WILAYAH NEWS VOICE OF THE GLOBAL AWAKENING
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Since the uprisings of Egypt and Tunisia in 2011, Bahrain has witnessed its wave of revolutionary mass protests demanding constitutional changes, greater freedom and equality of the marginalized majority Shia population, and political freedom and equality for the population as a whole. The revolution, labeled the “14 February uprising” provoked a strong reaction from the security forces and the military, who promptly crushed the popular pro-democracy movement, declared a state of “National Safety” (Martial Law) and hailed the intervention of GCC security and military forces under the cover of the Peninsula Shield Force.
In this perspective, the arrest of prominent leaders represents a move by Bahraini authorities to tighten the noose on political opposition, and silence anyone seen to be critical of the authorities. These political prisoners comprise of opposition leaders, rights activists, bloggers and clerics who have been arrested between 17 March and 9 April 2011, in connection with their role in the uprising and are referred by the media as the “group of thirteen”.
Not surprisingly, the Bahraini authorities applied the same discernible treatment to all of them in blatant contradiction to international human rights. The Bahrain Thirteen were kept in solitary confinement, and sent for trial before National Safety Court, a special military court set up in March 2011 to try the supporters of the uprising. During their arrest, the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights observed some of what these activists suffered by Bahrain National Security Agency officers:
I. Violations during the arrest and detention.
II. Torture by the National Security Apparatus.
III. Physical and psychological torture at the military prison, including sexual assault.
IV. Violations related to the interrogations done by the National Security Apparatus and the Military Prosecution.
V. Violations related to trials before the Military Court.
VI. Vengeance on relatives of the detainees.
Khalil Al-Marzooq
– Leading figure of the major opponent party, Al Wefaq; ex-MP of the Council of Representatives.
– Arrested in September 2013 for criticism of government. Al-Marzooq was summoned to the police station for questioning regarding a speech he delivered at a political rally near the village of Saar. After being interrogated for 7 hours he was placed under a 30 day detention.
– Charged of “supporting the principles of terror elements especially the terrorist group named the February 14 Coalition”, being found in possession of a white flag during his speech which allegedly symbolizes the “14 February Movement”.
– Spent 38 days of isolated detention.
– Also charged with “promoting acts that amount to terrorist crimes” in contrast to his political views about peaceful struggle. His arrest sparked local and international condemnation of Bahrain by organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
– Charges against him have still not been dropped and he remains under a travel ban.
Hasan Mushaima
– Founding member of Al Wefaq; secretary-general of Haq Movement for Liberty and Democracy; founding leader of the “Alliance for the Republic”, a movement to oust the king.
– Forcibly removed from the Pearl roundabout, arrested and eventually sentenced to life imprisonment for “attempting to overthrow the monarchy”.
– His health conditions are severely impaired by lung cancer. Police authorities, after severely torturing, continued to delay a much needed check-up and the possible treatments.
Abdul Al-Jalil Al-Singace
– Ex-member of the board of directors of Al-Wefaq, head of human rights bureau of Haq movement.
– Sentenced to life imprisonment charged with “plotting to topple the government”.
– Victim of repeated cases of verbal and physical abuses, sexual assault, torture and psychological threats and humiliation by police and prison officials. Throughout his solitary confinement, Al-Singace was deprived of his cane, being disabled; forced to stand on his good leg without crutches for prolonged periods.
Nabeel Rajab
– Prominent activist chairing the presidency of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, an organization banned by Bahrain’s government since 2004; member of the Advisory Committee of the Middle East Division of Human Rights Watch; member of the Advisory Board of the Bahrain Rehabilitation and Anti-Violence Organization; president of Gulf Center for Human Rights
– Considered the unofficial leader of the 14 February movement.
– Accused of fabricating and posting on his Twitter account, photos of the slash-marked body of Ali Isa Ibrahim Saqer, a protester who died in detention on 9 April.
– Detained and sentenced to 3 months in prison for having “insulted Bahrainis” in a Twitter message.
– Sentenced to 3 years’ imprisonment while still in detention, charged for “involvement in illegal practices and inciting gatherings and calling for unauthorized marches through social networking sites”, “participation in an illegal assembly”, and “participation in an illegal gathering and calling for a march without prior notification.” Criticism from local and international community reduced the sentence to 2 years.
Sheikh Ali Salman
– Secretary-General of Al-Wefaq.
– Charged with inciting terrorism after holding an exhibition at the headquarters of Al-Wefaq displaying the violations that occurred during Bahrain’s then 32-month revolution.
– Summoned to appear before public prosecution for 6 hour interrogation that ended with the accusation of “insulting the interior minister”.
– In response to the raid, Al-Wefaq stressed that the measures taken by the regime were an infringement to the political associations’ law, whereby the offices of the Society as well as its documents, posts and communications, are protected, and it is illegal to spy on a society or confiscate its possessions without a judicial decision. It concluded that the inspection and its results are considered void.
– Released but placed under house arrest. It seems that charges against him have not yet been dropped.
According to Bahrain Independent Commission, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and other international human rights organizations, the new counter-terrorism bill, entitled “Protecting Society from Terrorist Acts” approved in July 2006, undoubtedly represents a threat to freedom of expression and association, and undermines human rights protection in the country. The main criticism revolves around three points:
– Unsatisfactory definition of what constitutes a terroristic act. A terrorist organization is vaguely defined as one which aims to “harm the national unity”. In this regard, the law may be considered a measure protecting the interests of the ruling family while criminalizing peaceful exercise of freedom of expression.
– Legitimization of excessive detention before charge without judicial review, granting the public prosecutor and security services excessive discretion on the basis of secret evidence which the detainee does not have access to and cannot challenge.
– Misconduct and illegality of trials. All arrests were ordered without a legal warrant, the defense denied the right to interrogate the prosecution witnesses and to present a verbal pleading. Furthermore, the court authorities refused to allow a number of independent human rights observers to attend the hearings. Moreover, medical records which include evidence of torture have been deliberately neglected by judges.
For these reasons, there are no legal grounds for the continued imprisonment of these activists. The lack of international standards sanction the invalidity of the sentences issued. Thus, all detainees should be released, their charges dropped, and all allegations of torture and ill-treatment by the Bahraini forces should be thoroughly investigated.
Full report: http://www.ihrc.org.uk/publications/briefings/10930-three-years-and-counting-the-bahrain-revolution-and-its-imprisoned-leaders
