The Arrest of the Human Rights Defender Dr. Abdul-Jalil Al- Singace Declares the Beginning of the Implementation of Threats
Suppressing the Peaceful Protest Gatherings by Al-Singace’s House and the Public Prosecution
Whoever Instructed the King to Release those Threats Intended to make him Hold the Direct Criminal Responsibility for any Violations that Result from Granting Power to the Government Apparatuses in Using Excessive Force, Arbitrary Arrests, Systematic Torture, Unfair Trials and Prosecution of Human Rights Defenders, which are Crimes that Could be Considered by the International Courts and Which Do Not Lapse with Limitation
To the left King of Bahrain Sheikh Hamad bin Isa al- Khalifa, and to the right – Human Rights denfender Dr.Abdul Jalil Al-Singace
14 August 2010
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights is following up with great concern the tone of explicit threat from His Majesty the King Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and his uncle the Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa against the human rights activists and political opponents on the grounds of incitement against the government, which coincided with the arrest of Dr. Abdul-Jalil Singace upon his return from London, yesterday Friday 13 August 2010, after he participated in organizing a seminar in the British House of Lords regarding the resurgence of systematic torture in Bahrain, the increase of systematic discrimination, and the decline of public liberties and deterioration of the environmental situation which threatens the life of thousands of citizens in some of the areas of the country.
The Arrest of the Human Rights Defender Dr. Abdul-Jalil Al- Singace Declares the Beginning of the Implementation of Threats
Suppressing the Peaceful Protest Gatherings by Al-Singace’s House and the Public Prosecution
Whoever Instructed the King to Release those Threats Intended to make him Hold the Direct Criminal Responsibility for any Violations that Result from Granting Power to the Government Apparatuses in Using Excessive Force, Arbitrary Arrests, Systematic Torture, Unfair Trials and Prosecution of Human Rights Defenders, which are Crimes that Could be Considered by the International Courts and Which Do Not Lapse with Limitation
To the left King of Bahrain Sheikh Hamad bin Isa al- Khalifa, and to the right – Human Rights denfender Dr.Abdul Jalil Al-Singace
14 August 2010
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights is following up with great concern the tone of explicit threat from His Majesty the King Sheikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa and his uncle the Prime Minister Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa against the human rights activists and political opponents on the grounds of incitement against the government, which coincided with the arrest of Dr. Abdul-Jalil Singace upon his return from London, yesterday Friday 13 August 2010, after he participated in organizing a seminar in the British House of Lords regarding the resurgence of systematic torture in Bahrain, the increase of systematic discrimination, and the decline of public liberties and deterioration of the environmental situation which threatens the life of thousands of citizens in some of the areas of the country. The BCHR fears that those threats from the State’s highest-ranking officials provide the necessary cover up for the continuation of arbitrary arrests, abuse, systematic torture, unjust trials, especially against the activists working in documenting and publishing information related to the violations of human rights, foremost Dr. Abdul-Jalil Al-Singace, president of human rights office of Haq Movement for Rights and Liberties, an academic at the University of Bahrain and the author of an online blog, he is also physically disabled and suffers from a number of physical ailments. Dr. Al-Singace had previously been arrested and released due to his bad health condition, and was later brought forth to court in 2008; however the case was maintained after a continuous campaign of pressures from inside and abroad.
Security forces attack a peaceful gathering outside Al-singace House
The arrest of Dr. Al-Singace in Bahrain Airport led to a protest of a number of his family members who were returning with him from London, where they were removed by force. The Special Forces later and at 5 and half pm violently attacked to disperse a peaceful gathering of a number of his family and a dozen of human right figures standing in solidarity in front of Dr. Al-Singace’s house in Karbabad area, where teargas, sound bombs and rubber bullets were used to disperse the protestors, and which inflected several injuries among them Dr. Al-Singace’s sister who was shot in the head with a rubber bullet, while his elderly mother almost fell off her wheelchair. Teargas and sound bombs and beating were used to hold off a small group of relatives and human rights figures who had gathered in the evening in front of the Public Prosecution building, and some of them were beaten among them Dr. Al-Singace’s sister.
On 12 August, the official news agency published a statement by the King of Bahrain saying, “we find that some of the citizens are insisting on staying outside their country and brining harm to it and to themselves without reason, while they can come to their country and work and express their opinions freely …”[1] This was followed in the dawn of August 13 with the arrest of Dr. Abdul-Jalil Al-Singace who was returning from London. On the same day, the official news agency published a statement by the King in a meeting with the senior officials of his family and the officers in the armed forces and the security apparatuses that the security and stability of the country “….demands implementing the laws without compromising any act that aims to stand in the way of our development and cultural process, especially that the doors of expressing opinion in legal methods is open for all, and all types of incitement carried out by those inciting towards abuse and decoying our children should be stopped, those agitators should be held fully responsible for that and they should stop these indecent acts and practices. The Ministry of Interior and the concerned ministries should take the necessary measures to prevent them from that, for the sake of civil peace and for the sake of keeping our children away from danger, and in protection of our dear country and its respectable citizens “[2]
A few hours after that, the official news agency published that in enforcement of the Royal Order, the Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman Al-Khalifa emphasized that all the government apparatuses, in the forefront the Ministry of Interior will harness its capabilities and powers to prevent the success of the agitators in decoying our children and abusing the home country, and they will be dealt with and confronted with the force of law which is the arbitrator, judge and reference in the State of institutions and law. The Prime Minister called upon “some of the citizens who are engaged in acts that bring harm to themselves before bringing harm to their country, of incitement and decoying the youth and holding them away from the right path, to return to their senses … to plead to the mind before pleading to the law, as there is no bargaining on the interest of this country and its people, and whoever does not hear the voice of reason or deliberately chooses to ignore his ear from hearing it, will hear the voice of law… “[3]
The Minister of Interior Sheikh Rashid Al-Khalifa did not falter to confirm to the King that “the security forces are at your disposal, and the agitators and whoever follows them have been given the full opportunity, however they persisted in their misguidance and have hurt their country and put themselves in the circle of accountability and transgression of the law, and they have to bear the consequences of that, and we pledge to take a unified position “[4]
The U.S ambassador in Bahrain had released a statement before the King’s threat was issued where he criticized the Bahrainis who are active outside Bahrain, and in an interview with the U.S ambassador with one of the local newspapers, he stated, “If the members of the opposition have a problem with the country and care for their country, it is better for them to stay inside and find methods to get matters rights in this country and not abroad, especially that in Bahrain if you respect the law you will not be thrown into prison, and apparently there is a fine area of freedom to carry out several things and criticize the political regime, then why should they turn to London and the United States? “[5] Clearly, the ambassador’s speech about the arbitrary arrest and liberties explicitly contradicts the report of the international organizations such as the American Freedom House which indicate that the democratic situation and liberties in Bahrain developed to the worse and has made it a non-free country after it was semi-free, and the report of the Human Rights Watch which documenting the redux of systematic torture to Bahrain, and the reports of the two international organizations IFEX network and the organization of Reporters Without Borders who documented the significant decline of freedom of expression and press in Bahrain over the last years. And hence, the U.S. ambassador holds the moral responsibility of the ever-increasing suppress campaign.
The BCHR expresses its great concern that over the last years, the documented cases demonstrate that what is intended from this escalation in threat is to terrorize the opponents and human rights defenders to stop their activity, and giving power to the Ministry of Interior “and other ministries”, meaning the security apparatuses and especially the National Security Apparatus and the Special Forces, and which use excessive force to suppress the peaceful protests and which includes firearms, and which use systematic torture in prisons to extract information and confessions. Implementing the law is meant as using the Articles of the State Security from the Penal Code of 1976 and the Anti-Terrorism Law which criminates and severely punishes whoever criticizes the government or who is engaged in a protest act inside the country or abroad on the grounds of incitement against the governing regime and ruining the reputation of the country abroad. The Public Prosecution and Judiciary that look into such cases do not enjoy integrity or independency, and they are completely inclined towards the Executive Authority which in return appoints the members of the Supreme Judicial Council, the judges, public prosecutors and the employees in general on the basis of their political loyalty, and thus those that have angered the political leadership do not stand a chance of a just trial.
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights calls upon all those concerned with promoting rights, liberties, and protecting the human rights defenders in Bahrain to do what they can in order to:
– Stop the threat and intimidation campaign headed by the senior State officials, and to release Dr. Abul-Jalil Al-Singace and all the detainees and those unfairly convicted, and to question the ones responsible for those violations and to redress the victims;
– closely follow up what is currently occurring in Bahrain and during the coming period of violations of human rights according to international standards, and to bear their responsibility in monitoring and publishing those violations and to protect those targeted, especially the human rights defenders;
– directly address the King of the country and the Prime Minister regarding all the violations which will result from their mentioned statements, and to hold them the direct criminal responsibility for giving the security apparatuses the power and providing the cover up for what is and what will take place of human right violations and especially in regards to pursuing the human rights defenders and practicing arbitrary arrest, torture and unjust trials, and which is a responsibility that does not lapse with limitation, and falls within the jurisdiction of the international courts;
– speed up the reformation of executive institutions which practice violations and especially the security apparatuses, and to reform the liberty restricting laws and whose punishments contradict the international standards, and to reform the judicial institutions which lack independency and impartiality, and to reform the Parliamentary institute in order for it to carry out an authentic legislative and observing role that contribute in limiting the human rights violations;
– appeal to reason and dialogue in order to end the political and security tension in the country, and which stems from the policy of the ruling institute in prejudicing the civil, political, economic and social rights, and the corruption and the policies of sectarian discrimination.
[2]bna.bh
[3]bna.bh
[4]ajil bahrain
[5]alwasatnews