A Campaign against Human Rights Institutions in Coordination with a Former Minister in Saddam’s Regime
March 2010
A Campaign against Human Rights Institutions in Coordination with a Former Minister in Saddam’s Regime
March 2010
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights expresses its deep concern for the Bahraini’s Authority’s persistence in the policy of creating, supporting and financing the fake human rights institutions in order to mislead local and international public opinion, and to disrupt the activity of the credible local and international organizations and to work on laying down obstacles in its path, and abusing its identity and its active figures in the society and inviting suspicious personalities from abroad to achieve that agenda. This time, this was represented in manipulating and wasting public funds in a manner tainted with suspicion by paying a counterfeit institution which one of the Authority’s apparatuses created, in order to invite a suspicious body from abroad to execute the public moral support to the figures of the Authority and to attack the human rights institutions, accompanied by an official media attack that targets the human rights defenders and human rights institutions.
The BCHR got hold of a (private and confidential) document leaked from the Ministry of Development and Social Affairs, issued in November 2009 and sent to the president of the Jurists Society, Yousif Al-Hashimi, from the director of the civil organizations in the Ministry Ms. Najwa Abdul-latif Janahi, informing him that the Ministry decided to pay his Society an amount of B.D. 30 thousand in cash ($ 80000), to host a delegation from the Union of Arab Jurists, “in order to give them information about the democracy and human rights and to respond to what some suspicious and traitorous bodies are engaged in of distorting the image and reputation of the Kingdom’s achievements at home and abroad”.
The former minister in Saddam Hussein’s government with a group of participants
If the leaked document proven to be real, then Paying this large sum of money secretly as indicated in the letter, and then sending it by hand and not by fax or regular mail, and receiving this sum in cash away from the regular official bank transformations, suggests, where there is no room for doubt, that the ministry is venturing an maneuver defiled with fears of corruption, and this confidentiality in communication is intended to cover up the scandal and that its perpetrators escape any judicial or screening body such as the Council of Representatives, especially that the allocated sums for this ministry is for supporting and enabling civil society institutions and poor families. This ministry is led by Ms. Fatima Al-Balushi, who is closely affiliated with the Islamic Menbar Society.
This government policy comes as a reaction to the effective work carried by the local human rights organizations on the regional and international level, by shedding light on the violations of human rights in Bahrain, on top of it, the sectarian discrimination against Shiite population , the systematic torture crimes committed by the security and intelligence apparatuses; the violations of freedom of opinion and expression , political naturalization to change the demographic composition; continuing to utilize, train and finance mercenaries individuals and groups; and the continuous violations of the rights of the migrant workers. These organizations also succeeded in submitting regular and periodic reports to the international human rights organizations, including the UN human Rights mechanisms. However, the Authority and instead of working on solving these outstanding issues, and that are causing tension, it turns to further complicating matters by forming “counterfeit and fake human rights organizations, run by the intelligence apparatuses or some other government apparatuses”. These organizations, instead of monitoring and documenting violations of human rights and conveying it to the concerned body, it harasses the credible institutions, organizations and defenders of human rights and lays down obstacles in their path, and issues false statements and facts that do not reflect the human rights reality objectively.
secret leaked document
The delegation of (The Union of Arab Jurists) in fact visited in January 2010, and they had several meetings with ruling and governmental figures, and State ministers and the chairperson of the Council of Representatives, and bodies and individuals working in these fake institutions. The Union of Arab Jurists is headed by Mr. Shebib Lazem Al-Maliki, and he is a former minister in Saddam Hussein’s government which is responsible for massive violations of human rights. The headquarters of this Union was in Iraq, and the former Iraqi regime was embracing, funding or supporting this Union.
Photo of Shebib Al-Maliki during his membership in Saddam Hussein’s government
Who is The Bahraini Jurists Society headed by Yousif Isa Al-Hashimi ?
The Jurists Society was established in 2005 with 15 members and with a decision by the Minister of Social Development. Some of the members of this Society hold senior official posts in the government, and some others were granted the Bahraini citizenship. The administrative board which is made up seven members is headed by Yousif Isa Al-Hashimi, and he is represented by Massoma Abdul-Rasool. He works as an editor and as the lawyer of Al-Watan newspaper – and which is the media interface of this fake institution; and he is an appointed member in the government institution for political development which was made to replace NDI. The report released by Dr. Salah Al-Bandar reveals that Al-Hashimi was among those who officially and continuously communicated with the leading figures in executing Al-Bandar plot to take over the largest possible sums of money. This institution or its president and his wife were never known before their names appeared as accomplices in the report of the former advisor Dr. Salah Al-Bandar. The role of the Society is limited to adapting reports and political society campaigns that are prepared in advance, or some statements that are released to support government bodies or individuals.
Copies of the receipts of Yousif Al-Hashimi receiving monthly rewards
Bahrain is considered one of the countries that attempts at creating fake human rights institutions, and false civil and political society organizations, and sham human rights figures and leaders, and which are even yet artificially created by the security and intelligence apparatuses that are affiliated with the Authority, while they are in reality formations and groupings that are financed and supported by the ruling institution. This approach is becoming a bad example which the majority of international organizations speak of; Bahrain’s name has even been included among those countries where this phenomenon rapidly growing.
In this regard, Mr. Nabeel Rajab, president of the BCHR, stated, “The Bahraini Authority’s persistence in creating these false institutions and figures and overflowing them with public funds, as well as inviting suspicious bodies that are already accused of human rights violations in order to change and improve the human rights image of the country will not work because one cannot give what one does not have, and the government has to review its incompetent and unbalanced policy. If it had spent all these sums of money and utilized this great human effort in improving the human rights situations genuinely, it would have been able to improve its human rights record and international reputation”.
Based on all the above, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights recommends the following:
1. Initiating a serious and transparent investigation into the reality of the leaked document.
2. to stop wasting public funds for the advantage of establishing and supporting counterfeit formations;
3. to form a parliamentary committee to investigate wasting public funds responsible for these corrupt acts;
4. To stop targeting civil society institutions, especially those concerned with monitoring and defending human rights and to create the right atmosphere for them to work in utter freedom.
Contact information of the BCHR:
Fax: (973) 17795170
E-mail: info@bahrainrights.org
Electronic websites and pages:
• www.bahrainrights.org
• www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=50727622539
• www.twitter.com/bahrainrighs
• bahrainrights.blogspot.com