Urgent Appeal for the Release of Human Rights Defender Nabeel Rajab

Office of HM theKing

P.O. Box 555,Rifa’a Palace

Kingdom ofBahrain

Cc. The Rt HonBoris Johnson MP

Secretary ofState for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

Foreign &Commonwealth Office

King CharlesStreet, London SW1A2AH

Cc. TheHonorable John F. Kerry

Secretary ofState

United StatesDepartment of State

2201 C StreetNW, Washington, DC 20520

Cc. FedericaMogherini

HighRepresentative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

Cc. Zeid Ra'ad AlHussein

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

2September 2016

Urgent Appeal for the Release of Human Rights Defender Nabeel Rajab

Your Excellency,

In light ofrecent alarming events in Bahrain, the undersigned NGOs express our deepest concernsabout the ongoing detention of prominent human rights defender Nabeel Rajab based on his peacefulexercise of the right to freedom of expression. We urge the government ofBahrain to immediately and unconditionally release Rajab.

On 13 June 2016,the authorities arrested Rajab, who serves as President of the Bahrain Centerfor Human Rights (BCHR), Founding Director of the regional Gulf Center forHuman Rights (GCHR), Deputy Secretary-General of FIDH, and a member of theAdvisory Committee of Human Rights Watch’s Middle East Division. Rajab’s arrestis one in a series of repressive actions to severely restrict the work of humanrights defenders and civil society members in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

In the wake ofan unprecedented crackdown, we believe the detention of Rajab to be an act ofreprisal for his work to promote fundamental human rights in Bahrain, as wellas a means to restrict Rajab’s freedom of expression and speech. He is chargedfor tweets and re-tweets about allegations of torture in Bahrain’s Jau Prison,which were investigated by many local and international NGOs, and about thewidely reported and criticised human rights violations during the war in Yemen.In total, Rajab could serve up to 15 years in prison for his statements via Twitter.

Rajab faces upto 10 years in prison if convicted of spreading “false or malicious news,statements, or rumours” under article 133 of Bahrain’s penal code; a furthertwo years imprisonment if convicted under article 215 of the penal code for“offending a foreign country [Saudi Arabia]” for tweets related to theSaudi-led war in Yemen and an additional three-year sentence if convicted of“offending a statutory body” under article 216 of the penal code for commentsrelating to Jau prison in Bahrain.

Inaddition to these charges, he may also face a trial on charges of “spreadingfalse news” for similar statements made during televised interviews last year.That case has not yet been referred to court, but is believed to have served,among others, for his arrest on 13 June.

Due to the poordetention conditions, Rajab’s health has been severely deteriorating since thetime of his arrest. He continues to be held at West Riffa police station andfamily visits are being monitored very closely, according to his lawyers. Hiscell does not meet the requirements for long-term detention and the sanitaryfacilities are unhygienic. He has lost eight kilos since his arrest. Rajab has chronicinflammation in his lower back requiring urgent surgery, which has been delayedby the authorities until early September. In addition, he is also sufferingfrom an irregular heartbeat, which has decreased below the normal range duringhis detention, and has also suffered from chest pains recently, having requireda visit to the clinic. Despite the fact that he requires urgent medical treatment, prisonauthorities do not appear to provide sufficient medical assistance for most ofthese ailments. In the meantime, Rajab is dependent on his family to providehim with painkillers and bandages for his bleeding due to his ulcer.

Following hisarrest, Rajab’s case has received widespread international attention bygovernment officials and UN dignitaries, interalia, by the spokesperson of the US State Department, the spokesperson of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, as well as by members of the European Parliament, who adopted an urgent resolutioncondemning the Bahraini authorities’ crackdown on civil society and on thepolitical opposition.

As a signatory tointernational human rights conventions, the Government of Bahrain is bound toguarantee the right to freedom of expression for all in Bahrain, includingNabeel Rajab. Depriving Rajab of his liberty for peaceful social media postsgoes against Bahrain’s commitment to uphold these international conventions andraises the question of its ability to respect its legal obligations within thewider international community.

To date, thegovernment in Bahrain has repeatedly demonstrated unwillingness to comply withinternational legal standards, despite promises made at the United Nationsduring its Universal Periodic Review, and during its own national inquiry, theBahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI).

We thereforeurge you to abide by the principles of democracy and human rights and tosafeguard freedom of expression in Bahrain, as enshrined in international humanrights legislation, by dropping all charges against the human rights defender,Nabeel Rajab and ensure his immediate and unconditional release.

Sincerely,

Americans forDemocracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB)

Bahrain Centerfor Human Rights (BCHR)

BahrainInstitute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD)

Bahrain Press Association (BPA)

Brian Dooley,Human Rights First

Canadian Journalistsfor Free Expression

CIVICUS

Committeefor the Respect of Liberties in Tunisia

EnglishPEN

European-BahrainiOrganisation for human rights (EBOHR)

European Centerfor Democracy and Human Rights (ECDHR)

FIDH, within the framework of the Observatory for theProtection of Human Rights Defenders

Gulf Centre forHuman Rights (GCHR)

Human RightsSentinel

IFEX

Index on Censorship

International Press Institute (IPI)

Jesper Højberg, Executive Director,International Media Support

Khiam Rehabilitation Center for Victimsof Torture

Lawyers Rights Watch Canada
Libya Al-Mostakbal Centre for Media & Culture
MADA Palestinian Center for Development & Media Freedoms

MaharatFoundation

MoroccanAssociation for Human Rights (AMDH)

NoPeace Without Justice

PakistanPress Foundation

Projecton Middle East Democracy (POMED)

ReportersWithout Borders (RSF)

Salamfor Democracy and Human Rights

Tunis Centre for Press Freedom

Tunisian League for Human Rights (LTDH)

Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights

Vigilancefor Democracy and the Civic State

WorldOrganisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatoryfor the Protection of Human Rights Defenders