Call for the immediate implementation of the United Nations Opinion on Nabeel Rajab's case

His Majesty the King of Bahrain

Fax: 00 973 1766 4587

H.E ShaikhKhalid bin Ahmad Al Khalifa

Headof the Royal Court

Fax: 00 973 17664949

Cc: H.R.H Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa

Crown Prince and Deputy Prime Minister

Fax: 00 973 17713630

H.E. ShaikhRachid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa

InteriorMinister

Fax: 00 973 172326611

H.E ShaikhKhalid bin Ali Al Khalifa

Ministerof Justice and Islamic Affairs

Fax: 00 973 17531284

H.E Shaikh Khalid Bin Ahmed Bin Mohamed Al Khalifa

Minister of Foreign Affairs

Fax: 00 973 17225077

H.E Navi Pillay

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

Fax: 00 41 22 917 9008

Email: npillay@ohchr.org

Paris-Geneva,January 10, 2014

Re: Call forthe immediate implementation of the United Nations Opinion on Nabeel Rajab'scase.

Your Majesty,

FIDH (the International Federation for Human Rights)and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), in the framework of theObservatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, call upon the highestauthorities of Bahrain to guarantee without any further delay the release ofMr. Nabeel Rajab, President of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights(BCHR) and Deputy Secretary General of FIDH.

Mr. Nabeel Rajab has been detained at the centralprison in Jaw since July 9, 2012. Initially sentenced to three-months’imprisonment for having “insulted statutory bodies” in a Twitter message, hewas later sentenced to three years' imprisonment on August 16, 2012, whilestill in detention. Mr. Rajab was sentenced on two others protest-relatedcharges: participation in “illegal gatherings” and calling for manifestationwithout prior notification in Manama, as well as incitement to gatherings and“illegal marches” through social medias. In December 2012, his sentence wasreduced to two years in appeal.

The detention of Mr. Nabeel Rajab was characterised asarbitrary by the United Nations (UN) Working Group on Arbitrary Detention(WGAD) at its 66th session. This decision, published on July 25, 2013, followsa communication addressed by the Observatory on August 31, 2012 to challengethe legality of Mr. Rajab’s detention. In its Opinion A/HRC/WGAD/2013/12, theWGAD considered that the detention of Mr. Nabeel Rajab contravenes articles 19,20 and 21 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and articles 9,paragraph 1, 14, 21 and 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and PoliticalRights (ICCPR).

Bahrain acceded to the ICCPR in 2006; it is thuslegally binding on the country. Article 9 of the ICCPR enshrines the rights notto be arbitrarily arrested or detained and to be informed of charges. Article14 guarantees the right to a prompt and fair trial. Article 19 protects the rightto freedom of expression, Article 21 the right to peaceful assembly and Article22 the right to freedom of association. The peaceful exercise of the rights offreedom of opinion, expression and association is legitimate and necessary inany democratic society.

The right to a fair trial, enshrined in Article 14,includes access to counsel, production of evidence and defence witnesses. SinceMr. Rajab’s arrest on May 5, 2012, a number of court hearings have taken placewhere these rights have been partially respected, including denial of timelyfacilitation for foreign witnesses to attend the hearing as well as showingvideo evidence in camera. The WGAD added that the courts of Bahrain would haveto “confront and rule on the matter of the legality of the law banning publicdemonstrations”, and that “denial of a universally accepted human right tofreedom of opinion and expression cannot be condoned by a domestic court, asseen in the case of Mr. Rajab”.

The Working Group requested the Government of theKingdom of Bahrain to take necessary steps to remedy the situation of Mr. Rajaband bring it into conformity with the standards and principles set forth in theUniversal Declaration of Human Rights and the ICCPR. The adequate remedy wouldbe to immediately release Mr. Rajab and to accord him an enforceable right tocompensation in accordance with article 9, paragraph 5, of the ICCPR. The WGADalso encouraged the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain to bring its domesticlaws into conformity with the substantive provisions of the Covenant to whichit is a party.

Thereafter, on December 2, 2013, the Bahraini Court ofAppeals examined the request filed by Mr. Nabeel Rajab’s lawyers for an earlyrelease and decided not to grant such release without providing any grounds. Arepresentative from the United States Embassy was even prevented from observingthis court hearing. Previously, on November 24, a penalty enforcement judge hadissued the same decision. During the session, Mr. Rajab’s lawyers presented theirarguments that Mr. Nabeel Rajab was eligible for early release in pursuance tothe conditions laid under article 349 of the Criminal Procedural Code, whichsets three conditions: that ¾ of the sentence has been served, good behaviourduring detention and not being a threat to public security.

The proceedings failed to comply with the right to afair trial as the court failed to properly examine the request for earlyrelease, failed to provide grounds for its decision and did not guarantee thepublic nature of the hearing. This decision blatantly contradicts WGAD'sOpinion and suggests that the Bahraini judiciary does not care not only aboutconforming to international human rights standards but also about implementingdomestic law in full independence.

Our organisations deeply regret the court’s refusal togrant an early release to Mr. Rajab, and deplore the judge’s decision thatfailed to provide any grounds. We consider this decision as an attempt tocurtail Mr. Rajab’s activities as a human rights defender.

Mr. Rajab’s ongoing detention is arbitrary as itresults from the exercise of his universally recognised human rights and as hisright to a fair trial has not been guaranteed.

Our organisations therefore call upon the Bahrainiauthorities to immediately comply with the UN WGAD's decision and release Mr.Rajab immediately and unconditionally.

We more generally urge the Bahraini authorities toadhere to their international human rights obligations under the ICCPR andbring domestic law in conformity with international human rights instrumentsratified by the country.

We express our sincere hope that you will take theseconsiderations and requests into account.

Sincerely yours,

KarimLahidji GeraldStaberock

Presidentof FIDH SecretaryGeneral of OMCT