Former BCHR President Released on Bail
Targeting of Activists Continues in Violation of Freedom of Expression
Media Defamation Campaign Continues Against Activists
Former BCHR President Released on Bail
Targeting of Activists Continues in Violation of Freedom of Expression
Media Defamation Campaign Continues Against Activists
The BCHR is greatly disturbed upon hearing about the recent moves by the Public Prosecutors Office (PPO)against the prominent human rights activist Mr. Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, former President of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights. The PPO has charged Mr. Alkhawaja with encouragement of the overthrow of the government, incitement of hatred against the government and circulation of rumors which harm national interest.
Mr. Abdulhadi denied all charges during the 3.5 hours interrogation with the Public Prosecutors and refused to answer most questions due, as he stated, to the fact that the PPO and the entire judiciary system is not independent from the government and the laws by which he is to be tried are restrictive and violate, in accordance to many international human right organizations, international standards of human rights. He stated to the Public Prosecutor that much of what he may say to defend himself would probably be used out of context to condemn him given the flexible and restrictive nature of the charges and the laws used in Bahrain.
Mr. Abdulhadi also bluntly refused the implication that he has ever encouraged the use of violence, and said that non of his public speeches nor his writings has he ever done so and it is not part of his ideology. He also stressed that he has always encouraged the use of peaceful protest as can be clearly seen in all his writings and work.
The BCHR is also highly disturbed by the defamation campaign against Mr. Abdulhadi in the press that is well known for its allegiance to the government. Whereby they have not addressed the nature of the charges, nor Mr. Abdulhadi’s work, but rather used insolent language and derogatory words that the BCHR refuses to repeat. This campaign has continued and is clearly sanctioned by the government. Most activist is Bahrain are not given a chance to clear their names in these same papers, nor are any of there reports published, which makes it a clear slandering campaign. The BCHR President MR. Nabeel Rajab was also a target of many of these campaigns specially after his return from a presentation in the US congress on discrimination in Bahrain.
Worth mentioning is that the former President of the BCHR was arrested in 2004, after speaking against the Prime Minister’s 40 years monopoly of that post as well as his governments violations and discrimination. He was charged with similar charges and was tried and sentenced to 1 year in jail but was pardoned by the king under intense pressure from international organizations and continuous demonstrations and protests calling for his release. He was also briefly arrested in February 2007 after a speech he made calling for reform and changes in the government as well as the release of the human rights activist arrested in what is known as the “December Case”.
The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights would like to remind all parties that
• Freedom of expression is not only applied when an individual is expressing himself in matters deemed acceptable by the government, but is also applied in other cases whereby any individual is given the opportunity to be critical of government practices, which is the essence of democracy
• It is still maintained that the laws by which activist are tried in Bahrain, specifically the Bahraini Penal Code, are restrictive and do not comply with international standards, as has been repetitively stated by International Human Rights Organizations
• As is continuously proven, the Bahraini judiciary as well as the PPO are not independent and are subjected to higher government decisions making them incompetent and subjective in their execution of the law
• That a man is innocent until proven guilty, and defamation campaigns against activists, who are not given a chance to defend themselves in the local media is unacceptable and goes against a number of universal rights
• That the systematic targeting of activist is making the Bahraini governments credibility highly questionable and can be seen as a clear plan by the government to rid itself of any activist who may disagree or speak out against it. This is becoming clear due to the recent targeting of a number of activist in different waves of arrests (the December Case, the Karzakan case as well as the recent Terrorist Cell case) as well as the case of Mr. Mohammed Almasqati, President of the Bahrain Youth Society of Human Rights, whose trail commences next week on charges of engaging in work in an unregistered Society
The BCHR calls upon International Human Rights Organizations and other stake holders to address the Bahraini government on these issues and to pressure it to, drop all charges against Mr. Abdulhadi Alkhawaja, accept criticism of the government and calls for reform as it falls under freedom of expression, cease this systematic campaign against Bahraini human rights activists both by the government as well as its media, reform its restrictive laws and guarantee the independence of the PPO as well as the Judiciary branch of government .