GDN – 16 August 2006
By Kanwal Tariq Hameed
A CALL has gone out to repeal or re-examine Bahrain’s anti-terror bill, which was ratified by His Majesty King Hamad last Thursday. Human rights activists say the law, which was approved by both parliament and the Shura Council, is not consistent with the United Nations (UN) Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Bahrain has also ratified.
The “overly broad” definition of terrorism in the law is seen as inconsistent with the principle of legality described in Article 15 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as other human rights agreements, say former members of the now-dissolved Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR).
GDN – 16 August 2006
By Kanwal Tariq HameedA CALL has gone out to repeal or re-examine Bahrain’s anti-terror bill, which was ratified by His Majesty King Hamad last Thursday. Human rights activists say the law, which was approved by both parliament and the Shura Council, is not consistent with the United Nations (UN) Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Bahrain has also ratified.
The “overly broad” definition of terrorism in the law is seen as inconsistent with the principle of legality described in Article 15 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as other human rights agreements, say former members of the now-dissolved Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR).
The criticism echoes previous requests for the law to be reviewed before its ratification – first made by a UN human right expert with a mandate to the Human Rights Council and then Amnesty International (AI), the International Commission for Jurists (ICJ) and Bahraini political societies.
UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms Martin Scheinin said the law can allow excessive restriction on freedom because it does not give a clear definition for “terrorism” and does not clarify at what point “incitement to terrorism” becomes a criminal act.
AI has said the anti-terror law would transfer the authority normally belonging to the judiciary to the public prosecutor and allow people to be detained “extensively” before being charged without a judicial review.
The group said it also allows security services to ask for an extension of individuals’ detention based on secret evidence, which the detainee has no access to and cannot challenge.
When the controversial law was passed by parliament on July 16, 10 MPs stormed out of the session in protest – claiming their colleagues had passed a bill that people who elected them simply did not want.
The law, which was proposed by the government, was amended to reduce sentences and remove the death penalty for terror-related crimes that did not cause deaths.
It was then passed by the Shura Council on July 23 before being brought into effect by ratification from His Majesty King Hamad.
Former BCHR vice-president Nabeel Rajab expressed his “disappointment and distress” at the fact that it has made it into law, saying the bill is “prone to abuse”.
“The BCHR concurs with the opinion of the aforementioned bodies that the new law allows for the possibility of torture and threatens freedom of association and expression for legitimate citizens, which is especially concerning as Bahrain now sits on the new UN Human Rights Council,” he said.
“We therefore urge His Majesty King Hamad to repeal the law, or modify it to provide legal safeguards, making it consistent with the recently ratified International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and other international human rights standards.”
However, Mr Rajab welcomed the ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
“BCHR welcomes the recent decision by His Majesty King Hamad to approve ratifying Bahrain’s accession to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,” he said.
“The BCHR hopes that the government will take necessary action to guarantee the civil and political rights for the Bahraini people, in both law and practice, as laid out in the Covenant.”