IHRC appeals to UN Special Rapporteur on Torture to take up case of Bahraini human rights activists subjected to torture and other forms of abuse after being arrested during current crackdown on civil society activists and critics of the government.
6 September 2010.
The IHRC, which is an NGO in special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, has written an open letter to UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Manfred Nowak, demanding that he look into the treatment of civil society activists recently arrested in Bahrain, and reportedly subjected to severe forms of torture and degrading treatment while being held incommunicado for over two weeks.
IHRC appeals to UN Special Rapporteur on Torture to take up case of Bahraini human rights activists subjected to torture and other forms of abuse after being arrested during current crackdown on civil society activists and critics of the government.
6 September 2010.
The IHRC, which is an NGO in special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council, has written an open letter to UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Manfred Nowak, demanding that he look into the treatment of civil society activists recently arrested in Bahrain, and reportedly subjected to severe forms of torture and degrading treatment while being held incommunicado for over two weeks.
The arrested activists include Dr. Abduljalil Al-Singace, the Chairman of the Human Rights Committee of the Haq Movement, who was arrested on 13 August, as he and his family returned to Bahrain after addressing a meeting at the House of Lords of the British Parliament. Dr Al-Singace was permitted to meet his lawyers for the first time last week, which is how details of his treatment have been revealed.
Others who were arrested have subsequently been hospitalised as a result of their treatment in detention. These include Shaikh Mohammed Habib Al-Muqdad, a religious scholar, human rights activist and president of Al-Zahra charity; Abdulghani Khanjar, the official spokesperson for the Truth and Justice coalition; and Abdulhadi Alsaffer.
In the letter to the UN Special Rapporteur, Massoud Shadjareh, Chair of the IHRC, gives details of the forms of torture used on Dr. Al-Singace, including physical beatings, sleep-deprivation and being forced to stand for long periods despite the fact that he normally uses a wheelchair or crutches since being partially paralysed by polio.
He also highlights the fact that the broad and ambiguous language of the 2006 counterterrorism legislation, under which the detainees have reportedly been charged, is so broad that is enables the government to criminalize anyone who demands the basic rights to freedom of expression and association.
The letter informs the Special Rapporteur that the IHRC has concluded from its work on Bahrain that security officials routinely use torture for the purpose of securing confessions from suspects, and demands that he investigate Bahrain for clear breaches of its obligations as a signatory of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention against Torture.
Massoud Shadjareh, Chair of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, said:
“The treatment of Abdul Jalil Al-Singace and other arrested in the recent crackdown on civil society in Bahrain confirms what we have long suspected about Bahrain: that the state is now using such appalling tactics as a form of intimidation against human rights defenders and other members of civil society in order to try to suppress opposition to its increasingly brutal rule.
“Bahrain has a very poor human rights record, and it appears to be getting worse. The UN Human Rights Commission and all those genuinely committed to freedom, human rights and justice, must demand the immediate release of Al Singace and other political prisoners, and a radical change in the Bahraini regime’s approach to legitimate and peaceful political activism in the country.”
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