It appears that Sheikh Isa Qassim has been suffering from an “undisclosed illness” and recently fell and hurt himself.
Doctors from the Bahraini hospital Ibn Al-Nafees advised that Sheikh Isa Qassim be transferred abroad immediately to relevant hospitals with specialised care so that urgent measures can be taken to prevent his condition from deteriorating.
The doctors agreed that London is the most medically appropriate option for Sheikh Isa Qassim, although the precise hospital at which he will receive treatment remains unclear.
On Friday 6 July, Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Khalid Al Khalifa announced on Twitter that the Shia cleric would be able to travel abroad for medical care.
It appears that Sheikh Isa Qassim was issued a temporary passport to enable his visit, as he was stripped of his citizenship on 20 June 2016.
Commenting, the Advocacy Director of the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) Sayed Alwadaei said: “The arrival of Sheikh Isa Qassim to London follows a series of violations of his rights. In the last two years, Bahraini authorities have rendered him stateless, placed him under house arrest and denied him access to necessary medical treatment. In May 2017, five people from his village were killed at his doorstep. Although Sheikh Isa Qassim now appears to be receiving appropriate medical care, the ordeal he has suffered remains concerning and cannot be forgotten”.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Timeline
- 20 June 2016: The Bahraini Government announced that it had unilaterally decided to revoke the citizenship of Sheikh Isa Qassim. In response, hundreds of demonstrators began a peaceful sit-in around Sheikh Isa Qassim’s home in the village of Duraz. The cleric is one of 738 people stripped of Bahraini citizenship since 2012, according to BIRD’s research.
- July 2016: Following Sheikh Isa Qassim’s denaturalisation, the Public Prosecution charged Sheikh Isa Qassim with alleged illegal fundraising and money laundering. The charges relate solely to the Shia religious practice of khums, a religious donation to senior clerics who redistribute the money for religious and charitable purposes.
- Since June 2016, Duraz has been under a continuous police blockade. Authorities have cut internet access and have closed most of the roads leading into and out of the village.
- 16 August 2016: Five UN experts urged Bahrain to end its “persecution” of its Shia people.
- Since May 2017, Sheikh Isa Qassim has been under a de facto house arrest.
- 21 May 2017: Sheikh Isa Qassim was sentenced in absentia to a one-year suspended sentence and fined 100,000 Bahraini Dinars two days after US President Trump met Bahrain’s King Hamad in Saudi Arabia and told him there would be “no strain” between their two countries.
- 23 May 2017: The Bahraini authorities brutally crushed the peaceful sit-in initiated by Sheikh Isa Qassim’s followers during a ‘security operation’ using overwhelming force.
- During this operation, which the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights described this event as one of the “deadliest” operations since Bahrain’s uprising began in 2011, 286 protesters were arrested, tens were injured and five were unlawfully killed. No one has been held accountable for their deaths.
- 29 January 2018: Bahrain’s Supreme Court upheld Sheikh Isa Qassim’s sentence.
Health Condition
- Despite Sheikh Isa Qassim’s health deteriorating sharply in the last year, he has repeatedly been denied access to medical treatment. Doctors independent to the Bahraini government were allowed to visit the cleric at his home, due to his family’s insistence to the police. They diagnosed him with a groin hernia requiring emergency operation. He also suffers from high blood pressure, diabetes and a form of heart disease.
- 4 December 2017: Sheikh Isa Qassim was hospitalised.
- 7 December 2017: Six UN experts urged the Bahraini government to “allow Mr. Qassim to receive visitors freely, to ensure that medical staff can treat him without pressure of any kind, and to ensure that he can continue to access the medicines he needs”.
- 8 December 2017: Sheikh Isa Qassim underwent surgery.
- 31 January 2018: Sheikh Isa Qassim returned to the hospital to undergo a hernia surgery. His operation was delayed by almost two weeks by authorities.
8 December 2017 – Bahrain’s most senior Shia cleric Sheikh Isa Qassim went under surgery this morning following his transfer to Ibn Al-Nafees hospital, as the Bahrain Interfaith and the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) said today.
The leading Shia cleric was transferred this morning at 7:30 am to Ibn al-Nafees Hospital to undergo urgent surgery. Upon his arrival, he went into surgery and he is expecting further operations.
The decision to transfer him was motivated by a lack of medical facilities at the Bahraini International Hospital where he was hospitalised, and to ensure the confidentiality of his treatment is fully respected.
The director and owner of the Bahrain International Hospital Dr Faisal AlZeerah revealed information about Shiekh Qassim’s health condition without his or his family consent, resulting in a clear violation of his confidentiality. The hospital also breached its own privacy policy, whereby “any information about a patient´s condition, treatment personal affairs, may be released only through, or with the approval of, the patient”.
His health conditions deteriorated sharply on 26 November 2017. Despite the doctor’s call for medical care, the authorities only allowed him to be examined by a doctor after three hours, and it took more than a week to transfer him to Bahrain International Hospital on 3 December.
Yesterday, on 7 December 2017, four UN Experts called on the Bahraini Government to ensure Sheikh Isa Qassim’s rights are fully respected. “We welcome the news that the Government of Bahrain has finally allowed Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim to go to hospital to access the life-saving treatment he requires, but we are concerned that he remains under guard,” the experts said in a joint statement. They also called for the end of his de facto house arrest, imposed since May 2017.
To date, Sheikh Isa Qassim’s hometown Duraz remains under a police blockade. Earlier this week, one of the protester arrested in May was officially charged with attempted murder by the public prosecutor.
Sheikh Maytham AlSalman of Bahrain Interfaith said “For over a year, the Bahraini government has intensified the reprisals against the country’s most senior religious leader Sheikh Isa Qassim. He was subjected to a series of violations, including the arbitrary revocation of his citizenship, his conviction on absurd politically motivated charges, and the murdering of peaceful protesters near his door steps placing him under house arrest. Most recently, he was deprived of adequate medical care. Bahrain’s stability can only be achieved by ensuring the human rights of all are fully respected, and by promoting an all inclusive dialogue process”.
Contradictory accounts on his house arrest:
The Bahraini embassies in the US and UK issued contradictory statements regarding the house arrest of Sheikh Isa Qassim. While the Bahrain Embassy in the US admitted to the New York Times that the senior Shia leader is under “house arrest”, the Bahrain Embassy in the UK stated “to be absolutely clear, Sheikh Isa Qassim is not under house arrest.”
This is, in fact, in dispute with the Bahrain Embassy in London’s own comments in an Associated Press report last week that Sheikh Qassim’s house arrest “has no bearing on his access to health care neither does his citizenship revocation.”
Background on his sentence & citizenship revocation:
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 De Facto 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 lethal 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.
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.
Editor’s notes:
Statement by 4 UN Experts released on 7 Dec 17: http://www.ohchr.org/en/
“Sheikh Isa Qassim’s house arrest has no bearing on his access to healthcare, neither does his citizenship revocation,” the embassy said in an emailed statement. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/
Bahrain Embassy in the UK statement on 30 November 17: N.B. “Notwithstanding his conviction and sentence, and to be absolutely clear, Sheikh Isa Qassim is not under house arrest” http://mailchi.mp/
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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Ahead of the previous hearing on 7 May 2017, several US-based NGOs that work on international religious freedom issues sent a letter to Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Bahrain’s king, urging the government to drop all charges against Sheikh Isa Qassim and reinstate his citizenship. Additionally, a group of international NGOs sent letters to the heads of state of the US, the UK, the EU, and to the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights, asking officials to publicly call on the Bahraini government to drop the charges against the three defendants. To date, the organizations have received no response to any of these letters.
The trial of Sheikh Isa Qassim on Sunday will occur while US President Trump visits Saudi Arabia. At a summit convened by Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, the president is predicted to address ways for Muslim countries to cultivate religious tolerance. “While President Trump talks to Muslim leaders, including GCC officials, in Saudi Arabia about religious tolerance, the Bahraini government at the same time is promoting religious intolerance,” said ADHRB Executive Director Husain Abdulla. “The Bahraini authorities, by denaturalizing and prosecuting Sheikh Isa Qassim for religious practices, have shown they will criminalize actions of individuals based solely on religion. This will only continue to cause further instability in the country.”
During the 7 May hearing, the lead judge in the case, Ali al-Dhahrani, was absent from the proceedings. Judge al-Dhahrani, son of a previous Shura Council leader, Khalifa Ahmed al-Dhahrani, is the head of the Fourth High Criminal Court and has a documented history of presiding over trials with vast due process violations. Al-Dhahrani ruled on cases heard in the 2011 National Safety Courts and has dismissed testimonies stating that torture was used to extract coerced confessions from defendants. Al-Dhahrani has allowed coerced confessions to be admitted as evidence in cases. In September 2013, al-Dhahrani led the Court in the conviction of 50 defendants, including human rights defenders, on politically-motivated terror charges. His court has also rendered many stateless under the anti-terrorism law.
Presiding in the absence of al-Dhahrani at the 7 May hearing were three Egyptian judges – Osama al-Shaadhaly as head judge, with Wael Ibrahim and Saber Jumaa. Witnesses reported increased security on the day of the hearing. Authorities reportedly prevented cars from stopping around the building and heavily searched individuals before permitting them to enter the courtroom. Authorities barred some individuals from entering the courtroom to observe the trial; witnesses reported that entrance was mainly limited to diplomats, state media, and government officials. Attendants also reported that 12 diplomatic officials were present in the court. One government-appointed defense lawyer, Abdulrahman Khashram, was present at the hearing.
Background on the Case
The Bahraini government first announced that it had unilaterally decided to revoke the citizenship of Sheikh Isa Qassim on 20 June 2016. The Ministry of Interior stated that the decision was “administrative” and cited Bahraini nationality law, stating that Sheikh Isa Qassim had allegedly caused “damage to the interest of the State or [took] actions contrary to the duty and loyalty to it.” Following Sheikh Isa Qassim’s denaturalization, the Public Prosecution in July 2016 charged Sheikh Isa Qassim, Sheikh al-Qassab, and al-Dirazi with alleged money laundering. The charges relate solely to the Shia religious practice of khums, which is a payment made by Shia Muslims to Shia clerics for charitable distribution to the community.
“The nationality of Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim was revoked before the trial even began, which clearly indicates that the legal actions that proceeded after his nationality was stripped are part of the government’s reprisal campaign against him,” stated Sheikh Dr. Maytham al-Salman, Senior Advisor for the Bahrain Center for Human Rights. “He is solely being punished for supporting democratic and human rights reforms in Bahrain. Qassim’s trial for practicing religious rituals is baseless and could lead to further instability in Bahrain and in an already tense region.”
This move by the Bahraini government was met with international criticism. On 20 June 2016, the same day the Bahraini government announced Sheikh Isa Qassim’s denaturalization, the US State Department said it was “alarmed by the Government of Bahrain’s decision to revoke [his] citizenship” and “remain deeply troubled… by the practice of withdrawing nationality of its citizens arbitrarily.” The European Union also warned that “revoking the citizenship of prominent figures such as Sheikh Isa Qassim risks increasing divisions and sectarian differences”.
Following the Bahraini authorities’ decision to denaturalize and bring charges against Sheikh Isa Qassim, there has been an ongoing, peaceful sit-in around his home in Diraz to protect him from possible deportation. Since June 2016, over 80 Shia clerics have been interrogated and at least nine sentenced for the exercise of their freedom of assembly and expression. The Bahraini government has set up barriers around Diraz, only allowing residents of the village to pass. Additionally, authorities have reportedly barred Friday prayers from the largest Shia mosque in Bahrain where Sheikh Isa Qassim preached.
In August 2016, five UN Special Procedure mandate holders issued a joint statement urging Bahrain to “end the persecution of Shias.” The mandates called on the Government of Bahrain to “stop such arbitrary arrests or summons and release all those who have been detained for exercising their rights.” Additionally, the UN urged the Bahraini authorities to “not resort to repressive measures and… enter into dialogue with all relevant parties in order to prevent unnecessary conflict or violence.”
The denaturalization and charges against Sheikh Isa Qassim are related solely to the practice of his religion and should therefore be deemed arbitrary. The Government of Bahrain, if it sentences Sheikh Isa Qassim to jail and deportation, risks causing heightened tensions and increased instability. We, therefore, strongly urge the Bahraini government to do the following:
- Reinstate the Bahraini citizenship of Sheikh Isa Qassim
- Drop all charges against Sheikh Isa Qassim, Sheikh Hussain al-Qassab, and Mirza al-Dirazi, as they relate solely to the practice of their religious faith
- Stop the judicial harassment and interrogation of individuals for their participation in peaceful protests
- Drop the charges against those religious clerics who have been charged in relation to their internationally-sanctioned rights to exercise free assembly and association
- Meet the UN’s calls to end the systematic persecution against the Shia majority population in Bahrain
Signed,
Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB)
Bahrain Center for Human Rights
Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD)
European Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (ECDHR)
]]>In 2011, hundreds of thousands of people rose up in support of democracy and human rights in Bahrain. After enduring decades of structural inequalities, corruption, and repression, nearly half the country’s citizen population gathered to demand reform. The government responded swiftly, and severely. Riot police flooded the streets, employing excessive and indiscriminate force to disperse the demonstrations and suppress the movement. Assisted by a Saudi and Emirati forces, Bahraini authorities violently put down the peaceful uprising, leading to thousands of arrests, hundreds of injuries, and dozens of deaths.
Since 2011, the Bahraini authorities have taken steps to institutionalize this repression by passing broad, wide-ranging laws that have created a legal framework, which is now used to target human rights defenders, journalists, and civil society at large.
Following the repression of the 2011 pro-democracy movement, King Hamad established the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) in July to analyze Bahraini authorities’ violations during the pro-democracy movement. On November 2011, the BICI commission handed over their finalized report to King Hamad, outlining 26 recommendations for key reforms for the Government of Bahrain, all of which the government accepted, yet today, the vast majority of these recommendations remain unfulfilled.
This past summer, the government unleashed a new campaign of repression as it arrested prominent Bahraini human rights defender Nabeel Rajab, who faces 15 years in prison for exercising his freedom of expression, and took steps to permanently dissolve Al-Wefaq, the country’s largest political opposition society. Nabeel remains in prison in poor conditions, after his trial was postponed multiple times. His next hearing is scheduled for 15 December 2016, where he could face up to fifteen years in prison for tweets. Al-Wefaq’s Secretary-General Sheikh Ali Salman recently had his 9-year sentence upheld in regards to a peaceful speech he gave. Since the dissolution of Al-Wefaq, in June 2016, the authorities have increased their harassment of almost all major political societies.
Fadhel Abbas, the Secretary-General of Al-Wahdawi, is currently 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 2016 after he criticised Prince Charles of the United Kingdom’s visit to Bahrain. These latest charges were later dropped, following international pressure.
The government has likewise subjected civil society to similar widespread harassment. Bahraini authorities have summoned more than 75 Shia religious leaders and clerics for interrogation. Many have been charged and imprisoned for taking part in the peaceful sit-in in Diraz, which began on 20 June 2016 following the arbitrary denaturalization of Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim, Bahrain’s leading Shia cleric.
Harassment of human rights defenders and activists include interrogations and restricting their freedom of movement. Since June, the government has employed the practice of travel bans to restrict civil society from leaving the country and participating in international human rights conferences and meetings, such as the United Nations Human Rights Council. On 29 August 2016, the authorities stopped the Head of International Relations and Women & Children’s Rights Advocacy at BCHR, Nedal Al-Salman, at Bahrain International Airport. She was attempting to travel to Geneva via Doha to attend meetings at the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC). Nedal has since been summoned and charged with “illegal gathering.” The government prohibited Hussain Radhi, a member of the BCHR Documentation Section, from travelling across the King Fahd Causeway between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, on 23 August 2016. Officials at the passport office informed Radhi that the Department of Cybercrime at the CID had issued the ban, and he has since been charged with crimes related to tweets. Additionally, the government has targeted human rights lawyers like Mohamed Al-Tajer, a well-respected human rights lawyer and outspoken advocate, with travel bans and criminal charges for his free expression.
Such restrictions on activists, human rights defenders, opposition figures, and religious leaders constitute clear violations of the right to freedom of speech, expression, assembly, and movement.
Stifling civil society, dissolving legitimate peaceful political opposition groups, imprisoning activists for peaceful speeches, sentencing individuals who call for human rights, and passing vague and broad laws to suppress free speech and expression does not signify progress for Bahrain.
We, in the Bahraini human rights community, remain deeply concerned with the human rights situation in Bahrain. We call on the Government of Bahrain to take active steps to overturn the repressive measure taken this summer. We call for the release of all activists and prisoners of conscience and demand the Bahraini government hold all human rights violators accountable.
Today we stand in solidarity with all those in Bahrain who continue to call for human rights and dignity for all in Bahrain.
Signed,
Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain
Bahrain Center for Human Rights
Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy
European Centre for Democracy and Human Rights
]]>The campaign group urged the Prince of Wales to cancel his trip, arguing: “By cancelling your visit you will be upholding and representing the freedoms enjoyed in the United Kingdom: freedom of speech, religion, movement, assembly and freedom of the press.”
The Prince of Wales’ visit to Bahrain was announced in September, and came under immediate criticism. As part of his agenda, Prince Charles will be visiting the new Royal Navy base currently being constructed at a cost of £30m by the Bahrain Defence Force, in an arrangement which the Ministry of Defence described to BIRD as a “gift” from Bahrain to the UK. The UK is expected to be contribute around £7.5m towards the base, the cost of which has ballooned in size from the originally announced £15m total figure.
Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, Director of Advocacy, BIRD: “Bahrain will see Prince Charles’ visit as a green light for their repression and use him to whitewash their terrible record, at a time when the repression is intensifying and the government is eliminating its critics. Prince Charles should take this opportunity to meet the jailed defender Nabeel Rajab, who is fighting for democracy and human rights, not dining with the architects of injustice.”
The visit comes a week after the latest court appearance of Nabeel Rajab, the human rights defender currently facing up to 15 years on multiple charges of “insulting a statutory body”, “insulting a neighboring country”, and “disseminating false rumors in time of war”. These are in relation to remarks he tweeted and retweeted on Twitter in 2015 about torture in Bahrain’s Jau prison and the humanitarian crisis caused by the Saudi-led war in Yemen. He was also charged in September with “undermining the prestige of the state” after the New York Times published his opinion piece, Letter from a Bahraini Jail. If convicted on this charge, Rajab faces an additional year in prison.
On 31 October, the court ordered Rajab’s case to be reopened for new investigations into his twitter account. The United States has described his trial unjust and called for his release.
Prince Charles’s visit will be followed up by a visit by Prime Minister Theresa May in December. Last month, King Hamad of Bahrain visited Downing Street and, in a meeting marked by protests, invited her to the Gulf Cooperation Council Leaders Summit in December. It will be the first time that the Prime Minister travels to the oil rich and human rights poor Gulf region.
Further Information: A Summer of Repression
Bahrain has come under mounting criticism recently. Last month, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights used his opening statement at the 33rd session of the council to warn Bahrain: “The past decade has demonstrated repeatedly and with punishing clarity exactly how disastrous the outcomes can be when a Government attempts to smash the voices of its people, instead of serving them.”
As well as the prosecution of Nabeel Rajab, over 20 human rights activists were banned from travel in June and August according to BIRD’s data, preventing them from attending two sessions of the UN Human Rights Council and engaging in international events. One human rights defender, Zainab Al-Khawaja, was forced into exile in June after receiving threats of re-arrest and indefinite detention. This came within weeks of her release from prison on charges related to her expression, which was secured through pressure from the United States.
Al Wefaq, the largest political society in the country, was dissolved over the summer and their assets frozen. The society is appealing the decision. In May, a court increased the prison sentence of Al Wefaq’s Secretary General from four years to nine on charges related to his peaceful political activities.
Alongside these events, on 20 June the Ministry of Interior revoked the nationality of Sheikh Isa Qassim, the spiritual leader of Bahrain’s Shia majority. Sheikh Qassim is today the highest ranking Shia cleric in the country, and had been an elected member of the country’s parliament in 1973 (the brief democratic experiment was abolished within two years by the late Emir Isa, King Hamad’s father and predecessor). He is now being prosecuted for “money laundering”. The charge relates to his role in gathering and distributing Khums, a type of religious donation commonly practiced by Shia Muslims.
Since June 2016, the Government of Bahrain has carried out a sustained campaign against the country’s civil and political society and the country’s Shia community. According to BIRD’s documentation, over 60 clerics have been subject to questioning and prosecution for their sermons and participation in protests, with three sentenced in the past month. Since 20 June, police have subjected Sheikh Qassim’s hometown of Duraz to a physical blockade and nightly internet blackouts, collectively punishing the village’s 20,000 residents.
]]>Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, Director of Advocacy at the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD), was among the two detained. They were subsequently released.
Earlier today, BIRD wrote to Theresa May urging her to raise human rights in the meeting. The letter stated: “The only way to positively impact the human rights situation there is to make use of your leverage and to criticise these issues in public. To do any less will re-inforce the authoritarianism of the Bahraini king’s government.” (Read the full letter here.)
Margaret Ferrier MP also wrote to Mrs May, demanding that human rights tops the visit’s agenda. Anti-death penalty group Reprieve also called on the Prime Minister to raise the issue in the meeting. Multiple torture victims have been sentenced to death in Bahrain, with two having exhausted all appeals.
Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei is a survivor of torture. In 2011, during Arab Spring protests, he was beaten by police, arrested, tortured and sentenced by a martial court. He later claimed asylum in the United Kingdom. He was present at the Pearl Roundabout, the epicentre of protests, on 17 February 2011 – “Black Thursday” – when police cleared the roundabout, killing four protesters.
Ali Mushaima, the second activist detained today, is the son of Hassan Mushaima, one of the “Bahrain 13”, a group of political and human rights activists sentenced by military court in June 2011. Hassan Mushaima is serving a life sentence in Bahrain and Amnesty International Considers him a Prisoner of Conscience.
Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei: “It’s outrageous to see Bahrain’s dictator given a free pass when his security forces are responsible for murdering peaceful protesters. Nabeel Rajab is on trial for tweeting.
Nicholas McGeehan, Researcher at Human Rights Watch, said on twitter: “Instead of arresting Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, maybe UK police should be taking a look at evidence of torture in Bahrain and the government’s sinister guest list.”
Intensified Crackdown in Bahrain
King Hamad’s first visit to the United Kingdom since Mrs May became prime minister, in recent months, a Bahraini government-led crackdown against civil society has intensified.
Rights defender Nabeel Rajab is facing up to 15 years in prison for tweets criticising the war in Yemen, which Bahrain is a participant in, and documenting torture in Bahrain. His next trial date is 31 October. Other human rights activists have been banned from travel, preventing them from advocating internationally. Meanwhile, political society has been restricted, with the largest political party in the country, Al Wefaq, dissolved over the summer.
Since June, when Bahrain stripped the citizenship of Sheikh Isa Qassem, the highest Shia religious authority in the country, over 60 religious clerics have been questioned, charged and imprisoned for their sermons and participation in protests. Five UN experts called on Bahrain to end its “persecution of Shias” in August.
In June, BIRD found the UK’s foreign policy to Bahrain to be “counter-productive” and “unsustainable“.
The royal relations remain strong, and Prince Charles is also due to visit Bahrain on 8-11 November.
]]>In his last visit, the King attended the Queen’s 90th birthday celebrations held at the Royal Windsor Horse Show. The King was seated side by side with the Queen in the royal box. The appearance was roundly criticised by human rights groups. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International criticised the warm treatment of Bahrain’s monarch, in light of continued abuses in the country.
BIRD wrote to Theresa May today asking her to raise human rights. The letter states: “The only way to positively impact the human rights situation there is to make use of your leverage and to criticise these issues in public. To do any less will re-inforce the authoritarianism of the Bahraini king’s government.”
Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, Director of Advocacy, Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy: “This is an important test for Theresa May as her first meeting with Bahrain’s king. Her actions will either uphold human rights values or act as support for a repressive dictatorship. The Bahraini king and his government take a lot of cues from Britain, and if she fails to address human rights, she will give them a free pass to double down on repression.”
In the five months since the king’s last visit, the Bahraini government-led crackdown against civil society has intensified.
Rights defender Nabeel Rajab is facing up to 15 years in prison for tweets criticising the war in Yemen, which Bahrain is a participant in, and documenting torture in Bahrain. His next trial date is 31 October. Other human rights activists have been banned from travel, preventing them from advocating internationally. Meanwhile, political society has been restricted, with the largest political party in the country, Al Wefaq, dissolved over the summer.
Since June, when Bahrain stripped the citizenship of Sheikh Isa Qassem, the highest Shia religious authority in the country, over 60 religious clerics have been questioned, charged and imprisoned for their sermons and participation in protests. Five UN experts called on Bahrain to end its “persecution of Shias” in August.
In June, BIRD found the UK’s foreign policy to Bahrain to be “counter-productive” and “unsustainable“.
The royal relations remain strong, and Prince Charles is also due to visit Bahrain on 8-11 November.
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Read the letter as a PDF.
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Rt Hon Prime Minister Theresa May
10 Downing Street
London
SW1A 2AA
26 October 2016
The Rt Hon Prime Minister Theresa May,
I urgently write to you ahead of your forthcoming meeting with the King of Bahrain this week requesting you to raise the human rights situation in Bahrain in the strongest of terms. The United Kingdom’s influence is strong in Bahrain, but it has not been used to benefit human rights substantively. The only way to positively impact the human rights situation there is to make use of your leverage and to criticise these issues in public. To do any less will re-inforce the authoritarianism of the Bahraini king’s government.
Bahrain’s king, a frequent visitor of the United Kingdom, was last here in May 2016. In the five months since, his government has overseen an intensified crackdown on civil and political society. There is no freedom for political participation, no freedom of expression, and no method by which civil society can organise that is not under the total control of the Bahraini government. This serious deterioration in Bahrain’s human rights situation is in spite of a November 2011 pledge by King Hamad himself to institute wide-ranging reforms, in the aftermath of the government’s brutal crackdown of Arab Spring protests, in which tens died and hundreds were tortured.
In May, the King oversaw a ceremony declaring the formal end of post-Arab Spring reforms. Yet the situation could not be much worse.
Bahrain’s leading human rights defender, Nabeel Rajab, currently faces up to 15 years in prison and is expected to be sentenced on Monday 31 October. This is for tweets expressing his opinion on the war in Yemen, which Bahrain is a participant in, and for his documentation of torture in a Bahraini prison. He faces an additional year in prison after he was charged with “undermining the prestige of the state” after the New York Times published his opinion piece, Letter from a Bahraini Jail.
Other activists are also at risk. Over twenty human rights activists have been banned from travel since June, preventing them from attending the UN Human Rights Council’s last two sessions and other international engagements. Zainab Al-Khawaja, an activist sentenced on a litany of charges related to her free expression, was released from prison after public pressure from the United States, and then forced into exile in June under threat of re-arrest and indefinite detention. Over 330 persons have been stripped of citizenship, including human rights defenders, journalists, former members of parliament and activists.
With civil society so tightly restricted, political society has fared even worse. Over the summer, the largest political society (what political parties are termed in Bahrain) was dissolved on spurious charges. This party, Al Wefaq, was first established in 2001 and participated in two elections, winning over 60% of the vote in 2010 and 48% of the seats at the National Assembly. The leader of the Alwahdawi party, Fadhel Abbas, is serving a 5-year prison term for calling the war in Yemen unconstitutional. The former leader of the National Democratic Action Society was released from prison in July this year, and the public prosecution – which is not independent from the state – is appealing against an earlier court’s decision to acquit him on charges of inciting the change of the regime, in relation to a speech he gave last year.
Religious freedoms have also come under major threat. The Shia of Bahrain, who constitute an estimated 60% of the citizen population, have been harassed and “persecuted” – these are the words of five UN experts. Meanwhile, the Bahrain Defence Force, the same army responsible for the construction of the new Royal Navy base in Bahrain, has published books which endorse killing Shia if they do not “repent”. It should be greatly disturbing for the United Kingdom that Bahraini recruits to the terrorist group ISIS have been drawn from the ranks of the defence and security forces.
Most troublingly are the torture victims on death row. Two victims in particular, Mohammad Ramadan and Husain Moosa, have exhausted all appeals. The British-trained police Ombudsman, which is not independent from the police force, has not only repeatedly failed to investigate claims of abuse brought to them, it has covered up the abuses. These death row torture survivors are the most vulnerable victims of Bahrain’s violent police force, corrupt justice system, and closed political and human rights sphere.
The measures by the King of Bahrain’s government against the country’s civil and political society are wide-reaching and unprecedented since the Arab Spring. In a region beset with turmoil, Bahrain could be a place of reform. Instead, it is another case study of dictatorship, one which the UK has played a role in: over £5.8m in British tax payer money has been spent on reform assistance to Bahraini authorities since 2012, yet the culture of impunity remains unchanged.
The United Kingdom plays an important role: as Bahrain’s closest Western ally, UK foreign policy carries a great deal of weight. When the doors to 10 Downing Street and Buckingham Palace remain open to the King of Bahrain, when arms deals and business are conducted as usual despite persecutions, then Bahrain’s violations are legitimised.
For five years, the UK has pursued a quiet diplomacy route which has failed to induce its ally to reform, a conclusion evidenced by the deteriorating situation. It is no exaggeration of the UK’s influence to say that if you publicly criticise the King of Bahrain’s rights record and make use of Britain’s leverage, then positive change can happen. If you do not, then the Government of Bahrain will double down in its repression. I ask only that you make the right decision.
Yours Sincerely,
Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei
Director of Advocacy
Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy
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14 October 2016 – Campaigners are calling on Prince Charles to cancel his upcoming visit to Bahrain in light of the country’s deteriorating situation, as a leading activist faces 15 years in prison on Monday 31 October.
The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall will visit Bahrain for three days, between 9-11 November. The purpose of the visit is to “promote the U.K.’s partnership in key areas such as religious tolerance, military cooperation, supporting women in leadership, creating youth opportunities, preserving cultural heritage and wildlife conservation.” Human rights are noticeably absent from the agenda, and they will spend a whole day in Bahrain’s capital, Manama, with no public engagements.
The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) say that “given the recent intensification of human rights violations by the Government of Bahrain”, a royal visit now to promote commerce and arms trade will “enable those continuing violations.”
The campaign group have written a letter to the Prince of Wales urging him to cancel his trip, arguing, arguing: “By cancelling your visit you will be upholding and representing the freedoms enjoyed in the United Kingdom: freedom of speech, religion, movement, assembly and freedom of the press.”
The Prince of Wales’ visit to Bahrain was announced in September, and came under immediate criticism.
Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, Director of Advocacy, BIRD: “Prince Charles should reconsider his visit to Bahrain at a time when the repression is intensifying and the government is eliminating its critics. By the end of this week, leading campaigner Nabeel Rajab might be sentenced to 15 years in prison just for speaking his mind. The Prince’s visit now will be seen by Bahrain’s royals as a green light for this repression.”
The letter comes ahead of Nabeel Rajab’s 31 October trial date, when the human rights defender is expected to be sentenced up to 15 years in prison.
Rajab, who is currently being held in solitary confinement ahead of his court date, faces multiple charges of “insulting a statutory body”, “insulting a neighboring country”, and “disseminating false rumors in time of war”. These are in relation to remarks he tweeted and retweeted on Twitter in 2015 about torture in Bahrain’s Jau prison and the humanitarian crisis caused by the Saudi-led war in Yemen.
He was also charged in September with “undermining the prestige of the state” after the New York Times published his opinion piece, Letter from a Bahraini Jail. If convicted on this charge, Rajab faces an additional year in prison.
Further Information: A Summer of Repression
Bahrain has come under mounting criticism recently. Last month, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights used his opening statement at the 33rd session of the council to warn Bahrain: “The past decade has demonstrated repeatedly and with punishing clarity exactly how disastrous the outcomes can be when a Government attempts to smash the voices of its people, instead of serving them.”
Since June 2016, the Government of Bahrain has carried out a sustained campaign against the country’s civil and political society and the country’s Shia community.
As well as the prosecution of Nabeel Rajab, over 20 human rights activists have been banned from travel in June and August according to BIRD’s data, preventing them from attending two sessions of the UN Human Rights Council and engaging in international events. One human rights defender, Zainab Al-Khawaja, was forced into exile in June after receiving threats of re-arrest and indefinite detention. This came within weeks of her release from prison on charges related to her expression, which was secured through pressure from the United States.
Al Wefaq, the largest political society in the country, was dissolved over the summer and their assets frozen. The society is appealing the decision. In May, a court increased the prison sentence of Al Wefaq’s Secretary General from four years to nine on charges related to his peaceful political activities.
Alongside these events, on 20 June the Ministry of Interior revoked the nationality of Sheikh Isa Qassim, the spiritual leader of Bahrain’s Shia majority. Sheikh Qassim is today the highest ranking Shia cleric in the country, and had been an elected member of the country’s parliament in 1973 (the brief democratic experiment was abolished within two years by the late Emir Isa, King Hamad’s father and predecessor). He is now being prosecuted for “money laundering”. The charge relates to his role in gathering and distributing Khums, a type of religious donation commonly practiced by Shia Muslims.
According to BIRD’s documentation, over 60 clerics have been subject to questioning and prosecution for their sermons and participation in protests, with three sentenced in the past month. Since 20 June, police have subjected Sheikh Qassim’s hometown of Duraz to a physical blockade and nightly internet blackouts, collectively punishing the village’s 20,000 residents.
]]>On 14 June 2016, Bahraini authorities suspended Al-Wefaq. The Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs requested the civil courts approve its dissolution, and they subsequently released an expedited decision to close the society. Bahraini authorities immediately seized and shut down Al-Wefaq’s headquarters. They also froze the society’s assets and halted all of its activities. Additionally, Bahraini officials blocked Al-Wefaq’s website in the kingdom. Originally, the court had set 6 October 2016 as the commencement of the case to dissolve Al-Wefaq. However, in response to a request by the Ministry of Justice, the court moved the trial forward twice. Al-Wefaq’s legal counsel had previously pulled out of all legal proceedings as security forces prevented them from entering Al-Wefaq’s headquarters “to get the necessary documents to prepare our defense and support it with documents.” On 17 July 2016, the High Civil Court affirmed the order and formally dissolved Al-Wefaq in the absence of any defense counsel.
“Bahrain’s rulers believe in crushing opponents and silencing voices of criticism as the solution for Bahrain,” stated Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, Director of Advocacy at the Bahrain Institute for Rights & Democracy (BIRD). “Dissolving Al-Wefaq today is the last nail in the coffin of King Hamad’s claims of reforms.”
Bahrain’s ongoing repression has not gone unnoticed by the international community. Most recently, at the 33rd session of the Human Rights Council (HRC), UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Prince Zeid bin Ra’ad used his opening statement to raise concern over Bahrain’s suppression of peaceful dissent. He cautioned Bahrain: “The past decade has demonstrated repeatedly and with punishing clarity exactly how disastrous the outcomes can be when a Government attempts to smash the voices of its people, instead of serving them.”
Today’s decision to uphold the dissolution of Al Wefaq coincides with the escalation in government repression. Last year, Bahraini authorities sentenced Al-Wefaq’s Secretary-General Sheikh Ali Salman to four years in prison on charges relating to his right to his free speech and peaceful political activity. In a case of double jeopardy, in May 2016 an appeals court upheld his sentence but convicted him on another previously dropped charge. Sheikh Ali Salman, who is a Shia cleric, is now serving a nine-year sentence related to a peaceful speech he gave in 2015. The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention considers him arbitrarily detained. Additionally, in May of 2016 the Bahraini government made an amendment to the political society law preventing religious figures from entering politics.
“Despite the Bahraini government’s repeated rhetoric of reform, there should now be no doubt left in the international community that the Bahraini authorities are strictly committed to suppressing civil society and peaceful opposition,” stated Husain Abdulla, Executive Director of Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB). “It is time for Bahrain’s allies in Washington and London to send a strong message to the Bahraini authorities that they will not stand idly by and allow these human rights violations to continue. The U.S and U.K. must take action, including the suspension of all arms sales to Bahrain.”
Repression against civil society greatly escalated this past summer as authorities targeted human rights defenders, issued travel bans against activists, and revoked the citizenship of the highest Shia cleric, Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim. The level of repression against the Shia population has reached such levels that five UN experts issued a statement calling on Bahrain to stop its “persecution” of the Shia community.
Nevertheless, the authorities have only intensified their ongoing campaign against Shia religious leaders. Since June 2016, Bahraini authorities have interrogated and/or detained over 60 Shia clerics on charges related to free expression and assembly. Just yesterday, a court sentenced three Shia clerics to a year in prison each on charges of “illegal gathering” related to their participation in a peaceful sit-in. This brings the total number of Shia clerics recently sentenced solely for exercising their rights to free expression or assembly to seven.
We, the undersigned, condemn these actions which limit civil society space, exclude sections of society from politics, and which curtail and criminalise the rights to free expression, assembly, association and religion, as protected under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
We call upon the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union to denounce the recent actions by the Government of Bahrain, to immediately suspend all arms sales to the kingdom, to urge the government to reverse its decision to dissolve Al-Wefaq Society, and to pressure the government to commit to respecting human rights.
We also call on the Government of Bahrain to immediately reverse this decision, to commute the sentences of Sheikh Ali Salman and all prisoners of conscience, and to end reprisals against civil, political, and religious society in Bahrain.
Signatories,
Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR)
Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB)
Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD)
European Center for Democracy and Human Rights (ECDHR)
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