5 March 2021 – The Biden administration should act on the president’s campaign promises by restoring human rights “as a key feature of American diplomacy” in Bahrain and the wider Arab Gulf, in light of a dramatic deterioration in the country’s rights record during the previous U.S. administration, 15 human rights groups including the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) and Amnesty International and Freedom House stated in an open letter sent to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on 4 March.
The advent of the Trump administration in 2017 “heralded an unprecedented government crackdown” in Bahrain which continues to this day, with Bahrain’s rulers “emboldened” by President Trump’s public disdain for international human rights norms. In the interceding period, Bahrain has reinstated the death penalty and conducted six executions, outlawed independent media and political opposition parties and targeted political leaders, human rights defenders and other civil society figures. Trump also significantly increased arms sales to Bahrain, with exports totalling $8.5 billion during his administration, despite Bahrain’s involvement in the Saudi-led war on Yemen, described by the UN as the “world’s worst humanitarian crisis”.
The Biden administration should urge Bahrain to rescind restrictions on civil society, take genuine steps towards justice reform and the restoration of civil rights and reinstate restrictions on arms sales to Bahrain pending an improvement in the country’s rights record. U.S. officials should should also request visits with Bahraini political prisoners and publicly call for the release all those imprisoned in Bahrain for peacefully exercising their right to free expression, peaceful assembly and association, in particular the jailed leaders of Bahrain’s 2011 Arab Spring uprising including Hassan Mushaima, Abduljalil AlSingace, Abdulhadi AlKhawaja, Sheikh AlMuqdad and Abdulwahab Husain.
Read the full letter here.
Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, Director of Advocacy at BIRD, commented: “While the U.S professes its support for human rights around the world, geopolitical concerns have always trumped ideals when it comes to U.S policy in Bahrain. It has been a decade since Bahrain’s Arab Spring uprising and its leaders remain in exile or behind bars. Until U.S policy in Bahrain focuses on resolving the consequences of 2011 and pushing for democratic reform, the political crisis in the country will remain unresolved.”
Husain Abdulla, Executive Director at Americans for Democracy and Human Rights (ADHRB), commented: “The Trump era will be remembered as the bloodiest period since Bahrain’s 2011 uprising, demonstrating what happens when Bahrain’s Western allies indulge dictators and turn a blind eye to abuses. If the human rights situation in Bahrain is to improve, the Biden administration must hold the Bahrainis to account and make it clear that human rights are back on the agenda.”
]]>On March 17, 2020, Bahrain completed the release of 1,486 prisoners, 901 of whom received royal pardons on “humanitarian grounds.” The remaining 585 were given non-custodial sentences. While this is a positive step, the releases so far have excluded opposition leaders, activists, journalists and human rights defenders – many of whom are older and/or suffer from underlying medical conditions. Such prisoners are at high risk of serious illness if they contract COVID-19, and thus ought to be prioritized for release.
“Bahrain’s significant release of prisoners is certainly a welcome relief as concerns around the spread of COVID-19 continue to rise. Authorities must now speedily release those who never should have been in jail in the first place, namely all prisoners of conscience who remain detained solely for exercising their right to peaceful expression”, said Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s Middle East Director of Research. “We also urge the authorities to step up measures to ensure full respect for the human rights of all those deprived of their liberty.”
Opposition leaders imprisoned for their roles in the 2011 protest movement remain behind bars. These include Hassan Mushaima, the head of the unlicensed opposition group Al-Haq; Abdulwahab Hussain, an opposition leader; Abdulhadi Al Khawaja, a prominent human rights defender; and Dr Abdel-Jalil al-Singace, the spokesman for Al-Haq.;
Other prominent opposition figures, including Sheikh Ali Salman, secretary general of the dissolved Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society (Al-Wefaq), also remain imprisoned. Sayed Nizar Alwadaei, who was deemed arbitrarily detained by the United Nations in “reprisal” for the activism of his brother-in-law, the exiled activist Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei; and human rights defenders Nabeel Rajab and Naji Fateel, have not been released either. Amnesty International considers them to be prisoners of conscience who should be released immediately and unconditionally.
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights has documented that a total of 394 detainees of the 1,486 released were imprisoned on political charges. According to Salam for Democracy and Human Rights, another Bahraini nongovernmental group, 57 of the 901 prisoners who received a royal pardon were imprisoned for their political activities, while the rest were given non-custodial sentences. Since the Bahraini government has not made available any information on the charges for which those ordered released had been convicted the exact figures cannot be verified. However, it is clear that people imprisoned for nonviolent political activity are in the minority of those released.
Scores of prisoners convicted following unfair trials under Bahrain’s overly broad counter-terrorism law have been overlooked and denied early release or alternative penalties, even though other inmates serving considerably longer sentences were freed. This includes Zakiya Al Barboori and Ali Al Hajee, according to the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy.
Conditions in Bahrain’s overcrowded prisons compound the risk of COVID-19 spreading. The lack of adequate sanitation led to a scabies outbreak in Jau Prison – Bahrain’s largest prison – and Dry Dock Detention Center in December 2019 and January 2020. Almost half of the Dry Dock Detention Center’s prison population was infected. In 2016 a governmental Prisoners and Detainees Rights Commission found buildings at Jau Prison to suffer from “bad hygiene,” “insect infestation” and “broken toilets.”
Furthermore, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the United Nations have expressed their concern over the authorities’ persistent failure to provide adequate medical care in Bahrain’s prisons. This has endangered the health of some unjustly imprisoned persons with chronic medical conditions, such as Hassan Mushaima and Dr Abdel-Jalil al-Singace, who may now be at heightened risk of contracting COVID-19.
Hassan Mushaima, 72, has diabetes, gout, heart and prostate problems, and is also in remission for cancer. Prison authorities have routinely failed to take him to appointments due to his refusal to submit to wearing humiliating shackles during transfers to his appointments. International human rights mechanisms have said that the use of restraints on elderly or infirm prisoners who do not pose an escape risk can constitute ill-treatment.
Dr Abdel-Jalil al-Singace, 57, has post-polio syndrome and uses a wheelchair. Prison authorities have also refused to transport him to his medical appointments due to his refusal to wear shackles.
“As the world faces the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis, it is more important than ever that the international community work together to contain its spread and ensure that the health and rights of the vulnerable are protected,” said Husain Abdullah, Executive Director at ADHRB. “Bahrain’s allies, in particular the UK and US, should explicitly call on Bahrain to secure the release of all those solely imprisoned for their peaceful opposition to the government.”
States have an obligation to ensure medical care for all those in their custody at least equivalent to that available to the general population and must not deny or limit detainees equal access to preventive, curative or palliative health care. Given that conditions in detention centers pose a heightened public health risk to the spread of COVID-19, and the persistent failure to provide an adequate level of care to those in their custody, there are grave concerns about whether prison authorities could effectively control the spread of COVID-19 and care for prisoners if there is an outbreak inside Bahrain’s prisons.
The Bahraini authorities should seize the opportunity to immediately and unconditionally release everyone imprisoned solely for peacefully exercising their rights to free expression, including Hassan Mushaima, Dr Abdel-Jalil al-Singace, Abdulahdi Al-Khawaja, Abdulwahab Hussain, Nabeel Rajab, Naji Fateel, and Sheikh Ali Salman. The convictions of those imprisoned following unfair trials – including Sayed Nizar Alwadaei – should be quashed, or at the very least they should be released pending fair re-trial.
The risks posed by the COVID-19 pandemic to those in detention should be a strong factor weighing toward the reduction of the prison population through the release of pre-trial detainees, particularly given the poor, unsanitary conditions in Bahrain’s prisons and the inadequate provision of medical care. In addition, prisoners who are especially vulnerable to COVID-19, such as those with underlying medical conditions and the elderly, should be considered for early release, parole, or alternative non-custodial measures as a means to further reduce the prison population and prevent the spread of COVID-19.
In any event, the authorities should ensure that anyone who remains in custody has access to disease prevention and treatment services, including ensuring physical distancing of prisoners at all times, including in housing and eating and social areas. Prison authorities should screen all guards to prevent the introduction of COVID-19 into prisons and provide appropriate information on hygiene and supplies and ensure that all areas accessible to prisoners, prison staff, and visitors are disinfected regularly. They should develop plans for housing people exposed to or infected with the virus in quarantine or isolation and ensure that necessary medical care is available.
“Bahrain’s first wave of prison releases was positive, but insufficient,” said Joe Stork, Deputy Middle East Director at Human Rights Watch. “The authorities should further reduce the prison population by releasing those who are imprisoned solely for their political beliefs or for exercising their right to free speech and peaceful assembly. Meanwhile, the authorities should ramp up efforts to ensure that the remaining prison population has access to the medical care, is protected from transmission and is provided the information that they need to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“With Coronavirus presenting an unprecedented threat to life, it is vital that Bahrain’s political prisoners are released. Since 2011, the government has pursued a campaign of revenge against opposition leaders and rights activists for calling for democratic reforms; it is time for them to rise above petty politics to protect the life of all their citizens.” said Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, Director of Advocacy at BIRD.
Signed by:
Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB)
Amnesty International
ARTICLE 19
Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR)
Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD)
CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
English PEN
European Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (ECDHR)
Global Legal Action Network (GLAN)
Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GC4HR)
Human Rights First (HRF)
Human Rights Watch (HRW)
IFEX
Index on Censorship
International Service For Human Rights (ISHR)
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)
PEN America
PEN International
REDRESS
Reprieve
Download a PDF of the statement here: Free Imprisoned Rights Defenders and Activists
]]>The report points to the Bahrain’s government’s violent crackdown on its citizens as evidence of an unrelenting campaign against all forms of dissent. All opposition parties and independent media remain dissolved, while protests continue to be brutally crushed, critical voices targeted and online criticism policed through obtrusive cybercrime legislation. Over 300 people were convicted in mass trials during 2019, while the judiciary continued to rely on confessions rather than physical evidence, encouraging the persistence of torture in Bahraini detention centres.
Deteriorating Prison Conditions
The report also sheds light on the deterioration of prison conditions in Bahrain throughout 2019, with inmates describing a range of abuses including religious discrimination, torture and unsanitary conditions, amongst other issues. These issues compelled over 600 prisoners to launch a hunger strike in August 2019 to demand their basic rights be respected.
Bahrain was also widely condemned for its consistently failing to provide inmates with an adequate standard of medical care, with Joe Stork from Human Rights Watch describing the practice as “outrageous”. Aging opposition leaders including Hassan Mushaima and academic Dr Abdujalil al-Singace complain that they are systematically subjected to medical negligence due to their political status. Similarly, Hajer Mansoor, who remains arbitrarily detained in reprisal for the activism of her son-in-law, BIRD Director of Advocacy Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, has regularly reported medical negligence at Isa Town Female Detention Centre, alongside targeted discrimination by prison authorities.
Continued British Support, Despite Abuses
BIRD found that the government of the United Kingdom has consistently failed to acknowledge or act upon international warnings about human rights violations in Bahrain, while maintaining technical and financial support to institutions known to be ineffective or abusive. Funding for the UK government’s so-called “technical assistance” to Bahrain continues to be channeled through the highly secretive Integrated Activity Fund, precluding adequate scrutiny of Britain’s relationship with Bahrain.
The report also highlights a number of government scandals, including the $5 billion Petrofac lobbying scandal, the storming of the Bahraini embassy in London by police in mid-summer and the ongoing torture debacles at the University of Huddersfield. In a unique move, the report tracks official and unofficial visits by British ministers, diplomats and members of the armed forces to their Bahraini counterparts, to illustrate the intimate links between powerful British institutions and Bahrain’s ruling elite.
Sportswashing Emerges as Key Regime PR strategy
Throughout 2019, BIRD’s campaigning and advocacy focused heavily on exposing Bahrain’s attempts to normalise its position in the global economy through investment in sporting and cultural events. A chapter in the report tracks the tangled web of economic interests tying Bahrain’s ruling elites to a wide portfolio of sporting ventures, including motorsport, athletics, cycling and combat sports, which have proven to be both effective PR and highly lucrative.
As “sportswashing” has become increasingly central to Bahrain’s international relations strategy, the government has aggressively targeted any of its citizens who undermines the image of prosperity and normalcy that they have tried to project. In 2019, BIRD successfully exposed Bahrain’s targeting of those who criticise the government’s cynical exploitation of professional sport, with significant campaigns contributing to the release of refugee footballer Hakeem AlAraibi and activist Najah Yusuf and professional footballer Hakeem AlAraibi.
Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, Director of Advocacy at The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) commented: “The situation in Bahrain continued to deteriorate in 2019 and sadly there is little sign that it will improve as we enter a new decade. Bahrain’s regime has been emboldened by the apparently unconditional support of their British allies and as we enter the post-Brexit era, the UK’s propensity to put trade above human rights seems likely to increase.”
Read the full report here
]]>The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) condemns today’s decision in the strongest term and urges the Bahraini authorities to ensure the immediate and unconditional release of Sheikh Salman.
Today’s verdict marks the end of a long, flawed trial. On 21 June 2018, Sheikh Salman was acquitted by Bahrain’s High Criminal Court, alongside his two co-defendants and leading figures in the Al-Wefaq party, Sheikh Hassan Ali Juma Sultan and Ali Mahdi Ali Al-Aswad. Sheikh Salman’s co-defendants were tried in absentia. On 4 November 2018, Bahrain’s High Criminal Court of Appeal overturned the acquittal and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
In November 2017, Sheikh Salman was charged with maintaining intelligence contacts with Qatar, revealing national defence secrets and accepting financial sums all of which undermine the “political, economic position and national interests with the purpose of overthrowing the regime” in Bahrain. The charges are based on an audio recording of a phone call between Sheikh Salman and the then Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thanian, which was broadcasted by Bahrain’s state television in August 2017.
Commenting, BIRD’s Director of Advocacy, Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei said: “This is political revenge and an insult to justice. Punishing peaceful dissidents for leading protests against the corrupt ruling family has nothing to do with justice. This verdict shames Bahrain’s rulers and their allies in traditional western democracies, namely US and UK.”
Background Information
The Qatari Case and the 2011 BICI Report
Paragraph 527 of the 2011 report by Bahrain’s Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI), cited opposition sources suggested that the then Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani, could act as the sponsor of a proposed United States initiative. Opposition sources also indicated that the State of Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, attempted to mediate between the Bahraini government and opposition parties in the following days and that this initiative was accepted by the opposition but rejected by the government.
However, the mediating role of Qatar never arose as an issue before the Qatari crisis of 2017.
The Freedom of Expression Case
Sheikh Salman is currently imprisoned in Jau Prison as a result of a separate conviction related to speeches he delivered in 2014 against parliamentary elections that his party boycotted. Some of Sheikh Salman’s charged included publicly inciting hatred, civil disobedience and for promoting change within the ruling government.
After being arrested on 28 December 2014, he was initially sentenced to four years in June 2015, and increased to nine-year prison sentence by the appeal court and then reduced back to four years on 3 April 2017 by the highest court. In reality, he was convicted in relation to peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression, following a grossly unfair trial.
Sheikh Salman has been subjected to degrading treatment in Jau Prison alongside other 11 opposition activists and human rights defenders.
International Response
United States
On 21 June 2018, following Sheikh Salman’s acquittal, the spokesperson for the State Department urged the Bahraini prosecutors not to pursue an appeal of the judge’s ruling and called on the Government of Bahrain to release Sheikh Salman from prison.
On 7 November 2018, the US State Department expressed “concern” for the decision to overturn Sheikh Salman’s acquittal.
United Kingdom
On 15 June 2018, in response to a parliamentary question on Sheikh Salman’s case, UK MENA Minister Alistair Burt merely stated that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) had “raised the case at a senior level with the Government of Bahrain”. The Minister, however, had failed to publicly condemn the charges.
On 4 November 2018, after Sheikh Salman’s acquittal was overturned, Alistair Burt issued a statement saying he is “very concerned” for the sentencing but failed again to call for his release.
On 22 January 2019, in response to a topical question on Bahraini imprisoned human rights defenders and political leaders, including Sheikh Salman, Alistair Burt said “There are independent processes in order to oversee the activities of the courts in Manama” and “…the United Kingdom is very involved in seeing greater progress there.”
United Nations
In February 2015, five UN experts expressed concern for the arrest and detention of Sheikh Salman, and called for his release.
In September 2015, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) officially declared Sheikh Salman to be arbitrarily detained. The WGAD cited both freedom of expression and due process concerns, requested for his immediate release and that he receive his enforceable right to compensation.
]]>In particular, the parliamentarians highlighted that the life sentence handed to the leader of Bahrain’s largest political society, Sheikh Ali Salman, on 4 November 2018, suggests that the necessary conditions for free and fair elections are not in place, as “the Government of Bahrain has essentially eliminated political and civil space over the last few years.”
In May this year, the Bahraini government enacted an amendment to the Law on the Exercise of Political Rights that effectively bars the political participation of major political figures. Those who have any affiliation with opposition parties or a criminal record are banned from running from elected office. In addition, the only independent newspaper, Al-Wasat, was forcibly closed in 2017. Human rights defenders, activists and journalists are routinely imprisoned because of their work, the parliamentarians added.
The parliamentarians further urged the UK Government to act, as “Illegitimate elections and the imprisonment of political opposition leaders in Bahrain will precipitate greater violence”, which will also damage “the stability of the country and the UK’s position in the region.”
Earlier this week Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission in the U.S. House of Representatives released a letter to the King of Bahrain raising similar concerns.
Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, Director of the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD), said: “Clearly, legislatures from the world’s leading democratic states believe that the upcoming election in Bahrain lacks legitimacy. You simply cannot crush, torture and imprison your entire opposition, call for a pseudo-election, and then demand the respect of the international community”.
Please find the letter below:
8 November 2018
Dear Foreign Secretary,
As Members of this Parliament, we write regarding the upcoming elections for the Council of Representatives of Bahrain’s National Assembly. The leader of Bahrain’s largest dissolved political society, Sheikh Ali Salman, was sentenced to life imprisonment on 4 November 2018, for charges described by Amnesty International as solely related to freedom of expression. This verdict, occurring in the month of the elections, raises further concerns that the necessary conditions for free and fair elections are not currently in place in Bahrain. In light of the UK’s long-standing relationship with the Kingdom of Bahrain, we urge you to take all the necessary measures to ensure the legitimacy and credibility of the upcoming elections.
Crackdown Against Political Opposition and Civil Society
Firstly, serious doubts remain over the legitimacy of the current parliament, given the repressive measures implemented by the ruling family to crush peaceful protests calling for democratic change. The Government of Bahrain has essentially eliminated political and civil space over the last few years. The arbitrary dissolution of Bahraini opposition parties, Al-Wefaq and Wa’ad, clearly indicates that the Gulf Kingdom is reluctant to allow any political participation. This is made all the more apparent by the imprisonment of a number of key political leaders, including Hassan Mushaima, Abdulwahab Husain and Sheikh Ali Salman. Sheikh Salman’s life imprisonment is premised on charges of espionage for Qatar. Bahrain’s High Court of Appeals overturned the initial decision to acquit Sheikh Salman of all charges in June 2018. Mr Mushaima’s systematic denial of adequate medical care, family visits, and books, highlights the cruelty with which the authorities will suppress political dissent. In May this year, the Bahraini government legalised what they had established in practice by enacting an amendment to the Law on the Exercise of Political Rights. The legislation now bars anyone who has belonged to the aforementioned political parties and those who have spent more than six months in prison from running for elected office. In doing so, the law effectively bans major opposition figures from holding political office. Between the membership of the dissolved opposition groups and the countless Bahrainis incarcerated on charges that criminalise freedom of expression and assembly, the ban affects tens of thousands of people.
Secondly, free and fair elections can only take place if citizens are able to express their views. Yet, the only independent newspaper, Al-Wasat, was forcibly closed in 2017, while at least 15 journalists are currently imprisoned. Bahrain’s most prominent human rights defender, Nabeel Rajab, has joined his partner Abdulhadi al-Khawaja in prison, for comments deemed critical of the Bahraini state. The Bahraini authorities have also imprisoned activist Ali Hajji and human rights defender Naji Fateel. Family members of London-based Bahraini activist Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, are now serving prison sentences based on fabricated charges, in reprisal to his human rights work. We are dismayed that overstretching anti-terror and cybercrime laws to criminalise political dissent and civil society activism has become the norm.
Thirdly, the electoral infrastructure of the country itself presents some inherent disadvantages for the political opposition. Voting districts are organised in such a way that the Sunni minority is over-represented. Furthermore, the absence of ties between polling stations and specific constituencies leaves the system more open to abuse. No independent electoral commission currently exists, while international media and human rights bodies, including the UN, are consistently barred from entering the country, therefore no impartial body is capable of monitoring the elections.
Our Requests
Under these conditions, credible and legitimate elections do not seem possible. The unlawful life sentence handed to Sheikh Salman is the latest evidence that proves that the Bahraini Government will go to extreme lengths to silence political dissent. The US has called for Sheikh Salman’s release, and the EU has also condemned the ruling, arguing that it is ‘in the interest of the long term stability of the country and its citizens’ to reconsider the sentence upon appeal.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), on the other hand, is yet to condemn the ruling and call for Sheikh Salman’s release, and has instead provided a weak statement which does not reflect the UK’s strong commitment to human rights and democratic values. Equally, the FCO expressed public support for Bahrain’s pseudo-elections, allowing them to maintain an appearance of legitimacy.
We therefore urge you to withdraw your support and amend the statement on Sheikh Salman to condemn the life sentence he faces and call for his immediate release. We, also urge you to apply maximum pressure on the Government of Bahrain to:
Bahrain may be a key strategic ally to the UK, but human rights and democratic values are fundamental pillars of our society and foreign policy. Illegitimate elections and the imprisonment of political opposition leaders in Bahrain will precipitate greater violence by the hand of the Bahraini government, thereby damaging the stability of the country and the UK’s position in the region.
Yours Sincerely,
Sir Peter Bottomley (Conservative)
Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party)
Caroline Lucas (Green Party)
Andy Slaughter (Labour)
Chris Williamson (Labour
Jim Cunningham (Labour)
Lloyd Russell Moyle (Labour)
Matt Western (Labour)
Roger Godsiff (Labour)
Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat)
Christine Jardine (Liberal Democrat)
Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat)
Tim Farron (Liberal Democrat)
Tom Brake (Liberal Democrat)
Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru)
Hywel Williams (Plaid Cymru)
Jonathan Edwards (Plaid Cymru)
Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru)
Stephen Gethins (Scottish National Party)
Stuart McDonald (Scottish National Party)
]]>Sheikh Salman is the leader of Bahrain’s largest dissolved political society, Al-Wefaq, and was found guilty by the Court of Appeal of trumped-up charges related to espionage for Qatar, which the Qatari State has also denied. This decision was made ahead of the upcoming “sham” elections which are to be held on 24 November.
Lord Scriven publicly appealed to Ministers Jeremy Hunt MP, Alistair Burt MP, and Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon to criticise the verdict and to apply pressure on Bahrain to secure the immediate release of Sheikh Salman.
The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) welcomes Lord Scriven’s support for human rights and democratic reform in Bahrain.
Today I wrote to @foreignoffice Ministers to express my disappointment for their weak statement on the unlawful life sentence against political leader, Sheikh Ali Salman in #Bahrain.
The decision was made just in time for the sham #elections which will be held on 24 November. pic.twitter.com/qtxacrMYXf
— Paul Scriven (@Paulscriven) November 6, 2018
Lord Scriven’s Letter
Dear Ministers,
I am writing to express my extreme disappointment in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) response to the life sentence that was handed to the leader of Bahrain’s largest dissolved political society, Sheikh Ali Salman, on 4 November. I strongly urge the FCO to meet their human rights obligations by urgently condemning this sentence and calling for Sheikh Salman’s immediate release. This issue highly concerns me, therefore please be aware that I have made this letter public.
The US, a strong ally to the Kingdom of Bahrain, with strategic interests similar to those of the UK, had urged Bahraini prosecutors not to pursue the appeal and called for his immediate release. There is no reason that the UK should not be able to follow suit. The EU has also condemned the decision, arguing that it is “in the interest of the long term stability of the country and its citizens” to reconsider his sentence upon appeal. Amnesty International asserted that “Sheikh Ali Salman is a prisoner of conscience who is being held solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom”. Unfortunately, the FCO’s response so far has been extremely weak, offering no explicit condemnation of the life sentence or calling for his release. In refusing to criticise Sheikh Salman’s charges, the UK remains in violation of their own commitment to freedom of speech and expression.
Lords and MPs across all parties have shown interest in the politically-motivated charges brought against Sheikh Salman and the human rights abuses in Bahrain. EDM 509 on the reprisals facing human rights defender Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, which received 81 signatures from all parties, also calls for an end of politically motivated prosecutions, including that of Sheikh Salman.
I am particularly concerned with Sheikh Salman’s case, given Bahrain’s upcoming general elections on 24 November 2018. By sentencing Bahrain’s leading opposition leader a few weeks prior to the elections, the Kingdom of Bahrain has shown a steadfast commitment to silencing any opposition to their rule, thereby highlighting the illegitimate nature of these elections.
The UK’s long-standing relations with Bahrain, including political and financial support through its multi-million-pound technical assistance programme, gives the UK considerable influence over the actions of the Bahraini government. Expressing concern and encouraging the Bahraini government “to deliver on its international and domestic human right obligations” is not enough; it simply emboldens the Gulf kingdom to continue acting with impunity when denying residents their basic rights, such as freedom of expression. The UK, thus, has a moral responsibility to use their position to act urgently on this matter.
I, therefore, urge you to publicly criticise the Kingdom of Bahrain for sentencing Sheikh Salman to life in prison and call for his immediate release and meet the human rights obligations of the UK. I understand that the UK has funded training for the justice programs in Bahrain and regards the Kingdom as a close ally. However, human rights should not be a selective political tool that is only employed when it justifies the needs of the UK; rather, the UK should hold one standard of human rights, and even more so with regard to their allies.
Yours,
Lord Scriven
]]>
Sheikh Salman is currently serving a four-year sentence for “inciting disobedience and hatred”, which has been criticised by the United Nations.
On 21 June 2018, Sheikh Salman was acquitted by Bahrain’s High Criminal Court, alongside his two co-defendants and leading figures in the Al-Wefaq party, Sheikh Hassan Ali Juma Sultan and Ali Mahdi Ali Al-Aswad. Sheikh Salman’s co-defendants were tried in absentia.
In November 2017, Sheikh Salman was charged with maintaining intelligence contacts with Qatar, revealing national defence secrets and accepting financial sums all of which undermine the “political, economic position and national interests with the purpose of overthrowing the regime” in Bahrain.
The charges are based on an audio recording of a phone call between Sheikh Salman and the then Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thanian, which was broadcasted by Bahrain’s state television in August 2017.
The verdict arrives in time for the elections for the Council of Representatives of Bahrain’s National Assembly on 24 November 2018. The Council of Representatives is the only elected governing body in the Kingdom.
Commenting, BIRD’s Director of Advocacy, Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei: “This is a political persecution and it can’t happen without authorisation by the highest authority in the Alkhalifa family. Despite the ongoing scrutiny on the Gulf region, with Saudi Arabia being under the spotlight for its brutal murder of Jamal Khashoggi, Bahrain has made a decision that reeks of arrogance. While the UK stays shamefully silent, the US has called for Sheikh Salman’s release. However, they have failed to use their leverage to translate their words into actions to get him out of prison”.
Elections in Bahrain
On 24 November 2018, there will be elections for the Council of Representatives of Bahrain’s National Assembly, which is the only elected governing body in the Kingdom. Amid the increasing crackdown on civil society and human rights, there are growing concerns regarding the legitimacy and credibility of the elections.
Furthermore, over the last few years, the Government of Bahrain has eliminated all political space. This includes the arbitrary dissolution of Bahraini opposition parties, Al-Wefaq and Wa’ad. Key political leaders, including Sheikh Salman, are imprisoned for various charges.
In May 2018, the Bahraini government enacted an amendment to the Law on the Exercise of Political Rights. The legislation now bars anyone who has belonged to the aforementioned political parties and those who have spent more than six months in prison from running for elected office. The law effectively bans major opposition figures from holding political office and affects tens of thousands of people.
Freedom of expression is not tolerated by the Bahraini authorities. Al-Wasat, the only independent newspaper, was forcibly closed in 2017 and at least 15 journalists are currently imprisoned. Human rights defenders are routinely targeted; prominent human rights defenders such as Nabeel Rajab and Abdulhadi al-Khawaja are currently incarcerated for their work.
These developments have occurred despite the provision of parliamentary training to the Council of Representatives Secretariat in financial year 2015-16 from the UK through its technical assistance programme.
Background Information
The Qatari Case and the 2011 BICI Report
Paragraph 527 of the 2011 report by Bahrain’s Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI), cited opposition sources suggested that the then Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani, could act as the sponsor of a proposed United States initiative. Opposition sources also indicated that the State of Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, attempted to mediate between the Bahraini Government and opposition parties in the following days, and that this initiative was accepted by the opposition but rejected by the Government.
However, the mediating role of Qatar never arose as an issue before the Qatari crisis of 2017.
The Freedom of Expression Case
Sheikh Salman is currently imprisoned in Jau Prison as a result of a separate conviction related to speeches he delivered in 2014 against parliamentary elections that his party boycotted. Some of Sheikh Salman’s charged included publicly inciting hatred, civil disobedience and for promoting change within the ruling government.
After being arrested on 28 December 2014, he was initially sentenced to four years in June 2015, and increased to nine-year prison sentence by the appeal court and then reduced back to four years on 3 April 2017 by the highest court,. In reality he was convicted in relation to peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression, following a grossly unfair trial.
Sheikh Salman was subjected to degrading treatment in Jau Prison earlier this year, alongside other 11 opposition activists and human rights defenders.
International Response
United States
On 21 June 2018, following Sheikh Salman’s acquittal, the spokesperson for the State Department urged the Bahraini prosecutors not to pursue an appeal of the judge’s ruling, and called on the Government of Bahrain to release Sheikh Salman from prison.
United Kingdom
On 15 June 2018, in response to a parliamentary question on Sheikh Salman’s case, UK MENA Minister Alistair Burt merely stated that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office had “raised the case at a senior level with the Government of Bahrain”. The Minister, however, has failed to publicly condemn the charges.
United Nations
In February 2015, five UN experts expressed concern for the arrest and detention of Sheikh Salman, and called for his release.
In September 2015, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) officially declared Sheikh Salman to be arbitrarily detained. The WGAD cited both freedom of expression and due process concerns, requested for his immediate release and that he receive his enforceable right to compensation.
]]>Today’s verdict marks the end of a long, flawed trial. Sheikh Salman was acquitted alongside his two co-defendants and leading figures in the Al-Wefaq party, Sheikh Hassan Ali Juma Sultan and Ali Mahdi Ali Al-Aswad. Sheikh Salman’s co-defendants were tried in absentia.
Sheikh Salman is currently serving a four-year sentence in Jau Prison in relation to another freedom of expression case.
Commenting, BIRD’s Director of Advocacy, Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei: “This case should never have been initiated in the first place: Sheikh Ali Salman had been used as a pawn in Bahrain’s game of power politics. Despite his acquittal, Sheikh Salman will continue to languish in Jau Prison for exercising his right to freedom of expression. His conviction must be overturned and he must be released immediately.”
Timeline of Events According to Bahrain’s Public Prosecution
The Qatari Mediation as Referenced by the 2011 BICI Report
Paragraph 527 of the 2011 report by Bahrain’s Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI), cited opposition sources suggested that the then Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani, could act as the sponsor of a proposed United States initiative. Opposition sources also indicated that the State of Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, attempted to mediate between the Bahraini Government and opposition parties in the following days, and that this initiative was accepted by the opposition but rejected by the Government.
However, the mediating role of Qatar never arose as an issue before the Qatari crisis of 2017.
Sheikh Salman is currently imprisoned in Jau Prison as a result of a separate conviction related to speeches he delivered in 2014 against parliamentary elections that his party boycotted. Some of Sheikh Salman’s charged included publicly inciting hatred, civil disobedience and for promoting change within the ruling government. He was initially sentenced to four years in June 2015, and increased to nine-year prison sentence by the appeal court and then reduced back to four years on 3 April 2017 by the highest court, In reality he was convicted in relation to peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression, following a grossly unfair trial.
Early last year, Sheikh Salman was among the 12 opposition activists and human rights defenders who were subjected to degrading treatment in Jau Prison. Since then, he has been denied the right to family visitations and access to books.
United Nations
United Kingdom (UK)
On 15 June 2018, in response to a parliamentary question on Sheikh Salman’s case, UK MENA Minister Alistair Burt merely stated that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office had “raised the case at a senior level with the Government of Bahrain”. The Minister, however, has failed to publicly condemn the charges.
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The health of Sheikh Isa Qassim, who is in his 70s, deteriorated sharply yesterday afternoon. Sheikh Isa Qassim is in continuous pain and excreting blood. Doctors independent of the Bahraini government were allowed to visit the cleric at his home, but the cleric’s family had to insist to the police that they be sent, and they only arrived after a delay of four hours. They diagnosed him with a groin hernia requiring emergency operation. Such an operation carries a high mortality risk at Sheikh Isa Qassim’s age. He also suffers high blood pressure, diabetes and a form of heart disease.
Sheikh Maytham Al-Salman, head of Bahrain Interfaith, said: “The Bahraini government holds the full responsibility of the Shiekh Isa Qassim’s well-being, as they imposed the house arrest and control his access to medical treatment. Urgent medical care by independent doctors must be permitted immediately. The international community must ensure Bahrain is pressured to ensure the safety of Shiekh Isa Qassim is protected.”
Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, Director of Advocacy, Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy: “The Bahraini monarchy are playing with fire. Denying adequate medical care and placing under house arrest Bahrain’s most senior religious figure, despite his advanced age and ill-health, tells you everything about the rulers’ cruelty and lack of human compassion. This disregard could have major unintended consequences which the government is not considering.”
In June 2016, the Minister of Interior rendered him stateless. The cleric is one of over 480 people stripped of Bahraini citizenship since 2012. His village, Duraz, has been under a continuous police blockade since June 2016.
Sheikh Isa Qassim has been under house arrest since May 2017. On 21 May 2017, just a day after US President Trump met Bahrain’s King Hamad in Saudi Arabia and told him there would be “no strain” between their two countries, Sheikh Isa Qassim was sentenced to a one-year suspended sentence on charges of “money laundering” – the charges related solely to the Shia practice of Khums, a religious donation to senior clerics who redistribute the money for religious and charitable purposes. Sheikh Isa Qassim was unfairly tried in absentia. When BIRD and other NGOs analysed the the prosecution’s arguments, we found they resorted to language that could incite religious intolerance.
Two days after his sentence, on 23 May, police stormed into Duraz and, using overwhelming force, arrested over 280 protesters and unlawfully killed five. Three of the protesters killed were inside the home of Sheikh Isa Qassim. No one has been held accountable for their deaths. Duraz remains under a police blockade to date, with a permanent police presence outside the Sheikh’s house.
Sheikh Isa Qassim is the most senior Shia cleric in Bahrain, holding the rank of Ayatollah. He is looked to as a spiritual leader by Bahraini Shia, who constitute an estimated 60% of the country’s citizen population. In 1972, he was elected as a member of the historic Constitutional Assembly, which wrote Bahrain’s first constitution.
Earlier this year, the US State Department’s International Religious Freedom Report found that Bahrain systematically discriminates against its Shia. Last year, five UN experts called on Bahrain to end its “persecution” of its Shia people.
Other Trials
Sheikh Ali Salman, the leader of the now-dissolved Al Wefaq, the largest political party in the country, today has a court hearing for allegedly colluding with Qatar. He and two other ex-Wefaq MPs (Ali Al-Aswad and Hasan Sultan, both in exile) are charged with working with Qatar against Bahrain in 2011. They deny the charges. None of the defendants appeared in court, and the trial was postponed to 29 November. Sheikh Ali Salman is currently serving a 4-year prison sentence on politically motivated charges. Al Wefaq was dissolved in 2016 by the Ministry of Justice.
Three family members of BIRD’s Director of Advocacy, Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, face an appeal hearing on 3 December. They were sentenced to three years in prison each, after suffering torture and unfair trials, as a reprisal against Sayed Ahmed’s work.
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Sheikh Ali Salman is the leader of Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, the largest political group in the country. He was arrested in December 2014 and in June 2015, a criminal court sentenced him to four years in prison on a litany of charges including inciting hatred against the regime. In his initial trial, the court acquitted him on the more serious charge of inciting revolution.
The prosecution appealed his acquittal, and on 30 May 2016 the higher appeals court changed its previous decision, convicting him of inciting revolution and increasing his sentence to nine years. Specifically, the court sentenced him to 7 years on the three charges of “inciting change of the regime,” “inciting hatred against a sector of society,” “inciting criminal activities,” and sentenced him to 2 years on a fourth charge of “insulting a statutory body.” This decision came on the day former Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond visited Bahrain and met with the country’s King, where he publicly praised Bahrain’s”commitment to continuing reforms”. The Court of Cassation ordered today’s retrial of the appeal in October 2016, which reconfirmed the May 2016 judgement.
The United Nation Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) declared Sheikh Salman was arbitrarily detained by the Bahraini government. The decision, which cites both free expression and due process concerns, requests that the Bahraini government release Sheikh Salman immediately, and provide him with an enforceable right to compensation against the government.
Al Wefaq is the largest political party in the country and won over 60% of the vote in the 2010 General Election, winning 18 of 40 seats, and which was recently dissolved by the Bahraini government. Al Wefaq’s 18 MPs resigned from the largely powerless National Assembly in protest of the Bahraini government’s violent response to Arab Spring protests in 2011, and subsequently participated in reconciliation dialogues with the government. However, these dialogues collapsed in 2014, and Al Wefaq’s opposition bloc chose to boycott that year’s general election, the first after the Arab Spring. Sheikh Ali Salman’s arrest came just a month after the November 2014 elections.
The Bahraini Ministry of Justice ordered the dissolution of Al-Wefaq following court proceedings in June 2016. The society’s accounts have been frozen and physical property repossessed. In September, the government announced it would liquidate Al-Wefaq’s property at auction, but has yet to carry out these measures.
In addition to Al-Wefaq and Sheikh Ali Salman, the Bahraini government has targeted additional opposition political figures and societies. Fadhel Abbas, the Secretary-General of Al-Wahdawi, is serving a 3-year prison sentence for calling the Saudi war in Yemen, in which Bahrain is a belligerent, unconstitutional. The National Democratic Action Society – Wa’ad – has been under threat, with their leader banned from travel and repeatedly subject to police questioning in the past year. Ebrahim Sharif, the former Secretary General of Wa’ad, served 4 years in prison following his arrest, torture and prosecution by military court in 2011; he served another year in prison after he called for sustained peaceful opposition in July 2015, and was charged again in November 2015 after he criticised Prince Charles of the United Kingdom’s visit to Bahrain. These latest charges were dropped following pressure from the United Kingdom.
The government has subjected major political leaders to repeated judicial harassment since before 2011. Among those currently imprisoned are most members of the “Bahrain 13” – a group of high-profile political leaders and activists, including Hassan Mushaima, leader of the Haq Movement. Like Ebrahim Sharif, an original member of the Bahrain 13, authorities arrested, tortured, and prosecuted these activists on politically-motivated charges. A military court convicted the Bahrain 13 in 2011, and a civil appeals courts upheld the sentences in 2012.
International Context
The court’s decision to sentence Sheikh Ali Salman to 9 years in prison comes days after two major security conferences held in Bahrain. Last week, UK Prime Minister Theresa May was in Bahrain for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Leaders Summit. She did not raise human rights concerns in her speech, instead telling GCC leaders: “I want to leave no-one in any doubt about the scale of my ambition or the extent of my determination to establish the strongest possible trading relationships between the UK and the Gulf.”
UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was also in Bahrain for a separate security forum, the Manama Dialogue, during which he declared that “Britain is back from East of Suez”, alluding to the UK’s colonial past in Bahrain. He also failed to address human rights.
Additionally, US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter also travelled to the Manama Dialogue and met with Bahrain’s King Hamad last week. While the US has previously called for Sheikh Ali Salman’s release, the Secretary of Defense does not appear to have raised the case during his visit.
The Bahraini government is empowered by its allies’ continued silence in the face of escalating repression. The penal code criminalises free expression by setting punishments for, among other ‘crimes’, “insulting statutory bodies”, “insulting the King” and “insulting the flag of Bahrain” – legislation that the authorities have used to restrict nearly all independent activities relating to politics, civil society, and human rights.
NGO Condemnation
Bahrain has violated Sheikh Ali Salman’s freedom from arbitrary detention, right to a fair trial, and right to political participation, as defined under articles 2, 9 and 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and articles 9, 14, 25 and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
We, the undersigned, condemn this upheld sentence and call on Bahrain to:
We call on Bahrain’s allies, the United Kingdom and United States to:
Signed,
Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain
Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy
European Centre for Democracy and Human Rights
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