03 April 2012
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights expresses its concern at the continued restrictions imposed on the freedom of press and publishing, with the local authorities prohibiting the distribution of several books at the Bahrain International Book Fair, held between 22 March and 1 April 2012.
On 25 March 2012, two days after the start of the book fair, the Press and Publications Directorate affiliated with the Information Affairs Authority banned and confiscated all copies of the book “Political organizations and societies in Bahrain”[1] (Arabic) which was co-authored by journalist Abbas Almurshid and the currently-detained human rights defender Abdulhadi AlKhawaja in 2007,
03 April 2012
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights expresses its concern at the continued restrictions imposed on the freedom of press and publishing, with the local authorities prohibiting the distribution of several books at the Bahrain International Book Fair, held between 22 March and 1 April 2012.
On 25 March 2012, two days after the start of the book fair, the Press and Publications Directorate affiliated with the Information Affairs Authority banned and confiscated all copies of the book “Political organizations and societies in Bahrain”[1] (Arabic) which was co-authored by journalist Abbas Almurshid and the currently-detained human rights defender Abdulhadi AlKhawaja in 2007, and was printed by a Bahraini press house and distributed without problems from 2010. The publisher was told by the Publications Directorate that there were complaints by a local loyalist group on the book’s cover that has the photo of the currently-detained political leader Ebrahim Sharif, the head of the National Democratic Work Society, who was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment by a military court last June for allegedly “plotting a coup against the government”[2] .
The book’s writer, Abbas Almurshid, had been detained by the Bahraini security forces for around 2 months last year (16 May – 10 July 2011) during the crackdown on pro-democracy citizens and media professionals, and he was brought before a military court on 27 June 2011 for charges related to participating in protests and writing and publishing articles online. His case was later stopped due to international pressure[3] .
The Press and Publications Directorate also banned another book by AlMurshid, titled “Bahrain in the Gulf Gazetteer”[4] (Arabic) from distribution. The representatives of the Press and Publications Directorate confiscated all copies that were presented at the pavilion of the Bahraini publishing house, “Faradees House” at the Bahrain International book Fair.
“Bahrain in the Gulf Gazetteer”, published Feb 2011, is based on historical and geographical material about Bahrain which was included in the “Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, Oman and Central Arabia” by J.G. Lorimer. No reason was given by The Press and Publications Directorate for banning the book.
Among other books that were banned by The Press and Publications Directorate at the Bahrain international book fair: “Jazaweyat” a novel by the Saudi author Fahad Fatik and “Wahhabism” a study by the Saudi author Miqat AlRajehi.[5]
In addition, the Fakhrawi bookshop, which belongs to the deceased publisher Kareem Fakhrawi who was killed under torture[6] in Bahrain prison in April 2011, was not invited to participate at the international book fair.
Several books are still banned in Bahrain since 2010, including the Arabic translation of ‘The Personal Diary of Charles Belgrave’[7], the British advisor to the ruling family from 1927 to 1957 . And the ‘Unbridled Hatreds: Reading in the fate of ancient hatreds’ written by the famous Bahraini author Dr Nader Kadim[8] . The publications of several political societies have also been banned since 2010 [9].
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights expresses its deep concerns with the continued restrictions on the freedom of publication and press, at a time when Bahrain is promoting itself as “The Arab Capital of Culture”. The prevention of such books from being freely distributed and promoted is a clear violation of Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which clearly states that individuals have the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes the freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
Based on the previously discussed, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights calls on the Bahraini authorities to:
– Immediately lift the ban on all books and publications and to allow their free distribution.
– To stop harassment and pressure being imposed on local publishing houses and libraries from distributing books and publications which do not correspond with the views of the authorities.
– To respect its obligations to the international treaties that protect freedom of the press and publishing.
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[1]http://www.scribd.com/doc/524…
[2]http://bahrainrights.hopto.org/en/node/4029
[3]http://www.bahrainrights.org/en/node/4378
[4]http://www.neelwafurat.com/itempage…
[5]http://ksa.daralhayat.com/ksaarticle/378701
[6]http://cpj.org/killed/2011/karim-fakhrawi.php
[7]http://bahrainrights.hopto.org/ar/node/3104
[8]http://bahrainrights.hopto.org/en/node/3530
[9]http://www.bahrainrights.org/en/node/3462
