Bahrain Centre for Human Rights expresses its concern about the ongoing policy of sanctioning people for exercising their right to freedom of expression and opinion.
The satirical comic Mansour al-Jedawi, known as Sanqima, was arrested on Saturday 1 August after publishing a sound clip on social media in which he criticised discrimination in the way the Interior Ministry deals with police officers.
Jedawi is a satirical comic who usually deals with a variety of subject matter to do with Bahraini life. He has a channel on YouTube on which he publishes all his material. This time, though, he chose to publish the clip on WhatsApp – in it, he criticised the way the Interior Ministry treats police officers who have suffered violence.
To be precise, Jedawi published a sound recording in which he criticised the way Bahrain authorities depend on police officers from abroad rather than employing its supporters and the Interior Ministry’s weak behaviour, according to what he said, when two non-Bahraini police officers were murdered in an explosion in Sitra. He said that the ministry does not care about the death of foreign officers, only deploying in large numbers when its Bahraini employees are killed. He also criticised the Sunni sect, saying they are not equal to any criticism, and do not dare to speak out against the authorities out of fear that they may harm their personal interests. In response, an anonymous person had threatened Jedawi with arrest and sanctioning through a sound clip.
This is not the first time Jedawi has been attacked after expressing his personal opinion. He was questioned by the prosecutor general on 10 November 2014 after the former MP, Mohammed Khalid, accused Jedawi of slandering him in a video clip broadcast on YouTube, in which Jedawi criticized Khalid’s arrogance towards the governments of the Gulf.
BCHR is concerned that the ongoing policy of sanctioning citizens who exercise their right to freedom of expression is a clear violation of articles in the International Declaration of Human Rights, to which Bahrain is a signatory, especially Article 19, which stipulates that “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers”. BCHR considers Jedawi a prisoner of conscience, who now joins a list of 3,000 other people arrested in connection with political activities or their expression of an opinion that goes against that of the government.
Based on the above, BCHR calls on governments and international organizations to put pressure on the government of Bahrain to do the following:
- Drop the charges leveled against Jedawi and all those detained for exercising their internationally-recognised right to freedom of expression.
- Put a stop to all forms of restrictions placed on threaten freedom of expression and opinion in Bahrain.
- Guarantee respect for human rights and basic freedoms in all circumstances, according to international human rights standards and covenants to which Bahrain is a signatory.