Freedom House is concerned by reports that Khalil Marzouq, a former lawmaker and leading member of Al Wefaq, the main political opposition party in Bahrain, has been arrested and charged with inciting “terrorist crimes,” allegedly in response to a speech he gave last week, and is expected to be held in custody for 30 dayspending further investigation. Freedom House calls upon the government of Bahrain to heed recent calls by the United States and other United Nations member states, as well as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, to respect the rights to freedom of expression, association, and assembly. A serious dialogue with the opposition, which the Bahraini government has claimed to desire, cannot occur if opposition leaders are being arrested and imprisoned.
The arrest of Marzouq comes less than two weeks after the Bahraini government issued a resolution prohibiting political societies from contacting foreign governments and organizations without approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The resolution also requires that a representative of the Bahraini government be present at such meetings. The arrest of key political leaders is a tactic commonly used by the Bahraini government to silence its critics. Marzouq’s arrest now puts him in the company of Hassan Mushaima (Haq), Ibrahim Sharif (Democratic Action Society), Abd al-Jalil Singace (Haq), Matar Ibrahim Matar (Al-Wefaq), and Jawad Fairuz (Al-Wefaq), all of whom have been arrested, some still in prison, for their activism in recent years.
In its 2013 Freedom in the World report, Freedom House ranked Bahrain as “Not Free,” finding that the government failed to enact substantive reforms, frequently imprisoned key opposition leaders and human rights activists, and refused to engage in meaningful discussions with the opposition. The continued arrest of political and human rights leaders, coupled with the government’s ongoing assault on freedom of expression and association, contradicts the numerous pledges made by Bahraini officials to protect human rights and to implement much-needed political and social reforms, and stands to undermine the ongoing political dialogue process meant to address public demands for political reform.
Freedom in the World 2013: Bahrain
Freedom of the Press 2013: Bahrain