Former Prisoner at Guantanamo Bay
The Saudi Security Arrest a Bahraini Citizen on King Fahad Causeway
Manama – 23 November/2008
The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights is deeply concerned at information received about the arrest of Bahraini citizen Abdullah Majid Al-Nuaimi on October 29, 2008 by the Saudi authorities as he was entering the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia via the King Fahad causeway which connects Bahrain with Saudi Arabia. Mr Al Nuaimi was then taken to an unknown destination. Since his arrest he has not been allowed to meet with any family members, nor allowed to hire or meet an attorney. The Saudi authorities have as yet failed to release charges against him.
Former Prisoner at Guantanamo Bay
The Saudi Security Arrest a Bahraini Citizen on King Fahad Causeway
Manama – 23 November/2008
The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights is deeply concerned at information received about the arrest of Bahraini citizen Abdullah Majid Al-Nuaimi on October 29, 2008 by the Saudi authorities as he was entering the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia via the King Fahad causeway which connects Bahrain with Saudi Arabia. Mr Al Nuaimi was then taken to an unknown destination. Since his arrest he has not been allowed to meet with any family members, nor allowed to hire or meet an attorney. The Saudi authorities have as yet failed to release charges against him.
Abdullah Al-Nuaimi (age 26), a father of two and an electrical contractor, was held at Guantanamo Bay with 5 other Bahraini citizens for almost four years after being arrested at the Pakistan-Afghan border in November 2001. He was returned to Bahrain as a free man on November 5th 2008. Al Nuaimi has previously described how he was tortured by the American authorities at the maximum security prison in Cuba. Since his release, security authorities in Bahrain have called him in for questioning on several occasions and until very recently he was banned from travelling outside the country.
It is worth mentioning that the release of Mr Al Nuaimi from Guantanamo Bay came after a wide-scale local, regional and international campaign for the release of all detainees in Guantanamo and in the United States’ secret prisons spearheaded by the BCHR.
The campaign was established by liasing with a large number of attorneys in the United States to represent Arab detainees in US Federal Courts and by working with international organizations in order to pressure the American government to close down the infamous prison.
Joshua Colangelo-Bryan who has been instrumental in representing the interests of the Bahraini nationals was locked up in Guantanamo Bay said ”Abdulla spent years in Guantanamo without any due process. As such, I can only hope that he is treated fairly by Saudi authorities and released immediately if – as news reports suggest – he was arrested simply because he drove from Bahrain to Saudi”.
Initially the Bahraini authorities failed to play their part in pushing for the release of their citizens. However, following public pressure from the American lawyers, NGOs, and support from members of the House of Representatives the government began diplomatic negotiations after two years of the detainees’ imprisonment. It should be noted that the Bahraini government has pledged its support in assisting its citizens released from Guantanamo in re-establishing normal lives on their return through financial support and help with social integration. However, since the return of the detainees the government has failed to fulfill the promise of support and rehabilitation it previously stated in official releases and the local media.
Nabeel Rajab, head of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights stated, “While we fully respect and appreciate our brothers in Saudi Arabia, we do not accept for any of our citizens to be arrested in this arbitrary manner, which violates the simplest international norms. Today there are international standards and charters that should be respected as part of every country’s role in the international community.”
The Saudi authorities, in their arbitrary arrest of Mr Al-Nuaimi violated the ninth article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile,” and the fourth article as well of the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment which states that, “any form of detention or imprisonment and all measures affecting the human rights of a person under any form of detention or imprisonment shall be ordered by, or be subject to the effective control of, a judicial or other authority.”
“We are also raising questions about the role of the Bahraini government in this arrest. We call on the government to take immediate diplomatic action on behalf of one of their citizens,” Mr Rajab added.
The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights calls for:
1. The Saudi authorities to provide immediate legal guarantees for the detainee, including allowing him to hire an attorney and meet his family and to release the charges for his arrest.
2. The Bahraini authorities, as promised earlier, to provide financial and emotional support to all the Bahraini prisoners that were released from Guantanamo Bay in order to facilitate them in maintaining a normal life.