http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/76777/
Counter-terrorism bill threatens freedom of expression, as government censors Internet
Country/Topic: Bahrain
Date: 04 September 2006
Source: Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR)
Person(s):
Target(s):
Type(s) of violation(s):
Urgency: Bulletin
(EOHR/IFEX) – The following is a 30 August 2006 EOHR capsule report:
Bahrain’s Counter-Terrorism Bill contributes towards a tighter grip on civil and political rights
Since his accession to the throne in 1999, Bahrain’s King Hamad bin ‘Issa Al Khalifa has vowed to bring about reforms and freedoms to the Persian Gulf island-state; reforms that were celebrated by some, while others questioned the intentions behind them. Critics of the ruling family accused Al Khalifa of drafting and passing laws aimed at restricting civil and political rights in Bahrain and maintaining a grip on Bahrainis’ basic rights.
http://www.ifex.org/en/content/view/full/76777/
Counter-terrorism bill threatens freedom of expression, as government censors Internet
Country/Topic: Bahrain
Date: 04 September 2006
Source: Egyptian Organization for Human Rights (EOHR)
Person(s):
Target(s):
Type(s) of violation(s):
Urgency: Bulletin
(EOHR/IFEX) – The following is a 30 August 2006 EOHR capsule report:
Bahrain’s Counter-Terrorism Bill contributes towards a tighter grip on civil and political rights
Since his accession to the throne in 1999, Bahrain’s King Hamad bin ‘Issa Al Khalifa has vowed to bring about reforms and freedoms to the Persian Gulf island-state; reforms that were celebrated by some, while others questioned the intentions behind them. Critics of the ruling family accused Al Khalifa of drafting and passing laws aimed at restricting civil and political rights in Bahrain and maintaining a grip on Bahrainis’ basic rights.
Amongst the most controversial developments in Bahrain was the drafting of the counter-terrorism bill known as the “Protecting Society from Terrorist Acts” bill and presenting it to both houses of Parliament earlier in July 2006. The House of Representatives (elected council) and Shura Council (appointed consultative council) voted on and passed the bill on 16 and 22 July 2006, respectively.
Despite concern and dismay voiced by the United Nations (UN) and both international and Bahraini civil society, Al Khalifa ratified the bill and brought it into force in the beginning of August 2006.
Critics of the bill voice alarm and distress at many of the bill’s provisions. However, the most alarming concern is the “overly broad definition of terrorism”, as the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) and Amnesty International (AI) pointed out.
For example, acts as vague as “threats to national unity” are included in the definition of a terrorist act under Bahraini law.
The bill also fails to define terrorist associations and organisations and instead implies that any “political organisation opposed to the Bahraini Constitution” is a terrorist body.
The overly broad definition of terrorist acts coupled with the failure to define terrorist organisations, are believed to provide the government with leeway to crack down on opposition and rights groups in a country that has witnessed both a growing and more structured opposition and civil society.
Moreover, the “Protecting Society from Terrorist Acts” bill is considered a critical violation of freedom of expression, including freedom of association and assembly.
By criminalising “the promotion of terrorist acts and the possession of documents containing such promotional material,” the bill restricts the right to freedom of expression including the right to seek, receive and impart information of all kinds.
Also, by vaguely defining “terrorist organisations” as those organisations that “prevent any of the State enterprises or public authorities from exercising their duty,” the bill may be used as a pretext to prevent public gatherings, sit-ins and opposition rallies – a phenomenal development in the past year in Bahrain.
The newest violation of freedom of expression in Bahrain came days after the ratification of the bill by Al Khalifa, on 8 August, when Bahraini rights activists and newspapers reported that a government decree was issued directing Internet service providers (ISPs) in Bahrain to block access to Google Earth, Google Video and Google Maps.
Bahraini NGOs attributed the blocking of Google Video to a number of videos hosted on the service that are critical of the Bahraini government at a time when opposition and civil society groups increasingly depend on the Internet.
According to BCHR, the blockade of Google Earth, Google Video and Google Maps ended days later under the pressure of civil society pressure and newspaper campaigns. The lifting of the blockade was considered a major success for civil society campaigns launched with the help of international free expression groups.
Also noteworthy, Bahraini authorities have maintained a blockade on the country’s eight most active opposition websites and forums including Bahrain Online ( http://bahrainonline.org/ ) whose editors were arrested in February and remained in custody for days.
Violating the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of association in Bahrain comes at a time when the Kingdom is preparing itself for upcoming parliamentary elections. Bahraini elections, scheduled for August 2006, have been postponed for a period of no more than four months. In the meantime, civil society and opposition groups have voiced concern over new laws allowing the government to deprive activists and dissidents of their political rights.
BCHR and other civil society groups view Bahrain’s violations of freedom of expression, association and assembly, as well as the deprivation of Bahraini citizens of their civil and political rights, as a clear violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which were ratified by Al Khalifa simultaneously with the “Protecting Society from Terrorist Acts” bill earlier this month.
For more on the case and recent free expression developments in Bahrain, please visit:
– Bahrain Centre for Human Rights: http://www.bahrainrights.org/
– Amnesty International: http://www.amnestyusa.org/countries/bahrain/news.do
– Human Rights Watch: http://hrw.org/doc/?t=mideast&c=bahrai
MORE INFORMATION:
For further information, contact EOHR, 8/10 Mathaf El Manial St., 10th fl, Manial El Roda, Cairo, Egypt, tel: +20 2 363 6811/362 0467, fax: +20 2 362 1613, e-mail: eohr@link.com.eg or eohr@eohr.org, Internet: http://www.eohr.org
**Updates IFEX alerts of 12 June 2006 and 22 August 2005**
OTHER RELEVANT ALERTS:
PREVIOUS ALERT(S):
– Draft law on public gatherings threatens freedom of expression, says Human Rights Watch
– CAPSULE REPORT: EOHR review of free expression situation in Bahrain