Report Prepared by the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights
Ref: 04020603
1. Information regarding the alleged victim
- Full name: Moosa Abd-Ali Ali Mohammed
- Age: 5 March 1981
- Sex: Male
- Profession or occupation: Unemployed
- Place of residence: Villa 331, Road 2408, W. Eker 624, Kingdom of Bahrain
- Contact: Cell phone (Mobile)#: +97339845397
- The victim’s affiliations: activist with the Committee of the Unemployed
- Full name: Moosa Abd-Ali Ali Mohammed
- Age: 5 March 1981
- Sex: Male
- Profession or occupation: Unemployed
- Place of residence: Villa 331, Road 2408, W. Eker 624, Kingdom of Bahrain
- Contact: Cell phone (Mobile)#: +97339845397
- The victim’s affiliations: activist with the Committee of the Unemployed
- Nature of human rights work the individual performs: Member of the negotiating sub-committee which organizes sit-ins and demonstrations and negotiates with authorities on behalf of the unemployed.
Report Prepared by the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights
Ref: 04020603
1. Information regarding the alleged victim
2. Nature of the alleged violation
According to Mr. Abd-Ali, plainclothes persons affiliated with or acting on behalf of Bahraini security forces abducted him on the night of November 27. His abductors released him the same night. On November 30 he filed complaints with the police at Isa Town and with the Public Prosecutor’s office in Manama alleging that his abductors beat him severely, assaulted him sexually, and threatened him with further harm unless he ceased his activities on behalf of the Committee of the Unemployed.
Mr. Abd-Ali provided the Bahrain Center for Human Rights with copies of medical examinations, one dated November 28, from the International Hospital of Bahrain, and the other dated November 29, from the Accident and Emergency Department of Salmaniyya Medical Center, a facility of the Ministry of Health. The International Hospital report noted contusions on both Abd-Ali’s legs and his upper back consistent with his allegation that he was beaten. The Salmaniyya Medical Center report also noted contusions on Mr. Abd-Ali’s legs, and that the alleged sexual assault did not involve penetration, according to Mr. Abd-Ali. The Salmaniyya Medical Center report also contained a notation, “Police to be informed.”
Description of the incident
(As stated by the victim in his testimony to BCHR):
On Monday November 28th, 2005 early morning at 1:00, five civil automobiles surrounded the house of Activist Moosa Abd-Ali, as he was taking the garbage out. There were all veiled, in plainclothes, and armed with batons and personal guns. They introduced themselves as security personnel asking him to go with them. When Moosa asked for an arrest warrant they mocked him with foul language. Detecting their cruel nature and peculiar accent with the black veils on their face, Moosa was able to realize that they were from the same Special Forces who attacked him and others in June 19th unemployment protest, where he got severely injured and underwent medical treatment ever since, till to date (Please refer to the enclosed report).
Moosa tried to escape but by shooting in the air he was intimidated and arrested. He was then handcuffed and driven to an isolated remote spot of Sitra Island Industrial Area, where he first was brutally beaten using batons, then two of the offenders stripped him of his clothes and got on the top of his back one after the other in direct sexually attempt. Due to his resistance they were not able penetrate, but was left polluted with sperms over his body. Before leaving, they threatened to assault his family members also, and told him to carry this message to the other members of the Committee for Unemployed if they still insist on next-day’s protest. At around 2:30am, they left the scene, leaving Moosa behind worn out on the ground.
Circumstances relevant to the incident:
On November 22nd, 2005, a crowd of 500 Unemployed Bahrainis were gathering near the Bahrain Training Institute, in preparation to march to, and sit-in opposite of the Royal Court. After a round of negotiations between representatives of the Royal Court with five members of the Committee of Unemployed (among them Moosa Abd-Ali, Sameer Al-Osfoor and Mohsin Salman), it was agreed to postpone the sit-in activity, in turn the Royal Court was to arrange for a meeting with the representatives of the Unemployed the following day to secure jobs for the listed unemployed as promised before more than three months.
The Royal Court did not arrange for a meeting as promised. The Committee of Unemployed held a general meeting and decided to set November 29th, 2005 as a date for new sit-in opposite of the Royal Court. Official mediators, and security officers contacted members of the negotiating committee warning of the consequences of having any protests taken place in front of the Royal Court. The unemployed committee answered that they will proceed with the sit-in since the unemployed are under severe frustration and pressure of surviving with their daily family needs without any source of income. Then, about 8 hours prior to this sit-in, Moosa Abd-Ali was kidnapped and exposed to physical and sexual assault as came in this communiqué.
3. Steps taken by the concerned authorities
On December 4th, Lt. Gen. Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah al-Khalifa, the Minister of Interior, met with Mr. Abd-Ali, his father, and Nabeel Rajab, vice-president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, to discuss the attack against Mr. Abd-Ali. This meeting followed several days of disturbances in Manama in which police clashed with demonstrators protesting Mr. Abd-Ali’s treatment. At this meeting yesterday Sheikh Rashid affirmed that the security services under his authority would fully cooperate with an investigation that the Public Prosecutor is conducting into the matter.
Possible measures that can be taken to remedy the situation
Recommendations:
We strongly urge the government to conduct a thorough, impartial, and speedy investigation into Mr. Abd-Ali’s allegations, to make the results public, and to hold accountable any security officials or other persons found to be responsible for this attack. We also hope that the government will as a matter of course conduct serious and thorough investigations into all credible allegations of serious human rights violations of this nature.
* After this report was issued Mr. AbdAli suspended his cooperation with the authorities, the reasons explained in attached press release.