a> rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">falsely claimed</a> that the authorities had not received any allegations of mistreatment or torture regarding Ramadan&rsquo;s case.</p></p>
<p><p>After ADHRB produced a receipt for the original complaint from the Ombudsman, and following UK Foreign Office pressure, the Ombudsman said it would conduct a &ldquo;full, independent investigation into the treatment of both Mohamad Ramadan and Hussein Moosa.&rdquo;</p></p>
<p><p>The Ombudsman on August 7, 2016 referred the case to the <a href="<a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/06/13/bahrain-lagging-efforts-end-torture">Special">https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/06/13/bahrain-lagging-efforts-end-torture"...</a> Investigations Unit</a> (SIU) in the Public Prosecutor&rsquo;s Office, which investigates and prosecutes criminal allegations against security or other officials for torture or mistreatment of detainees. On March 18, 2018, the investigations unit issued its report, which Human Rights Watch reviewed, recommending that the courts reconsider the verdicts against Moosa and Ramadan in light of a newly uncovered medical report by an Interior Ministry doctor that had not been available during the initial trial.</p></p>
<p><p>The medical report detailed &ldquo;injuries&rdquo; on Moosa&rsquo;s wrists that &ldquo;raise the suspicion that he was subjected to assault and mistreatment that coincide with the procedures of his arrest, detention, and questioning.&rdquo; The investigations unit concluded that there is a &ldquo;suspicion of the crime of torture&hellip;which was carried out with the intent of forcing them to confess to committing the crime they were charged with.&rdquo;</p></p>
<p><p>The investigation failed to definitively establish whether security forces tortured Moosa and Ramadan, and did not state that neither had been allowed to meet with their lawyers either during their formal interrogations or before their trial. The investigators stated in the report that the torture allegations were &ldquo;still undergoing investigation,&rdquo; but told the families in person on January 23, 2020 that they had closed the investigation and the matter was in the court&rsquo;s hands.</p></p>
<p><p>Following a request from London-based rights organization Reprieve, the Copenhagen-based International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) conducted an independent expert review of the forensic medical reports for both men. They found that the <a href="<a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/help-stop-christmas-day-death-sentences-in-bahrain-britain-told-p5bgxqgpb"">https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/help-stop-christmas-day-death-sentenc...</a> rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">forensic examinations failed to meet the minimum standards</a> and principles on appropriate investigation into allegations of torture and ill-treatment under international law. The IRCT also described the Special Investigative Unit&rsquo;s investigation as &ldquo;cursory&rdquo; and &ldquo;superficial.&rdquo;</p></p>
<p><p>Bahrain&rsquo;s Ombudsman and the investigative unit have <a href="<a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/06/13/bahrain-lagging-efforts-end-torture">repeatedly">https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/06/13/bahrain-lagging-efforts-end-torture"...</a> failed to investigate</a> credible allegations of detainee abuse or to hold accountable officials who participated in and ordered torture during interrogations. The United Nations Committee Against Torture <a href="<a href="http://docstore.ohchr.org/SelfServices/FilesHandler.ashx?enc=6QkG1d%2FPPRiCAqhKb7yhsqYPuFZC34VM6MoD0MvS%2BS%2BhcJl3TUrOvvF%2FGuWWUtDMNTj4lYASRqLw7nbC8IcS25V04LGI8FMQttufqvlxyVSqBsgx3LVglkkCx%2BAgXg%2BL"">http://docstore.ohchr.org/SelfServices/FilesHandler.ashx?enc=6QkG1d%2FPP...</a> rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">raised concerns</a> that these bodies were neither independent nor effective.</p></p>
<p><p>Based on freedom of information requests, the United Kingdom has provided <a href="<a href="http://birdbh.org/2018/05/exposed-uk-taxpayers-fund-bahrain-torture-and-death-penalty/"">http://birdbh.org/2018/05/exposed-uk-taxpayers-fund-bahrain-torture-and-...</a> rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">6.5 million pounds</a> of technical assistance to Bahrain since 2012, some of which has supported the Special Investigative Unit and Ombudsman. The UK should investigate these oversight bodies and publicly state what they need to do to demonstrate their effectiveness in combatting torture and their independence of the executive.</p></p>
<p><p>According to BIRD, eight death row inmates in Bahrain are at imminent risk of execution, having exhausted all legal remedies. On July 27, Bahrain executed three men, including <a href="<a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/07/26/bahrain-executions-may-be-imminent">Ali">https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/07/26/bahrain-executions-may-be-imminent">Ali</a> al-Arab and Ahmad al-Malali</a>, both convicted of terrorism offenses in a mass trial marred by allegations of torture and serious due process concerns.</p></p>
<p><p>Human Rights Watch opposes the death penalty in all circumstances because of its inherent cruelty. Bahrain&rsquo;s allies, including the United Kingdom, should press Bahrain to abolish the death penalty, or reinstate the moratorium on executions, and give UN experts the opportunity to independently investigate Moosa and Ramadan&rsquo;s torture claims.</p></p>
<p><p>&ldquo;A thorough and independent investigation of the torture alleged by Moosa and Ramadan is vital,&rdquo; said Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, advocacy director at BIRD. &ldquo;Millions of pounds of UK-government support have failed to compel Bahrain to hold abusers to account, so it&rsquo;s time that UN experts have access to Bahrain to investigate the matter further.&rdquo;</p></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-document-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Document Type: </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/en/document-type/term/26" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">NGO report</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-feature field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Feature: </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/en/feature/term/74" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Featured</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-issue field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Issue: </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/en/issue/term/17" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">General</a></div></div></div>Tue, 10 Mar 2020 10:47:04 +0000Ghiwa9254 at http://www.bahrainrights.orgWomen, the powerful actors in building peace
http://www.bahrainrights.org/en/node/9253
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden prose"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><p>&nbsp;</p></p>
<p><p><span style="font-size:14px"><strong>On the International Women&#39;s Day, BCHR launches its report entitled: &quot;Bahrain: Women, the powerful actors in building peace&quot;.</strong></span></p></p>
<p><p>The world celebrates the eighth day of March of each year, the International Women&#39;s Rights Day, and this comes to express respect and appreciation towards women, and their economic, political, and social achievements, and is considered a date for renewing the era of fulfilling women&#39;s political and human rights proclaimed by the United Nations.</p></p>
<p><p>Women play a major role in influencing society and through their cooperation with international and humanitarian organizations, they are activating their role in the scientific, academic, economic, and social fields. There is a global consensus that despite some progress, real change has been painfully slow for the majority of women and girls in the world today, where not a single country can claim full gender equality, and obstacles remain multiple without a serious or actual change in laws and legislation.</p></p>
<p><p>The Kingdom of Bahrain was not far from this challenge, because the worst of what it went through was the attack on women, especially the protesters and participants in the demonstrations, many of whom were arrested and imprisoned, subjected to physical and psychological torture, medical neglect, sexual assault, and harassment, by the security authorities, the Criminal Investigations Directorate and Isa Town Prison for Women.</p></p>
<p><p>Women are subject to reprisals, and according to reports of local and international human rights institutions, 330 Bahraini women have been in prison since 2011, with malicious charges related to their demands for democracy and human rights.</p></p>
<p><p>On this occasion, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) reaffirms its commitment to defend the rights of women and its continuous endeavour to coordinate with other local and international institutions and organizations and their cooperation to promote women&#39;s rights. The Center also expresses its solidarity with women victims of violations and commends the courage of those who resisted and exposed these violations.</p></p>
<p><p>Nedal Al Salman, the Acting President of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights stated: &quot;All efforts must be united to confront all manifestations of violence against women. On this occasion, I call for the release of all women sentenced to issues related to freedom of opinion and expression and the application of alternative service penalties, with humanitarian and family considerations&rdquo;.</p></p>
<p><p>On this day, BCHR publishes its comprehensive <a href="<a href="https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn%3Aaaid%3Ascds%3AUS%3A978c951f-f294-4c5b-a567-36d2b4589787">report">https://documentcloud.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn%3Aaaid%3Ascds%3AUS%3A...</a> </a>entitled: &nbsp;&ldquo;Bahrain: Women, the powerful actors in building peace&rdquo;. This report contains local laws that relate to women&#39;s rights as well as mentioning international legislation and the extent of Bahrain&#39;s commitment to it. It also presents the situation of women human rights defenders, other female activists, and civil society organizations concerned with the defense of women and their effectiveness in improving the conditions of women&#39;s rights in Bahrain.</p></p>
<p><p>&nbsp;</p></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-document-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Document Type: </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/en/document-type/term/6" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">BCHR report</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-feature field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Feature: </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/en/feature/term/74" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Featured</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-issue field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Issue: </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/en/issue/term/17" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">General</a></div></div></div>Sun, 08 Mar 2020 01:39:42 +0000Ghiwa9253 at http://www.bahrainrights.org The release of prisoner of conscience, Hajar Mansour
http://www.bahrainrights.org/en/node/9252
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden prose"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><p>Today, Thursday 5th if March 2020, the prisoner of conscience, Hajar Mansour, 51 years old, who has been imprisoned for nearly three years in the notorious Isa Town Women’s Prison on the backdrop of her son-in-law, Said Ahmed Al Wedaei, director of the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) in Britain, is released today.</p></p>
<p><p>In October 2017, the court sentenced Hajar Mansour and her son Sayed Nizar Alawi to 3 years in prison, and her nephew Mahmoud Marzouq, to one month in prison and a fine of 100 dinars, which was confirmed by the appeals courts in December 2017. The court upheld later on Monday, February 25, 2019 the three years’ sentence against her and her family on charges of political background.</p></p>
<p><p>It is noteworthy that 5 experts from the United Nations had called for the release of Hajar Mansour and her son Sayed Nizar in December of last year, after they concluded that their arrest was arbitrary.&nbsp; Experts said that this detention was carried out with vengeful motives against the human rights activities of her son-in-law Al Wedaei.</p></p>
<p><p>A petition in Parliament was filed already and signed by more than 80 deputies from all parties calling for the release of Hajar Mansour, her son Sayed Nizar and her nephew Mahmoud, and her case has become well known in the legal, media and diplomatic circles.</p></p>
<p><p>Based on that, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights calls on the government of Bahrain to stop all acts of harassment, reprisals and prosecution of activists demanding democracy and their families, drop all charges against them and release all prisoners of conscience in Bahrain.</p></p>
<p><p>The Bahrain Center for Human Rights also urges the key players in the international community to continue to put pressure on the Bahrain government to ensure the protection of human rights and to launch a comprehensive campaign to release all prisoners of conscience detained and held in the country</p></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-document-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Document Type: </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/en/document-type/term/9" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">BCHR release</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-feature field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Feature: </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/en/feature/term/74" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Featured</a></div></div></div>Thu, 05 Mar 2020 12:49:05 +0000Ghiwa9252 at http://www.bahrainrights.orgOpening of the 43rd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council: "Human rights are violated"
http://www.bahrainrights.org/en/node/9250
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden prose"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><p>The <a href="<a href="https://www.ohchr.org/en/hrbodies/hrc/pages/home.aspx">United">https://www.ohchr.org/en/hrbodies/hrc/pages/home.aspx">United</a> Nations&rsquo; Human Rights Council</a> HRC in Geneva opened the work of the <a href="<a href="https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session43/Pages/43RegularSession.aspx">forty-third">https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session43/Pages/43...</a> regular session</a>, starting on Monday, February 24, 2020, with number of topics of concern to the human rights situation in about fifty countries.</p></p>
<p><p>During this session, which will continue until March 20, the HRC will hold more than 25 interactive discussions in this regard. We mention that the Kingdom of Bahrain is one of the countries that the council will address during the session.</p></p>
<p><p>The Council is scheduled to organize four thematic discussion sessions, the first of which was held in the form of a round table for the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child that was celebrated for the thirtieth anniversary of its adoption in 2019, while a high-level panel discussion yesterday focused on the Beijing Declaration and Plan of Action, which they grew out of the International Conference on Women in 1995.</p></p>
<p><p>In his speech at the opening of the annual session of the Human Rights Council, United Nations&rsquo; Secretary-General Ant&oacute;nio Guterres called for action against what he described as &quot;increasing human rights abuses around the world,&quot; highlighting the persecution of minorities and the murders of women. Guterres said in his speech: &quot;The rights of human beings are exposed to transgressions, and no country is immune to this trend&rdquo;, adding that &ldquo;fears are increasing&rdquo; and &ldquo;human rights are being violated from all sides&rdquo;, calling on the international community to &ldquo;move to reverse this path&rdquo;.</p></p>
<p><p>Guterres expressed his concern about &ldquo;the decline of women&#39;s rights and the alarming levels of women&rsquo;s murders, as well as about abuse women rights defenders and the continuation of laws and policies that perpetuate subordination and exclusion&quot;, pointing out that violence against women and girls is the greatest violation prevalent.</p></p>
<p><p>He also clarified that repressive laws proliferate with the emergence of increasing restrictions on freedoms of expression, belief, participation, assembly, and association, saying that: &quot;journalists, human rights defenders and activists, especially women, are exposed to increasing threats while their commitment is indispensable in the context of achieving justice&rdquo;.</p></p>
<p><p>The Secretary-General of the United Nations stated that the new technology provided a better organization for civil society, but at the same time it gave the authorities unprecedented means to control the movements of individuals to restrict their freedoms, adding that &quot;the climate crisis is the greatest threat to the survival of the human race and actually puts human rights at risk in all over the world&quot;.</p></p>
<p><p>&nbsp;On the occasion of the 43rd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights would like to take the opportunity to raise concerns about the failure of the Kingdom of Bahrain and its refusal to undertake reforms proposed by countries at the third cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in 2017. On the contrary, the vast majority of the recommendations made by other countries have not been fulfilled, even as the government takes some steps in this regard.</p></p>
<p><p>After Bahrain underwent its third cycle of the UPR in May 2017, during the review, member states and observer states in the United Nations Human Rights Council made 175 recommendations, and these recommendations were compiled in 20 areas of issues, including the most important human rights from the right to freedom of expression to treatment of prisoners. Due to the depth and breadth of the recommendations, if implemented, they would have led to broad reforms in the political, judicial and penal systems in Bahrain, but while the government endorsed 139 recommendations and provided comments on only 36 recommendations, it refused to implement the recommendations, taking only few serious steps to changing their policies or laws.</p></p>
<p><p>Therefore, and based on the foregoing, and believing in the active role played by the Human Rights Council, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights calls for paying wider attention to the implementation of the recommendations, as it is not sufficient to instruct them without monitoring their implementation. BCHR renews the call to pressure the Bahraini authorities in order to solve the current issues, especially with regard to the prisoners and their conditions in the recent periods.</p></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-document-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Document Type: </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/en/document-type/term/9" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">BCHR release</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-feature field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Feature: </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/en/feature/term/74" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Featured</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-issue field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Issue: </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/en/issue/term/17" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">General</a></div></div></div>Thu, 27 Feb 2020 09:01:59 +0000Ghiwa9250 at http://www.bahrainrights.orgViolations rise on the ninth anniversary of the launch of pro-democracy protests on February 14
http://www.bahrainrights.org/en/node/9247
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden prose"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><p>Last Friday, February 14, 2020, marks the ninth anniversary of the start of the protests calling for democracy and human rights in Bahrain in 2011, the center of which was the Pearl Roundabout in the capital of Bahrain, Manama, before the Bahraini authorities suppressed it.</p></p>
<p><p>On Friday, <a href="<a href="http://bahrainrights.org/en/node/9241">February">http://bahrainrights.org/en/node/9241">February</a> 14</a>, 2020, a number of cities and towns in Bahrain witnessed protests to commemorate this anniversary, and various areas in Bahrain witnessed a proliferation of police forces in an attempt to prevent the emergence of any kind of protests, but the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) was able to monitor many violations that coincided with this anniversary.</p></p>
<p><p><img src="/sites/default/files/124.png" style="height:207px; width:331px" /></p></p>
<p><p>A photo of the police presence witnessed in Karrana town on February 14, 2020</p></p>
<p><p>&nbsp;</p></p>
<p><p>BCHR &nbsp;monitored from the 13th to the 15th of February, 26 protest marches in 18 regions, including the capital of Bahrain, Manama, where at least 3 of them were repressed by the police forces using tear gas canisters.</p></p>
<p><p><img src="/sites/default/files/125.png" style="height:165px; width:286px" /></p></p>
<p><p>A photo showing the spread of tear gas canisters shot by the police forces in Sitra</p></p>
<p><p>&nbsp;</p></p>
<p><p><img src="/sites/default/files/126.png" style="height:163px; width:290px" /></p></p>
<p><p>A picture of a citizen&#39;s car damaged by the tear gas canisters fired by the police forces in Sanabis town</p></p>
<p><p>&nbsp;</p></p>
<p><p>The Center also monitored in the same period 13 cases of detention, including 4 cases of detention of children under the age of 18, amongst them is the 10-year-old child Ameen Redha, who is held in custody by the Public Prosecution for a week on charges of illegal gathering, after his arrest on February 14, 2020 from the Al-Marakh town.</p></p>
<p><p><img src="/sites/default/files/127.png" style="height:169px; width:268px" /></p></p>
<p><p>Photo of the 10-year-old Ameen Redha, who was arrested by the police</p></p>
<p><p>The Center also monitored the summons of a number of persons and activists to prevent them from participating in the protests, and the father of the victim of extrajudicial killing, Hussein Al-Jaziri, who was killed by the police forces in 2013, was also summoned to prevent an event commemorating the killing of his son, which falls on February 13.</p></p>
<p><p>The official authorities in Bahrain work every year to prevent protests on the anniversary of February 14 in an attempt to stop any peaceful movements calling for democracy and human rights. Since 2014, the Bahrain government has banned all forms of peaceful protests and worked to legislate laws criminalizing participation in protests, and even punishing the hundreds of people participating in the peaceful protests taking place in various regions in Bahrain.</p></p>
<p><p>Since 2011, Bahrain has been experiencing a stifling political crisis in which the government of Bahrain eliminated all forms of political action by dissolving the two largest political parties, namely Al-Wefaq and Waad, and arrested its leaders. Sheikh Ali Salman, Secretary-General of Al-Wefaq, has been in prison since 2014. That is in addition to thousands of political detainees and prisoners of conscience, among them is the President of BCHR, Nabeel Rajab, who was arrested in 2016 and sentenced to 7 years imprisonment in cases related to freedom of expression.</p></p>
<p><p>You can now see our 2019 <a href="<a href="http://bahrainrights.org/en/node/9145">annual">http://bahrainrights.org/en/node/9145">annual</a> report</a> on the ongoing violations in Bahrain.</p></p>
<p><p>&nbsp;</p></p>
<p><p>On this occasion, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights would like to renew its call to the government of Bahrain to:</p></p>
<p><ul><br />
<li>Stop criminalizing participation in protests and punishing activists and participants in peaceful protests;</li><br />
<li>End the suppression of political freedoms, especially freedom of expression;</li><br />
<li>Release all those detained on the background of their demands for democracy and human rights, and the most prominent of them is the President of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights and Vice President of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Nabeel Rajab.</li><br />
</ul></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-document-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Document Type: </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/en/document-type/term/9" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">BCHR release</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-feature field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Feature: </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/en/feature/term/74" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Featured</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-issue field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Issue: </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/en/issue/term/17" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">General</a></div></div></div>Tue, 25 Feb 2020 08:43:39 +0000Ghiwa9247 at http://www.bahrainrights.orgAmnesty International: 2019 is a challenging year
http://www.bahrainrights.org/en/node/9246
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden prose"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><p>Amnesty International&#39;s annual report summarizes the human rights situation for 2019, calling it the &quot;Year of the Challenge&quot;. The organization criticized the governments&rsquo; &quot;suppression&quot; of peaceful demonstrations. This came during a press conference held in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, to present its report entitled: &quot;<a href="<a href="https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE0113572020ENGLISH.PDF">Review">https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/MDE0113572020ENGLISH.PDF">Review</a> of the human rights situation in the Middle East and North Africa: for the year 2019</a>&quot;.</p></p>
<p><p>The report presented the human rights situation in 19 countries, highlighting many of the rights of peaceful protesters, women, refugees, foreign workers and others that were violated by governments. The organization&#39;s report explains that governments chose not to listen to the voices of protesters protesting various grievances, and instead resorted to brutal repression to silence peaceful critics, whether in the streets or on the Internet.</p></p>
<p><p>For her part, AMNESTY&rsquo;s director of the Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa, Heba Morayef, said that despite the bloody events that followed the 2011 uprisings in several countries, and the catastrophic deterioration of human rights in them, people had renewed their confidence in the ability of collective action for change. She added that the protests turned into long-standing waves of opposition, which represented a challenge to entire political systems.</p></p>
<p><p>Altogether, Morayef indicated that at least 136 people were imprisoned in 12 countries because of their online comments, including Bahrain.</p></p>
<p><p>In response, the organization called on the governments of the region to listen to the voices demanding social and economic justice and economic rights, and work to achieve these demands, instead of issuing orders to commit violations and serious crimes in order to remain in power.</p></p>
<p><p>The organization also called on the authorities to release all prisoners of conscience, to stop harassing peaceful critics and human rights activists, and to follow the recommendation of the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression regarding stopping the sale and transfer of surveillance equipment, pending the development of a human rights-sensitive regulatory framework.</p></p>
<p><p>With regard to Bahrain in particular, the report stated that the authorities have stepped up their efforts to clamp down on freedom of expression, targeting in particular forums on the Internet, which are the last remaining means through which Bahrainis can criticize the government. Unfair mass trials continued to be used, both for people facing terrorism-related charges and for protesters. People were still stripped of their nationality, although hundreds of people who had previously converted to stateless persons had regained their Bahraini citizenship. Executions resumed, after being suspended since January 2017, and prison conditions remained poor and often represented a form of degrading and inhuman treatment. The Bahraini authorities continued not to allow independent human rights monitors to enter the country.</p></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-document-type field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Document Type: </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/en/document-type/term/61" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">اصدار المنظمات غير الحكومية</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-feature field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Feature: </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/en/feature/term/74" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">Featured</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-issue field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-above"><div class="field-label">Issue: </div><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="/en/issue/term/17" typeof="skos:Concept" property="rdfs:label skos:prefLabel" datatype="">General</a></div></div></div>Mon, 24 Feb 2020 11:09:56 +0000Ghiwa9246 at http://www.bahrainrights.orgError | Bahrain Center for Human Rights