BCHR: The promotion of former CIO employee Mohammed Al Qaed, implicated in the Al Bandergate scandal is a disappointing move from the authorities.

On August 10, Crown Prince Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa issued decree 78 appointing Mohammed Ali Mohammed Al Qaed as chief executive of e-government. According to leaked government documents, Mohammed Al Qaed may have been a key architect in a plan to manipulate election results, promote sectarian distrust and division, and to ensure that Bahrain's Shia majority remain disenfranchised.

1. Al Bandergate Background:

A secret web lead by head of the Central Informatics Organisation Shaikh Ahmed bin Ateyatallah Al Khalifa, has allegedly been operating in Bahrain with an aim to manipulate the results of elections, maintain sectarian distrust and division, and to ensure that Bahrain's Shias remain oppressed and disenfranchised.

This information was leaked in a report which became known as the 'Al Bandergate, named for its author Dr. Salah Al Bandar, former strategic planning's chancellor at the Council of Ministers Affairs.
As a result of leaking the information, Dr Al Bander was deported to the United Kingdom on September 13th as he is a British citizen.

The 216-page report, which was distributed by the Gulf Centre for Democratic Development (GCDD), contains almost 200 pages of cheques, receipts, letters, bank statements and accounts sheets to support its claims.

2. Mohammed Al Qaed - the "right hand man"?

According to the Al Bandergate report, Shaikh Ahmed's "right hand man" was CIO IT directorate manager, electronic voting supervisor, and higher elections committee head, Mohammed Al Qaed. Mr Al Qaed also sat on the elections committee and has well-known connections with the
islamists Al Menbar and Al Eslah groups.

The report states that he was paid BD 1,200 per month as supervisor of an "electronic group" which are involved in running Bahrain's e-voting program, running websites and Internet forums which foment sectarian hatred, and SMS campaigns for the organization.

Among the leaked documents, a bill for BD 7,639 purportedly drawn up by Mr Al Qaed details payments made to individuals working on e-voting projects, technical assistance, administrative work and to pay for printers, scanners and computers is included in the report. It is matched with a cheque for the same amount written to Mr Al Qaed from Shaikh Ahmed.

3. Promoting corruption and distrust:

Following almost a year's silence, the Bahraini authorities have now chosen to promote an individual implicated in the Al Bandergate scandal, rather than respond to requests for a fair and independent investigation made repeatedly by the people of Bahrain.

The Crown Prince, who leads many of the development and economic ventures in Bahrain, has widely been seen as a reformist and the face of Bahrain's future.

However, his promotion of an official implicated in such a scandal sends a signal to the public that he too supports the intentions and aims of the group uncovered by the Al Bandergate report. This comes as a great disappointment to us.

We urge the authorities to tackle the Al Bandergate report in a rightful manner - allow for an open and independent investigation into it's findings, and bring individuals implicated to justice.