Right: Radhika Sainath and Left:Huwaida Arraf
Government Cracks Down on International Witnesses as Bahrainis Prepare for Return to Pearl Roundabout
WitnessBahrain – February 12, 2011
(Manama) – Radhika Sainath and Huwaida Arraf, arrested yesterday while filming police repression of a peaceful demonstration in Manama, have been deported by the Bahraini government.
At approximately 10:00 am this morning, Ms Sainath and Ms Arraf were put on a plane for New York via London, less than fifteen hours after being taken into custody by Bahraini riot police.
Right: Radhika Sainath and Left:Huwaida Arraf
Government Cracks Down on International Witnesses as Bahrainis Prepare for Return to Pearl Roundabout
WitnessBahrain – February 12, 2011
(Manama) – Radhika Sainath and Huwaida Arraf, arrested yesterday while filming police repression of a peaceful demonstration in Manama, have been deported by the Bahraini government.
At approximately 10:00 am this morning, Ms Sainath and Ms Arraf were put on a plane for New York via London, less than fifteen hours after being taken into custody by Bahraini riot police.
The two women, both US citizens, were arrested on Saturday during a peaceful protest near the Standard Chartered Bank in downtown Manama. Protesters had marched into the city center to assert a presence of nonviolent, peaceful protest leading up to the 1-year anniversary of the Arab Spring movement in Bahrain for equality and democracy.
As the February 14 anniversary approaches, Bahraini authorities have become more aggressive about excluding journalists, human rights observers and other internationals from the country, leading many to fear a brutal crackdown. Huwaida and Radhika were in Bahrain as part of an international solidarity effort aimed at providing an international civilian presence to report and monitor the situation on the ground. Leading up to February 14, Bahraini authorities had prevented journalists, human rights observers and other internationals from entering the country, leading many to fear a brutal crackdown. The two women are part of the Witness Bahrain initiative (www.witnessbahrain.org), which arrived in Bahrain in response to a call by Bahraini democracy activists for international observers.
Both were charged with being present at a gathering of “more than five people with intent to riot,” illegal assembly and engaging in “acts other than tourist acts” while on a tourist visa. Their cameras and computers were confiscated and searched, and police photographed personal information including credit cards and journals.
The two activists were handcuffed behind their backs during their 6 hours flight from Bahrain to London. Sainath was hit 3 times in the head to force her on plane ; Arraf hair was pulled on plane; no food/water/restroom during whole flight – pilot refused to respond.
Yesterday, the Bahraini government also blocked access to the www.witnessbahrain.org website and announced that other members of the group were being sought by police so they could be deported as well.
Radhika and Huwaida will be available for interviews in the coming week to discuss what they witnessed in Bahrain. Both are human rights lawyers, and both have experience as human rights activists in Palestine. Additionally, both were part of the National Lawyer’s Guild delegation to Gaza following Operation Cast Lead to investigate possible war crimes and illegal use of American weaponry on a civilian population.
Witness Bahrain includes activists from Iowa, Northern California (Sonoma County), San Francisco Bay Area, Chicago, Minneapolis, Western Massachusetts, and Richmond, Virginia.
Click here for raw footage of Arraf’s arrest: http://tinyurl.com/7872gqq
A video showing activist Arraf on ground surrounded by riot police: http://t.co/9pvvk5xG
Press Reports
Contact:
Adam Shapiro +353-85-236-0262 (in Ireland)
Jessica Rafael: +973-3345-1787 (in Bahrain)