Mazen Mahdi, Foreign Correspondent
Last Updated: November 29. 2008 10:40PM UAE / November 29. 2008 6:40PM GMT MANAMA // A Bahraini opposition group said it will turn to the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to seek assistance in securing the release of three Bahraini nationals being held in Saudi Arabia on suspicion of having terrorist links.
Mazen Mahdi, Foreign Correspondent
Last Updated: November 29. 2008 10:40PM UAE / November 29. 2008 6:40PM GMT MANAMA // A Bahraini opposition group said it will turn to the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to seek assistance in securing the release of three Bahraini nationals being held in Saudi Arabia on suspicion of having terrorist links.
Mohammed Janahi, head of the National Justice Movement civil liberties committee, said the decision came after the Saudi and Bahraini governments failed to address the concerns raised by the group and the detainees’ relatives regarding their well-being and chance for a fair trial.
Mr Janahi’s comments were made during a protest in front of the UN House in Manama this month to demand the release of Abdulraheem al Murbati, 47, Khalil Janahi – who holds a dual Bahraini and UAE citizenship – and a former Guantanamo Bay detainee, Abdulla Majid al Nuaimi, 27, who was arrested on the King Fahad Causeway last month as he tried to enter Saudi Arabia.
“The letter which will be delivered will call on the UN commission to intervene on behalf of the families to attempt to secure their release,” Mr Janahi said.
He accused the Bahraini government of playing a role in the arrests.
He pointed out that none of the three had been charged despite the fact that two of them had already spent several years in Saudi jails, while the third was never charged by the United States or the Bahraini government after his release from Guantanamo Bay.
A regional expert from the UNHCHR said officials were aware of the case of the three Bahraini nationals and have been studying evidence while deciding what action to take. He said discussions would remain confidential and likely involve direct negotiations with the relevant authorities in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Mr Murbati, who was arrested in April 2003, is the longest serving Bahraini detainee in Saudi jails among the three.
The father of six was detained shortly after his brother Essa was arrested and transferred to Guantanamo Bay. Essa Murbati, who was released without being charged in Aug 2007, was the last to be released of the six Bahrainis who were being held in Guantanamo Bay.
Mr Murbati’s son, Osama, said his family was still uncertain about his father’s fate.
“They are just holding him. He is not charged of any crime and they haven’t allowed him to stand trial, which is like a dual punishment for him and the family because we might be able to live with the fact that he is serving a prison sentence but holding him in this manner is cruel to him and us,” he said.
Osama Murbati also criticised the Bahraini government for its failure to secure his father’s release, sentiments shared by Latifa Janahi, the sister of Khalil Janahi, who has been in Saudi jails for more than 18 months on suspicion he might have links to terrorist groups.
“Where are the parliament members? They claim that they have tried to help secure their release with no success, but why aren’t they here in the protest to at least show solidarity with our cause?” Ms Janahi said.
She said her family was convinced that if the political will was there to free the detainees, they would have been already released.
The cases of Mr Murbati and Mr Janahi came to international attention after the Saudi authorities arrested Mr Nuaimi, a former Guantanamo Bay detainee.
It was not immediately clear what triggered the arrest, but his detention came about as he tried to cross the causeway into Saudi Arabia with a friend apparently to buy goods for his electrical shop.
The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights issued a statement expressing “grave concern” for his well-being, especially since it was alleged he had been tortured while being held at Guantanamo Bay and received threats following his release.
“We do not accept the arbitrary arrest of any of our citizens in contradiction to the most basic international norms,” said Nabeel Rajab, president of the Bahrain centre.
Mr Rajab said the centre was demanding Mr Nuaimi be given access to his lawyers, and that the Bahraini government makes good on promises to support the rehabilitation of all Bahrainis released from Guantanamo Bay.
The recent arrest of Mr Nuaimi brings the number of Bahrainis being held in Saudi jails to four.
Ali al Yabis was arrested by the Saudi authorities on the King Fahad Causeway more than three months ago as he was about to enter Bahrain. His whereabouts remain unknown to his family and the Bahraini authorities.
mmahdi@thenational.ae
* With additional reporting by James Reinl at the United Nations
