PHR Condemns Arrest of Prominent Bahraini Human Rights Activist and Family Members; Urges Immediate US Government Intervention
Cambridge, Mass. — April 9, 2011 — One of Bahrain’s leading human rights activists, Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, was physically assaulted and arrested early today. Only hours after PHR had concluded an in-country emergency investigation regarding issues of medical neutrality, Bahraini authorities continued their ongoing campaign of night time arrests of human rights and opposition leaders, which has also systematically targeted physicians. Early Saturday, police forces stormed the apartment of Mr. al-Khawaja, and beat and arrested him in front of his daughter. The authorities also arrested two of his sons-in-laws, who were present in the apartment. The additional arrests of those family members clearly indicate that any person can be targeted for arrest by Bahraini authority.
“PHR strongly condemns these arbitrary arrests, which clearly violate internationally guaranteed human rights and legal standards,” said Frank Donaghue, CEO of Physicians for Human Rights. “PHR calls on President Obama and the international community, including the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, to intervene urgently with the Bahraini government to cease its ongoing arrest campaign, and to release unconditionally all individuals whose internationally guaranteed rights of freedom of speech, movement and to organize have been violated.”
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) is an independent, non-profit organization that uses medical and scientific expertise to investigate human rights violations and advocate for justice, accountability, and the health and dignity of all people. We are supported by the expertise and passion of health professionals and concerned citizens alike.
US Department of State: 2010 Human Rights Report: Bahrain
April 8, 2011
Bahrain is a monarchy with a population of approximately 1,235,000, including approximately 569,000 who are citizens. King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa is the head of state and all branches of government. The king appoints a cabinet of ministers; approximately half are members of the minority Sunni Al-Khalifa ruling family. The 2002 constitution reinstated a bicameral, legislative body consisting of an upper house, the Shura Council, whose members are appointed by the king, and a lower house, the elected Council of Representatives. Approximately 67 percent of eligible voters participated in the October parliamentary and municipal council elections, the outcome of which was affected by extensive gerrymandering of districts. The opposition, Shia Islamist Al-Wifaq political society won all contested 18 seats in the 40-member Council of Representatives. Security forces reported to civilian authorities.
Citizens did not have the right to change their government. Trafficking in persons and restrictions on the rights of foreign resident workers continued to be significant problems. There were numerous reports of abuse against foreign workers, particularly female domestic workers. There were many reports of domestic violence against women and children. Discrimination on the basis of gender, religion, nationality, and sect, especially against the Shia majority population, persisted. There were multiple allegations of mistreatment and torture, especially of Shia activists associated with rejectionist and opposition groups. Authorities arbitrarily arrested activists, journalists, and other citizens and detained some individuals incommunicado. Some detainees did not always have adequate access to their attorneys. At least two of the detainees were dismissed from their public-sector jobs prior to the commencement of judicial proceedings. The government restricted civil liberties, including freedoms of speech, press, assembly, association, and some religious practices. There were instances of the government imposing and enforcing official and unofficial travel bans on political activists. The Shia are underrepresented in positions of leadership in the civil service, police, and security forces.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life
There were no reports that the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings.
b. Disappearance
There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
The constitution prohibits such practices; however, there were multiple allegations during the year that security forces employed them. On February 8, Human Rights Watch (HRW) issued a report asserting that "since the end of 2007, officials have repeatedly resorted to torture for the apparent purpose of securing confessions from security suspects." The former detainees interviewed for the report claimed that security officials and prison guards subjected them to "abusive tactics" during interrogation. In some cases in 2009, Ministry of Health doctors found corroborative evidence of injuries that matched the detainees' claims of mistreatment. According to senior government officials, the government initiated an investigation of HRW's allegations. At year's end the government had not published the investigation's findings.
From August to December, local and international human rights NGOs asserted that security personnel had tortured more than two dozen detainees. During court proceedings from October to December, many of these detainees claimed that officers of the National Security Agency mistreated and tortured them. Detainees claimed that they had been beaten, suspended in painful positions, forced to stand for long periods, deprived of sleep, and subjected to electric shocks. During trial proceedings in October and November, defense lawyers requested an independent investigation into the torture allegations, to include independent medical exams. The prosecutor asserted in December that claims of torture had been investigated. At year's end neither the court nor the government had released the findings of any such investigation.
Local human rights organizations and lawyers also reported alleged instances of abuse by law enforcement authorities in connection with the approximately200 men and juveniles detained between August and December.
Local human rights activists and attorneys alleged that many of the 23 Shia activists arrested in August and September and charged pursuant to counterterrorism legislation, including a prominent blogger, were beaten, subjected to electric shocks, hung upside down, and beaten on their feet (falaqa). During court sessions in October, November, and December (see section 1.e.), all detainees claimed they were beaten by National Security Agency officers, with some claiming they were subjected to electric shocks, made to stand for long periods of time, and made to sign confessions during or after mistreatment or torture.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions
The government, which maintained that prison conditions met international standards, did not release any detailed information about the prison population or prison and detention center conditions, nor did it permit visits by independent human rights observers. A UN report in March described "suboptimal health conditions" in prisons. In the second half of the year, some detainees alleged that security personnel physically abused them and, in some cases, withheld medical care, including access to medication and medical equipment.
In August approximately 70 prisoners in the country's central prison in Jaw protested their living conditions, and some prisoners went on hunger strike. In response members of the quasigovernmental National Human Rights Authority visited the prison; however, the body did not issue a public report. A local human rights NGO reported that the Jaw prison population was more than 1,300, although the prison had been designed to hold only 500 inmates. According to the Office of the Inspector General of the Ministry of Interior, the Jaw prison held 1,100 inmates.
Authorities generally permitted inmates reasonable access to visitors and religious observance. However, the government temporarily suspended visitation rights for some inmates in the aftermath of the unrest in Jaw prison. In addition the government did not permit family members to visit dozens of detainees arrested on security-related charges for at least several weeks.
The government did not permit independent monitoring of prison or detention center conditions, nor was there an ombudsman for prison and detainee issues. It is unknown if prisoners could submit complaints about treatment for investigation.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention
The constitution prohibits arbitrary arrest and detention. However, local human rights activists and attorneys alleged that police and National Guard units arbitrarily arrested or abducted Shia men and youth during the year, particularly from August to October, and that security officials held some incommunicado for days or weeks.
The Office of the Inspector General of the Ministry of Interior received an unknown number of complaints pertaining to pretrial detention, although it was not clear how many of these resulted in investigations or penalties.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus
The Ministry of the Interior is responsible for public security; it controls the public security force and other specialized security units that are responsible for maintaining internal order. The Bahrain Defense Force is responsible for defending against external threats and provides internal security. The security forces were generally effective in maintaining internal order.
The Office of the Inspector General of the Ministry of Interior received 246 complaints between January and October, of which 121 were not related to police conduct. Nineteen cases were referred to the Ministry’s legal affairs directorate for further action. The ministry maintained a hotline for citizens to report police abuses; however, many in the Shia community believed the government condoned police misconduct and, therefore, did not report allegations of abuse. In practice the ministry responded to allegations of abuse and public complaints by establishing temporary investigation committees, which did not issue public reports of their findings.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment While in Detention
To apprehend a felony suspect, police must present evidence to a judge who will decide whether to issue an arrest warrant. Police and security forces must transfer a suspect's case to the public prosecutor's office within 48 hours, and they generally respected that requirement in practice. Within seven days of arrest, a suspect must appear before a judge in the public prosecutor's office. Judges may grant bail to a suspect and regularly did so. If the judge decides the suspect is a flight risk or a danger to society, the judge may allow as long as an additional 45 days of detention while the public prosecutor conducts an investigation. This process may continue through subsequent reviews by different judges, but pretrial detention may not exceed six months. Detainee access to attorneys was often restricted in the early stages of detention; attorneys must seek a court order to confer with clients and then coordinate with officials at the detention facility for access. The state provided counsel to indigent detainees. While detainees were generally allowed prompt access to visiting family members, many of those arrested on security-related charges between August and December claimed that they were not allowed to see relatives or lawyers for several weeks.
In accordance with the 2006 counterterrorism law, law enforcement agencies must transfer a case to the public prosecutor's office within five days of the suspect's arrest, although the law permits law enforcement agencies to request an additional 10 days before the formal transfer of the case. Prosecutors must commence their formal questioning of a suspect within three days of receipt of the case. Other pretrial detention procedures are governed by those concerning cases that are not related to terrorism.
From August to December, law enforcement agencies arrested approximately 200 men, including minors, and held some of them pursuant to the 2006 counterterrorism law. Local human rights groups and attorneys, as well as international human rights NGOs, alleged that, in many of these cases, authorities used incommunicado detention, restricted lawyers' access to their clients, and prevented family members from visiting detainees. International and local NGOs, as well as attorneys, asserted that security officials abused and tortured some of these detainees (see also sections 1.c. and 1.e.).
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The constitution provides for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial independence in practice; however, the king has control of the judicial system. According to the constitution, the king appoints all judges by royal decree. The king also serves as chairperson of the Supreme Judicial Council, the body responsible for supervising the work of the courts and the public prosecutor.
The trial of 25 Shia activists charged pursuant to the counterterrorism law--two of whom were based in the United Kingdom and tried in their absence--commenced on October 28. The trial was generally open to detainees' family members, journalists, representatives of local and international NGOs, diplomats, and members of the general public, but, in some cases, a number of journalists and human rights activists were denied access to the court. The defendants' lawyers, together with local NGOs, asserted that security personnel subjected the men to mistreatment and torture while in pretrial detention (see section 1.c.), deprived them of adequate access to legal counsel, and prevented them from meeting with family members for several weeks. They withdrew from the case on December 9 to protest the presiding judge's failure to rule on several requests they had made in the first four sessions of the trial, such as an impartial investigation into torture allegations.
The minister of justice and Islamic affairs and endowments appointed 23 new lawyers, and the case was pending at year's end. Human rights activists and attorneys alleged that the detainees' right to a fair, public trial was undermined by the detainees' limited access to legal counsel and the presiding judge's failure to rule on the defense attorneys' requests.
Two men faced trial in November and December, accused of assaulting an editor of the progovernment Al Watan newspaper on August 25. The two men were arrested less than 48 hours after the attack, shortly after which senior government officials announced that the men had confessed. Most newspapers carried photographs of the two men, referring to them as assassins or terrorists. The trial commenced in November. The men were released on December 12 after the victim of the assault testified in court that the two defendants were not the men who assaulted him. The judge agreed to the prosecutor's request that the court examine other evidence in a hearing scheduled for January 2011.
Trial Procedures
According to the constitution, defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. Civil and criminal trial procedures provide for an open trial. There are no jury trials. By law and in practice, defendants have the right to prompt consultation with an attorney of their choice within 48 hours (unless they are charged pursuant to counterterrorism legislation), and the government provided counsel to indigent defendants. Defendants are present during trial proceedings, and they have the right to present witnesses and evidence on their behalf and question witnesses against them. No law governs defendants' access to government-held evidence. Defendants have the right to appeal. Women's legal rights varied according to Shia or Sunni interpretations of Islamic law (see section 6).
Political Prisoners and Detainees
Human rights organizations alleged that some of those arrested on security charges from August to December were targeted because of their political activism. Many of the prominent detainees are leaders of, or affiliated with, political groups.
On August 17, authorities arrested Muhammad Saeed al-Sahlawi, a member of the board of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR). Human rights groups report that Al-Sahlawi, a dentist and human rights activist who supervises the BCHR's Web site, was arrested at his home during a wave of arrests targeting political and human rights activists. Al-Sahlawi was previously arrested in 2006 for distributing publications demanding political reform and in 1997 for contacting oppositional and international organizations abroad.
Also on August 17, according to the BCHR, authorities arrested Sheikh Abdul-Hadi Abdullah Al-Mokhadur and Sheikh Mirza Al-Mahroos, both clerics involved in activities promoting human rights, in Manama.
On September 4, authorities arrested and detained a popular Internet Web site writer and administrator of a Web site, Ali Abdulemam, and charged him with involvement in a "terrorist network," together with 24 other men (section 1.e.). This group of 25 also included a board member of a local human rights organization and political dissenters.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies
Citizens may bring civil suits before the court seeking cessation of or damages for, some types of human rights violations; however, in many such situations, the law prevents citizens from filing civil suits against security agencies.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence
The constitution prohibits such actions, and the government generally respected these prohibitions in practice, except under the provisions of the law and under judicial supervision.
The government is required to obtain a court order before monitoring telephone calls, e-mail, and personal correspondence. Many Shia citizens believed there were extensive police informer networks, but they were unable to provide concrete evidence.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The constitution provides for freedom of speech and of the press "provided that the fundamental beliefs of Islamic doctrine are not infringed, the unity of the people is not prejudiced, and discord or sectarianism is not aroused." The government limited freedom of speech and press through press laws, libel and slander laws, and national security-related laws. Both censorship and self-censorship took place.
The law forbids any speech infringing on public order or morals. In private settings, individuals openly expressed critical opinions regarding domestic political and social issues. There was also considerable freedom of expression on the Internet, in letters to the editor, and occasionally on state-run television call-in shows.
A Shia cleric aligned with a rejectionist group was temporarily banned from giving Friday sermons in October. The Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs and Endowments deemed some of the cleric's sermons to "threaten civil peace."
The government did not own any print media, but the Information Authority--established in July as an associated element of the Ministry of Culture and Information--and other government entities exercised considerable control over domestic, privately owned