Release on bail of Nabeel Rajab, while repression against human rights defenders continue
PRESS RELEASE -THE OBSERVATORY
BAHRAIN: Release on bail of Nabeel Rajab, while repressionagainst human rights defenders continue
Paris-Geneva, May 29, 2012. 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) welcomes the release on bail of prominenthuman rights defender Nabeel Rajab, but remains concerned at the repressiveclimate against human rights defenders still prevailing in Bahrain.
On May 28, 2012, Mr. NabeelRajab, President of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR),Director of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) and FIDH Deputy SecretaryGeneral[1], was released on bail after spending three weeks in detention. The three different sets ofcharges against him (“illegal gathering”, “calling others to gather” and“defaming the government” via twitter) are yet to be dropped, and he is bannedfrom travelling.
Despitethis positive development, the Observatory remains concerned at the veryrepressive climate faced by human rights defenders in Bahrain. On May 25, 2012,the President of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council made a statementcalling on the Government of Bahrain not to expose the human rights defenderswho participated in the Universal Periodic Review of Bahrain in Geneva lastweek to reprisals. Indeed, the Bahraini local press has led a harsh campaignagainst human rights defenders who attended the Universal Periodic Review,calling them “traitors” and demanding “their prosecution”. Furthermore, on May26, the Ministry of Interior released a statement in response to the statementmade by the President of the UN Human Rights Council, stating that the Ministry“will examine all complaints filed by members of the civil society who claim tohave been threatened in accordance with the law”[2].According to the latest information, the delegation of Bahraini human rightsdefenders who were present in Geneva were summoned for interrogation by theMinistry of the Interior.
Inaddition, another prominent human rights defender, Mr. Abdulhadi Al Khawaja,announced on May 28 that he had ended his 110-day hunger strike. Mr. AlKhawaja, GCHR founder, former MENA Director at Front Lineand former BCHR President, appeared before thecourt on May 22 for his appeal session, where he denied all charges againsthim. He told the court about the human rights violations he had been subjectedto, including but not limited to: physical assault during arrest, arbitrary arrest,solitary confinement, unfair trial, physical and psychological torture sincehis arrest on April 9, 2011[3]. His daughter, Twitteractivist Zainabal-Khawaja, alsoremains in detention on charges of“disrupting the traffic” and “insulting a police officer”. She has been inprison for more than a month.
TheObservatory has repeatedly called on the Bahraini authorities to immediatelyand unconditionally release Mr. Abdulhadi Al Khawaja and other human rightsdefenders detained for the legitimate exercise of human rights and fundamentalfreedoms.
TheObservatory calls upon the authorities of the Kingdom of Bahrain to guaranteethe right to freedom of peaceful assembly and expression of human rightsdefenders, to guarantee in all circumstances their integrity, and to order animmediate, effective, thorough and impartial investigation into theabove-mentioned violations faced by human rights defenders, in line with theUnited Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, the Universal Declarationof Human Rights and international human rights instruments ratified by Bahrain.The Observatory considers that the ability of human rights defenders to operatewithout fear of harassment and attacks, and the need to ensure accountabilityfor any such attacks are vital to prevent a further escalation of thesituation.
Background:
OnMay 5, 2012, Mr. Nabeel Rajab was arrested at Manama airport upon arrival fromLebanon, on charges of “offending the statutory bodies”. The charges related totweets he had posted on his Twitter account which were deemed “offensive” tothe Ministry of Interior. On May 20, Manama's Lower Criminal Court agreed to therequest to free Mr. Rajab on 300 BHD (800 USD) bail, with a travel ban, andrescheduled the next hearing for May 23. On May 23, the hearing was adjournedto June 17, pending further investigation. However, Mr. Rajab was kept indetention for other charges.
On May 12, Mr. Rajab was again presentedbefore the Public Prosecutor, who informed him of a new case against him on chargesof “calling for and participating in an illegal gathering” relating to aprotest organised in February 2012 in Manama. Based on information provided bythe police administration to the prosecutor, Mr. Nabeel Rajab is alleged tohave made speeches during rallies, calling for the use of force bydemonstrators against police forces. Mr. Rajab refused to answer the questionsof the judge and declared that the investigation was a conspiracy. The PublicProsecutor remanded Mr. Rajab to detention for an additional seven days inrelation to this case, with the explanation that the investigation was stillpending.
Thethird case is in relation to charges of “participating in an illegal gathering”and “calling others to join the gathering”, relating to a protest organised onMarch 31, 2012 in Manama to denounce the detention of human rights defenderAbdulhadi Al Khawaja. On May 22, 2012, the hearing for this case before theLower Third Criminal Court was adjourned to May 28, 2012 for the plea.
Formore information, please contact:
· FIDH: Karine Appy/ArthurManet: + 33 (0) 1 43 55 25 18
- OMCT: + 41 (0) 22 809 49 39
[1] Mr. Rajabis also a member of the Advisory Committee of Human Rights Watch's Middle EastDivision and Chair of CARAM Asia.
[2] See Manama Voice, http://manamavoice.com/news-news_read-9572-0.html