07 Sep 2011
BCHR expresses its deep concern to the arbitrary arrest and detention of Mohammad Ali Shukri, a Toastmaster Champion, the first Arab to ever qualify for the finals of the World Toastmasters Championship, who has been held in detention for five months with no official charges declared against him, only to be recently put to military trial without the notification of his family or lawyer, for practicing his right to freedom of expression.
07 Sep 2011
BCHR expresses its deep concern to the arbitrary arrest and detention of Mohammad Ali Shukri, a Toastmaster Champion, the first Arab to ever qualify for the finals of the World Toastmasters Championship, who has been held in detention for five months with no official charges declared against him, only to be recently put to military trial without the notification of his family or lawyer, for practicing his right to freedom of expression.
Background
Shukri, who has retired from his job as a safety coordinator in Bahrain Aluminum Company (ALBA), represented ALBA’s Toastmaster club in a number of championships that he won both locally and internationally. This helped boost the club’s reputation and development, especially since it is the first corporate Toastmaster club in Bahrain. He won the GCC Toastmaster Championship for two consecutive years in 2006 and 2007, as well as qualifying for the finals of the championship internationally in Washington DC where he competed against the world’s Toastmaster champions, proudly raising Bahrain’s flags in the most prestigious speech contest in the world. This achievement has never been matched by anyone in Bahrain or the Middle East to this day, making it the first in 80 years since the birth of the Toastmaster Championship. His dedication wasn’t only directed towards Toastmaster championships but also to his work at ALBA, where he applied his skills and experience helping to conduct Health and Safety campaigns that boosted the morale and productivity of his colleagues.
Shukri is also a great contributor to his community, organizing Youth Leadership programs to help youth reach their full potential. One of the most sought after inspirational speakers in Bahrain, he volunteers by giving speeches with positive messages that aimed at helping his audience develop to their betterment. He has traveled around the world to give speeches and wherever he went, he always showed pride in being Bahraini and raising his country’s status abroad. Shukri has also helped to organize a festival that celebrated Prophet Mohammad’s (PBUH) message of peace. He is a man dedicated to spreading Islam’s message of brotherhood and unity, as well as one who is devoted to his family and to the betterment of his country. In his youth, he was a member of Manama Basketball team, where he exemplified outstanding sportsmanship and teamwork.
Arrest and detention
On March 24 2011, following the declaration of a State of Emergency in Bahrain, Mohammed Shukri’s home got raided in the middle of the night. His five children, the eldest of whom is fifteen years old, were asleep at the time, when they heard loud noises and sounds of people trying to break in. Mohammed told the security forces he would open the door himself, that there was no need to break in, calling for his wife to wear her veil before he opened the door. Around 10 security forces, including commandos, barged in the house and started searching every corner. Some were in uniform while others were in civilian clothing. When they were done, they arrested Mohammed and took both his and his wife’s laptops – his wife’s was brand new – as well as their son’s netbook. They also punctured his car tires on their way out.
After 85 days of his detention, Shukri’s family was allowed visitations. During the first visitations his family noticed a significant loss in his weight. On August 22 2011, five months after being detained with no official charges, his family visited him with high hopes of hearing good news but was soon mortified to hear that he was taken to the Military Court on 22 August 2011 without prior notice given to his lawyer or family, despite the King decree that all trials shall be moved to civilian court. Mohammed was falsely charged with “Participation in an illegal gathering in a public place (Pearl Roundabout) with the aim of committing crimes and causing public disorder”. The judge however, insisted on adding an additional charge which was “Publicly inciting hatred towards to regime”. an ambiguous charge that has been used for years against anyone who express in any means an opposing opinion to that of the government . The hearing was then postponed to 1 October 2011.
The nature of Mohammad Shukri’s arrest and his detention for over five months without charges and without access to family and a lawyer, then to be tried in the military court without notifying his lawyer indicates apparent disregard of international standards of due process, fair trial and detention as guaranteed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Bahrain has acceded.
According to Bahraini law, a suspect must appear before the public prosecutor’s office within 7 days of arrest. If the judge decides that the suspect is a danger to society, he may allow for an additional 45 days of investigation. This process may continue through successive reviews by other judges, but pretrial detention must not exceed 6 months .
Due to Shukri being put in detention for five months with no official charges, only to be recently put on trial, his detention has been illegal by the law of the state. We are further concerned with Shukri being put to trial in Military court, an action which the government stated it would stop as per the cases post-June 1 2011 then has reversed later with a recent decree. It must also be mentioned that Bahrain is a signatory of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which states that: “Anyone who is arrested shall be informed, at the time of arrest, of the reasons for his arrest and shall be promptly informed of any charges against him.” The government has failed to do either in Shukri’s case.
BCHR believes that the case of Shukri is an example of many other cases of detainees held beyond the allowed pretrial detention period without charges, in violation to their rights and due processes. Therefore, BCHR calls for the following:
● Immediate release of Mohammad Shukri, and all other detainees held for merely practicing their right to freedom of expression in accordance to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
● Dropping all fabricated charges against them
● Stop the practice of criminalizing one of the basic rights of a human being: the freedom of expression.
● Mental and emotional compensation for any harm caused to the detainee in jail
Find more information about Mohamed Shukri (Word Document)