Continuous travel ban of Mr. Nabeel Rajab, President of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR)

BHR 001 / 0812 / OBS048.18

Restrictions on freedom of movement

Bahrain

December 21, 2015

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a jointprogramme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the WorldOrganisation Against Torture (OMCT), has received new information and requestsyour urgent intervention in the following situation in Bahrain.

New information:

The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about thecontinuous travel ban of Mr. NabeelRajab, President of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR),FIDH Deputy Secretary General and a member of the Advisory Committee of HumanRights Watch’s Middle East Division.

According to the information received, on December 3, 2015, Mr. Rajab's lawyers submitted a second petition tothe Attorney General requesting the lift of the travel ban imposed on Mr.Nabeel Rajab on July 13, 2015 (see background information). Previously, Mr.Rajab’s lawyers had filed appeals to the travel ban with the investigatingprosecutor on September 2, 2015, the Attorney General on September 16, and theOffice of the Public Prosecution on October 1, 2015. They received no responseto such petitions.

In the written request filed to the AttorneyGeneral, Mr. Rajab's lawyers raised the issue of urgency, as Mr. Rajab's wifehealth is continuously deteriorating and needs treatment outside of Bahrain,accompanied by Mr. Rajab.

The Observatory denounces the continued travel ban imposed against Mr.Nabeel Rajab and considers that Mr. Rajab is targeted solely for his humanrights activities. The Observatory calls on the Bahraini authorities toimmediately lift the travel ban, and drop all charges against Mr. Nabeel Rajab.

The Observatory, more generally, urges the Bahraini authorities to putan end to all acts of harassment against Mr. Rajab, and to comply withrelevant international human rights standards and instruments, in particularthe International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966, and the UNDeclaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the UN General Assembly onDecember 9, 1998.

Background information:

Mr. Rajab has faced continuous judicial harassment for hislegitimate human rights work since his first arrest in June 2012.Mr. Rajab was sentenced to three months imprisonment for allegedlylibelling the residents of Al Muharraq via several tweets posted on his twitteraccount. On August 23, 2012, Mr. Nabeel Rajab was acquitted by the HigherAppeal Court.

On August 16, 2012, the Lower Criminal Court sentenced Mr. NabeelRajab to three years of imprisonment in relation to three cases related to hisparticipation in peaceful gatherings in favour of fundamental freedoms anddemocracy. In December 2012, the Appeals Court reduced the sentence to twoyears of imprisonment. Mr. Nabeel Rajab completed his sentence and wasreleased in May 2014.

On October 1, 2014, Mr. Nabeel Rajab was summoned and remanded indetention by the General Directorate of Anti-corruption and Economic andElectronic Security of the Criminal Investigation Department for “insulting apublic institution” under Article 216 of the Bahraini Penal Code. The case related to a tweet he published in September 2014, in which hecriticised the military institutions for generating extremist ideologies (the“terrorism tweet” case). On November 2, 2014, the ThirdLower Criminal Court ordered Mr. Rajab’s release but barred him from leavingthe country.

On January 20, 2015, the Third Lower Criminal Court sentenced Mr. NabeelRajab to six months imprisonment on the charges of “insulting publicinstitutions and the army”.

In 2015, two other sets of criminal charges have been brought againstMr. Rajab. On February 26, 2015, Mr. Rajab was summoned for investigationsfor charges of “inciting hatred towards the regime” in relation to a speech hemade in February 2011 during a funeral (the “funeral speech case”). To date,the police investigation is ongoing.

In addition, on April 2, 2015, at 4:00 pm, over twenty police carssurrounded Mr. Rajab’s house and policemen arrested him. Mr. Rajabwas then sent to the General Directorate of Anti Corruption Economic andElectronic Security to be interrogated and placed in detention in solitaryconfinement in Isa Town Police Station. On April 3, 2015, Mr. Rajab wasinterrogated by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) regarding two newcharges brought against him under criminal case No.2015/38288. The first charge was “insulting a statutory body” (Article216 of the Bahraini Criminal Code) referring to the Ministry of Interior inrelation to tweets he posted denouncing the torture of detainees at Jaw Prison(the “Jaw torture tweets” case). The second charge was “disseminating falserumours in time of war” (Article 133 of the Bahraini Criminal Code) in relationto tweets he published about the Saudi-Arabia led coalition air strikes inYemen (the “Yemen tweets” case). If sentenced on the second charge,Mr. Rajab could be facing up to 10 years imprisonment. Mr. Rajabrefused to sign the police minutes of the investigations. On April 4, 2015,Mr. Rajab was brought before the Public Prosecution. The Prosecutionordered seven days detention pending investigation. On April 5, 2015, securitypolice confiscated all electronics devices belonging to Mr. Rajab andmembers of his family.

On April 11, 2015, the prosecution ordered an additional fifteen days indetention for Mr. Rajab. On April 26, 2015, the Public Prosecutionofficially charged Mr. Rajab under Articles 133 and 216. The PublicProsecution subsequently extended his detention for an additional fifteen days.On May 11, the Bahraini High Court extended Nabeel Rajab´s preventive detentionfor 15 days.

On May 14, 2015, the Bahrain Criminal Court of Appeal upheld thesix-month prison sentence (the“terrorism tweet” case).

On July 13, 2015, the King of Bahrain Hamad Ben Issa Al-Khalifa orderedthrough Royal Pardon the release of Mr. Nabeel Rajab for health reasons. Mr.Rajab had already served three of the six months jail sentence.

Moreover, on the same date, the Public Prosecution imposed a travel banagainst Mr. Rajab in relation to criminal case No. 2015/38288 related to theJaw torture and Yemen tweets cases.

Actions requested:

The Observatory urges the authorities of Bahrain to:

i. Immediately lift the travel ban against Mr. Nabeel Rajab, anddrop all charges against him, as he is targeted solely for his human rightsactivities;

ii. Guarantee the physical and psychological integrity ofMr. Nabeel Rajab and that of all human rights defenders in Bahrain;

iii. Put an end to any act of harassment, including at the judiciallevel, against Mr. Nabeel Rajab and against all human rights defenders inBahrain;

iv. Conform in any circumstances with the provisions of the Declarationon Human Rights Defenders, adopted on December 9, 1998 by the United NationsGeneral Assembly, in particular:
its Article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually orin association with others, to promote the protection and realization of humanrights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels” ;
its Article 6 (c) which states that “everyone has the right, individuallyand in association with others to study, discuss, form and hold opinions on theobservance, both in law and in practice, of all human rights and fundamentalfreedoms and, through these and other appropriate means, to draw publicattention to those matters” ;
and its Article 12.2 which states that “the State shall take allnecessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities ofeveryone, individually and in association with others, against any violence,threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure orany other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exerciseof the rights referred to in the present Declaration”.

v. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamentalfreedoms in accordance with international human rights standards andinternational instruments ratified by Bahrain.

Addresses:

• Cheikh Hamad bin Issa AL KHALIFA,King of Bahrain, Fax: +973 176 64 587
• Cheikh Khaled Bin Ahmad AL KHALIFA, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tel: +973172 27 555; Fax: 00973 17 21 05 75; Email: ofd@mofa.gov.bh
• Cheikh Khalid bin Ali AL KHALIFA, Minister of Justice and Islamic Affairs,Tel: +973 175 133 00; Fax: +973 175 31 284
• Lt. Gen. Cheikh Rashed bin Abdulla AL KHALIFA, Minister of Interior, Tel: +97317572222 and +973 17390000. Email: info@interior.gov.bh
• Permanent Mission of Bahrain to the United Nations in Geneva, 1 cheminJacques-Attenville, 1218 Grand-Saconnex, CP 39, 1292 Chambésy, Switzerland.Fax: + 41 22 758 96 50. Email: info@bahrain-mission.ch
• H.E. Ahmed Mohammed Yousif Aldoseri, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain tothe Kingdom of Belgium, Embassy of the Kingdom of Bahrain, Avenue Louise 250,1050 Brussels, Belgium; Fax: 0032 (0) 26472274; E-mail: Brussels.mission@mofa.gov.bh

Please also write to diplomatic representations of Bahrain in yourrespective countries.