Full Report : http://www.hrw.org/node/88201
We’ll go back to the 1990s.
—Ministry of Interior officer to detainee Nadr Ali Ahmad al-Salatne
By the end of the 1990s, Bahrain appeared to have cast off what had been a well-deserved reputation as a country that routinely tortured detainees. The government had taken significant steps to curtail the use of torture and other ill-treatment by its security officials, and reports of such practices became a rarity. This report concludes, however, that since the end of 2007, officials again have used torture and ill-treatment, particularly during the interrogation of security suspects. Human Rights Watch’s conclusion is based on interviews with former detainees and others, as well as its review of government documents.
This reversion to past practices came as political tensions rose in Bahrain. Street demonstrations involving young men from the country’s majority Shia Muslim community protesting alleged discrimination by the Sunni-dominated government deteriorated with increasing regularity into confrontations, sometimes violent, with security forces. Arrests often followed. Security officials appear to have utilized a specific repertoire of techniques against many of those arrested designed to inflict pain and elicit confessions.
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Rethink on status of BCHR likely
By DANIEL MUNDEN , Posted on » Wednesday, February 03, 2010
A HUMAN rights group banned from operating in Bahrain almost six years ago could once again be recognised by the government, the GDN has learnt.
The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) was dissolved in 2004 after authorities accused it of dabbling in politics and violating a law governing civil societies.
However, it has continued to operate unofficially - despite having its licence cancelled - often in conjunction with international rights groups.
Now it has emerged the government could be prepared to rethink its decision following meetings with representatives of an international watchdog.
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A LAWYER plans to challenge the trial of a human rights activist by arguing the case against him is unconstitutional.
Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights president Mohammed Al Maskati is standing trial at the Lower Criminal Court for allegedly launching an association without issuing a declaration of registration.
His lawyer Mohammed Al Jishi yesterday argued the charge violated several articles of the constitution and requested a judge’s permission to lodge a case at the Constitutional Court.
The judge adjourned the trial until March 31 to review the request.
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=269268
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Posted in Mohammed AL-Maskati, GDN Newspaper, byshr
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The Council of Representatives Punishes its Critics and Practices the Role of the Executive Authority
The Penal Code and its Role in Suppressing Freedom of Opinion and Expression
15th January 2010
The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights is following up with concern what the Bahraini newspapers published regarding the Committee of Foreign Affairs, Defense and Security at the Council of Affairs sanctioning the penalty against insulting the National Council. The head of the Committee, MP Adel Al-Muawda indicated that the committee, in the meeting that was held on Wednesday 13 January 2010, ended the discussion of the bill that amends some of the provisions of the Penal Code issued with Decree-Law no. 10 of 1976, the bill addressed exchanging some of the article’s provision with new provisions, among them Article 107 and spoke of identifying the general employee, meaning the person who is mandated to undertake a general task according to the Criminal Code and the Civil Service Bureau, and it also discussed Article 216 the issue of identifying the insult in a public manner to the Councils of Shura or Representatives, the National Council, the statuary bodies, the Defense Force, the National Guard, or the courts, the authorities or public interests, so that the punishment shall be imprisonment or a fine, which the Committee considered retaining the original text [ 1].
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Events of 2009
Bahrain’s government in 2009 continued to subject freedom of expression, assembly, and association to arbitrary restrictions. The year saw increased confrontations between security forces and demonstrators protesting alleged discrimination by the Sunni-dominated government against the country’s majority Shia population. Local rights groups accused authorities of using excessive force against protestors and subjecting detained opposition activists to torture and ill-treatment. In March and April clashes led to the deaths of a Pakistani worker (whose car was hit by a Molotov cocktail) and a Pakistani member of the security forces.
On April 11, Shaikh Hamad Bin Isa al-Khalifa, Bahrain’s king, pardoned 178 opposition activists charged with and in some cases convicted of security-related offenses. However, the decree never appeared in the official gazette, leaving it unclear whether charges and prison terms might be revived.
On November 10, in line with a pledge it had made to the United Nations Human Rights Council, Bahrain established a National Institution for Human Rights, a government body charged with reviewing and developing legislation to comply with international human rights instruments.
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Because of the Lack of Accountability
The Riot Police Continuously Attack Citizens
Using Foreigners to Raid the Bahraini Villages and Areas
7 January 2010
The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights is following up with concern the Riot Police’s – elements of the foreign mercenaries – practice of raiding the Bahraini areas and villages and using teargas and rubber bullets, sonic and cluster bombs. The Riot Police also used the shotgun weapon – weapon for hunting birds – and several citizens in the villages and areas were injured due to the Riot Police intentionally firing at the citizens and causing them dangerous wounds, bruises and injuries that could lead to permanent disability.
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Due to the Authority’s Failure in Blockading the Political, Religious and Social Electronic Websites
Demands for Creating an Electronic Security Apparatus to Blockade the Human Rights Organizations and Political Movements
26th December 2009
The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights is following up with great concern what was published in the Bahraini Al-Watan Newspaper – closely associated with the Government – on 26th December 2009, which was interviews with a group of Members of the Shura Council – who are appointed by the King – where they demanded the Authority to create an electronic security apparatus in order to contribute in monitoring the websites that harm the reputation of Bahrain and threatens its security[i].
The Members of the Shura Council indicated in the interview that the Bahraini Ministry of Information is not carrying out its role in controlling the websites that harm the reputation of the Authority and publishes false facts about the conditions in Bahrain.
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His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa
King of the Kingdom of Bahrain
The Royal Court
21 December 2009
Your Majesty,
We express our concern regarding the reports about alleges of torture and arbitrary arrests against a group of citizen who participated in the peaceful protests during December 2009. Information indicates that the political groups in Bahrain are celebrating in this month the memory of the torture victims in the period between 1975 and 1999, and which is the period where the security authorities practiced torture, arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial killings of the activists and participants in the peaceful protests.
Your Majesty,
The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights documented reports on the maltreatment of the defendants in the (Ma’ameer) case, the BYSHR indicated that the security apparatuses used torture as a means to extract confessions from the defendants, and photos revealed the torture marks.
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Posted in King, BCHR, Mohammed AL-Maskati, byshr
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