@Naji Fateel with Margaret Sekaggya

The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) expresses its deep concern for the sentence issued from the Criminal Court (the Court of First Instance) yesterday – 22 May 2013- against Naji Fateel, Zainab Al Khawaja and Masooma Alsayed.

1- Naji Fateel, board member of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR), was reportedly sentenced to six months in prison for the alleged “illegal gatherings.” This case in related to previous charges(2012).

Naji Fateel was arrested without a warrant by security officers in civilian clothes at his home in the village of Bani-Jamra at dawn on 2 May 2013, and then transferred to an unknown location. The first contact with his family took place on the evening of 4 May 2013 when he told them about his presence at the CID.

The public prosecutor charged human rights defender Naji Fateel with alleged “establishment of a group in order to disable the provisions of the Constitution” and ordered his imprisonment for a period of sixty days pending investigation under the internationally criticized terrorism law.

Naji Fateel has been subjected to severe torture during interrogation in the notorious Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID). Among the allegations are that he has received electrical shocks to his genitals, left foot, and back, and been subjected to simulated drowning, severe beatings, threats to publish photographs of his wife (taken from her camera which was confiscated when security forces raided the family home), verbal abuse using uncivilized words, hanging by his hands from the ceiling, sexual harassment and threats to rape him, standing for long hours, and sleep deprivation. ( For more information see our appeal: http://byshr.org/?p=1381)

2-Zainab Al Khawaja was sentenced to three more months in jail for taking part in an illegal gathering and insulting a police officer. She is already in prison on other politically-motivated charges.

Zainab Al-Khawaja: is a prominent human rights defender and blogger.She used his account on Twitter (https://twitter.com/#!/angryarabiya) for dissemination of human rights information.

3-Prominent activist Masooma Alsayed was also reportedly sentenced to six months on the taking part in an illegal gathering and insulting a police officer.

The BYSHR call on the Bahraini government to immediately release Naji Fateel, Zainab Al Khawaja and Masooma Alsayed. The authorities in Bahrain should stop harassing and targeting human rights activists and allow them to continue their legitimate activities without obstruction.

Pic: Naji Fateel with Margaret Sekaggya

7 May 2013

The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) expresses its grave concern for the information received from trusted sources that Naji Fateel – an administrative member of the BYSHR – was subjected to brutal torture in the Criminal Investigation building.

According to the information received by the BYSHR, Naji Fateel was subjected to:

1.Electrocution (in the genital, on his left leg and on the back)
2.Simulated drowning
3.Beating (by using the feet, hands or unknown tools) on the left leg – Naji had an operation on his left leg due to a work injury, he had it fixed with a metal rod – and on his head and back.
4.Threatening to spread his wife’s photos (when Naji’s house was raided his wife’s camera was confiscated and it had her personal photos in it).
5.Hanging him by his hands from the room’s ceiling (his feet did not reach the room’s floor).
6.Libelling and insult (using sectarian and political expressions).
7.Sexual harassment and threatening with rape.
8.Standing up for long hours.
9.Not allowing him to sleep, sit or lay down.

Naji Fateel was handcuffed – from the back – and blindfolded while he was in the Criminal Investigation building; the handcuffs and blindfold were only opened after he was transmitted to the Dry Dock prison.

Naji Fateel was taken to hospital twice – the Ministry of Interior hospital – while he was in a state of coma due to the torture he faced.

He was taken to the Public Prosecution at night, and before the Public Prosecutor, Naji Fateel refused to be interrogated without the presence of a lawyer, he was then returned to the Criminal Investigation building where he was beaten more severely than before because he had asked for his lawyer. When he was returned at dawn on Saturday – 4 May 2013 – he signed papers before the Public Prosecutor and he was not permitted to see what was written.

On Saturday evening – 4 May 2013 – Naji Fateel called his family and informed them that he was in the Criminal Investigation building after he was cut off since his arrest on Thursday at dawn (2 May).

On Sunday at dawn – 5 May 2013 – Naji Fateel was transferred to the Dry Dock prison where he suffers from several injuries and severe fatigue.

The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) demands:

1.The immediate release of Naji Fateel and dropping all charges against him.
2.Immediately and independently investigate the torture allegations and hold those responsible for torture and abuse accountable, and that includes those who interrogated him in the Public Prosecution and Criminal Investigation building.

Introduction:

Royal Decree No. 14 of 2002 established the National Security Apparatus, which was an amendment of the Amiri Decree No. 29 of 1996 regarding the management of the Ministry of Interior. According to the new decree, the National Security Apparatus replaces the General Directorate for State Security that was affiliated with the Ministry of Interior. This Apparatus is headed by a manager whose degree equals that of a minister at the cabinet.

Since 2002, the notorious National Security Apparatus initiated a surveillance and wiretapping campaign on dozens of activists. It began to launch mass arrests, the most violent in 2007; the case was known as ‘burning a police car and stealing a weapon’ when many activists were arrested after Ali Jassim’s funeral. Jassim reportedly died as a result of the Security Forces use of excessive force against protestors on 17 December, which various political and human rights bodies consider ‘Martyr’s Day’. The National Security Apparatus was known for practicing numerous types of torture:

1. Severe beatings.
2. Electrocution.
3. Hanging for long periods of time in painful positions.
4. Beating the detainees’ feet with rubber hoses and/or batons.
5. Threatening the detainees with murder or rape.

In March 2008, the authorities arrested approximately 30 people from the village of Karzakan with the charge of burning property that belongs to the ruling Al-Khalifa family and killing a Pakistani officer in the village. Officers affiliated with the National Security Apparatus reportedly practiced serious violations, among them included violently raiding houses at dawn and torturing countless detainees.

In December 2008, the authorities arrested approximately 25 people and the Public Prosecution charged them with accusations related to training in Syria, preparing explosives, and attempting to carry out a terrorist act. The National Security Apparatus interrogated them using methods of intimidation and torture.
The National Security Apparatus manages people detained in the building of the Ministry of Interior – called the Fort – and in the Criminal Investigation Department building.

The names of several officials from the National Security Apparatus who practiced torture became public: Colonel Yousif Al-Arabi, Major Fahad Al-Fadhala, Major Bassam Al-Miraj, Lieutenant Isa Al-Majali and First Lieutenant Bader Al-Ghaith. ( HRW Report: http://www.hrw.org/reports/2010/02/08/torture-redux-0 )

In 2011, King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa declared a state of emergency after violently cracking down on the pro-democracy protests in the Pearl Roundabout. The National Security Apparatus had obtained extensive powers, where it practiced the following:

1. Raiding thousands of houses, destroying their contents and targeting the residents.
2. Arresting thousands of citizens on political charges.
3. Abusing and torturing thousands of detainees.
4. Interrogating thousands of political detainees.

The Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) report indicated that the National Security Apparatus is responsible for ‘interrogating and collecting intelligence information’ as well as ‘arresting people’ which confirms its involvement in the human rights violations that took place during the state of emergency (15 March – 1 June 2011). (BICI Report: http://www.bici.org.bh/BICIreportEN.pdf)

The BICI report went on to recommend that the National Security Apparatus should be limited to only collecting intelligence information and should not carry out any arrests of suspects.

Since the recommendations of the BICI report, many detainees and their families confirmed that masked men in civilian clothing from the National Security Apparatus raided their homes. Additionally, riot police cars and black cars with tinted windows (known to belong to the NSA) surrounded their homes.

The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) and the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) have documented that those arrested by the National Security Apparatus disappear for up to several days before contacting their families by phone.

Full Report (Here)

Pic: Naji Fateel with Margaret Sekaggya

The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) expresses its grave concern for the arrest of the prominent activist Mr. Naji Fateel – 39 year old – who was arrested by the police, dressed in civilian clothes, on Thursday 2 May 2013 -At dawn- from his house in the village of Bani Jamra.

Mr.Naji Fateel: is a board member of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) and blogger who has been active in reporting human rights violations in Bahrain.He used his account on Twitter (https://twitter.com/#!/najialifateel) for dissemination of human rights information. He was previously detained between Dec 2007 and April 2009, and has been reportedly tortured.His house was stormed in search for him several times last year following the crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.

On March 11, 2011, received death threats by unknown.

On February 14, 2012, the security forces in Bahrain arrested Mr.Naji Fateel, as he was participating in a march towards the Pearl Roundabout in Manama city, exercising their right to peaceful assembly to this symbolic Roundabout, which was the centre of last year protests.

He is suffering from damage to his spine and detained incommunicado.

We believe that the Bahraini government has been emboldened by international silence on its recent arrests and harassment of human rights defenders and may take inaction.

The BYSHR call on the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to urgently issue a press release condemning these acts and calling for all States to ensure that human rights defenders are able to cooperate safely with the UN human rights mechanisms. The Human Rights Council should also ensure that it raises these acts of reprisals with the State concerned in order to ensure accountability, non-recurrence, and full protection for the human rights defenders involved.

Photo: Jaw prison (the central prison)

The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) expresses its grave concern for the Jaw prison administration – the central prison – preventing to urgently take the prominent activist Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja to hospital due to his health deterioration as a result of his hunger strike since Sunday 17 March 2013.

Photo: Mr. Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja

Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja’s wife received a telephone call today – 21 March 2013 – from Abdulhadi’s brother – Salah Al-Khawaja who also happens to be imprisoned and is spending a 5 year sentence in jail; he informed her that Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja’s health deteriorated, yet the prison administration refuse to transfer him because he refuses to wear the prison uniform.

Al-Khawaja began his hunger strike when the prison administration refused to allow him to meet his daughter Zainab Al-Khawaja – who is spending a 3 month sentence in the women’s prison. Zainab had also started a hunger strike since Sunday 17 March 2013 because the prison administration has been refusing to allow her to meet her family for more than two weeks, as Zainab refuses to wear the prison uniform.

Photo: Ms. Zainab Al-Khawaja

Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja and his daughter Zainab emphasize that the “prison uniform” is for those convicted in criminal cases, and not for prisoners of conscience, and not wearing the uniform is considered as a form of protest for keeping them in prison.

Jaw prison administration refused to allow the prisoners of the “Bahrain 13” case – a group of prominent opposition activists – to go to hospital because they all refused to wear the prison uniform.

Photo: Major General Ibrahim al-Ghaith ( Inspector General) – Jaw prison administration

The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) demands the Bahraini Authorities to immediately take Al-Khawaja to hospital to receive the necessary treatment and to allow him to visit his daughter Zainab, and allow Zainab’s family to visit her in the women’s prison.

The Authority Does Not Respect the International Community, the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry and the International Conventions

7 January 2013

The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) expresses its deep concern for upholding the verdicts against opposition leaders and prominent activists by the Court of Cassation – 7 January – and the verdicts were upheld against:

1-Abdulwahab Hussain Ali ( life sentence imprisonment)
2-Ibrahim Sharif Abdulraheem Mossa ( 5 Years imprisonment)
3-Hassan Ali Mushaima.( life sentence imprisonment)
4-Abdulhadi Al Khawaja ( life sentence imprisonment)
5-Abduljalil Abdullah Al Singace.( life sentence imprisonment)
6-Mohammed Habib Al Safaf. ( Mohammed Habib Miqdad) ( life sentence imprisonment)
7-Saeed Mirza Ahmed. ( Saeed AlNouri) ( life sentence imprisonment)
8-Abduljalil Mansoor Makk. (Abdul Jalil Miqdad) ( life sentence imprisonment)
9-Abdullah Isa Al Mahroos.( 5 years imprisonment)
10-Salah Hubail Al Khawaj.( 5 years imprisonment)
11-Mohammed Hassan Jawad.( 15 years imprisonment)
12-Mohammed Ali Ismael. ( 15 years imprisonment))
13-Abdul Hadi Abdullah Mahdi Hassan ( Abdulhadi AlMukhodher) ( 15 years imprisonment)

Defendants ( in Absentia) :

14-Akeel Ahmed Al Mafoodh.( 15 years imprisonment)
15-Ali Hassan Abdullah.( Ali Abdulemam) ( 15 years imprisonment)
16-Abdulghani Ali Khanjar.( 15 years imprisonment)
17-Saeed Abdulnabi Shehab.( life sentence imprisonment)
18-Abdulraoof Al Shayeb.( 15 years imprisonment)
19-Abbas Al Omran.( 15 years imprisonment)
20-Ali Hassan Mushaima.( 15 years imprisonment)

The Bahraini Authorities do no respect the international community, such as the UN Human Rights Council (the recommendations of the Universal Periodic Review), the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the United States (the Congress and U.S. administration), and the European countries (the European Parliament, the European Union), where the international community demanded the immediate release of the political figures and to initiate a serious dialogue between the Authority and opposition. It did not even pay attention to the demands of the international human rights organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Frontline Human Rights Defenders, Human Rights First, the International Federation for Human Rights, Freedom House and others.

The Bahraini Authorities did also not respect the report of the ‘Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry’ established by the King of Bahrain Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, for the following reasons:

First: the role of those accused in the events of February and March 2011: the Independent Commission of Inquiry refutes the responsibility of the accused in the planning and escalation of events, and portrays a different image for the Coalition for the Republic.
Second: the Independent Commission of Inquiry documents the violations related to arrest and search, and the lawyers defend by saying that ‘What is built on falsehood is false’, however the Court of Appeal neglects all that when convicting the accused.
Third: the Independent Commission of Inquiry documents the violations (related to arbitrary arrest and detention in isolation of the outside world, torture and abuse) and recommends a neutral and independent investigation; however the Court of Appeal neglects that and deliberately depends in its verdicts on statements taken forcibly, and on testimonies taken from those involved in torturing the accused.
Fourth: the Court of Appeal neglects the conclusions and the recommendation of the Independent Commission of Inquiry in regards to ‘detention and prosecution in relation to freedom of expression, assembly and organization’, and it criminates the accused for practicing these liberties, by expanding on the interpretation of the Bahraini laws that restrict liberties, in order to condemn the accused of inciting violence and terrorism.
Fifth: the Court of Appeal condemns some of the accused of communicating (with other countries), despite the Independent Commission of Inquiry denying that there is any evidence of any external interference in the events.

The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) confirmed that the Bahraini Authorities does not respect the International Conventions which it has ratified:

1. Convention against Torture
Refer to the report of the Independent Commission of Inquiry (refer to observations: 1230, 1233, 1234, 1235, 1237, 1238, 1240, 1241) and (refer to the cases related to this issue: 1 to 12, 23, 7)

2. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Refer to the report of the Independent Commission of Inquiry (refer to observation: 1291)

The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) demands:

1. the immediate release of the opposition leaders and prominent activists, and to drop the charges related to freedom of opinion and expression and the freedom of peaceful gathering;
2. hold accountable those responsible for torture and abuse and to prosecute them before a fair court;
3. initiate a justice and reconciliation project and reimburse the victims;
4. permit freedom of opinion, expression and freedom of assembly.

December 18, 2012

The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) expresses it grave concern due to the Bahraini Authorities suppressing the demonstrations on the anniversary of the King’s accession to the throne (16 – 17 December). Since the year 2000, the Bahraini Authorities have begun to celebrate this day as a National Day. On the other hand, the political opposition movements and the local organizations consider this day as the ‘Martyrs Day’, since two demonstrators who were calling for a constitutional kingdom died during these days in the nineties.

Photo (EPA): An older man during his arrest in demonstrations in Manama

On 16 December, hundreds demonstrated inside the villages of Bahrain calling for the demonstrations in the Capital of Bahrain (Manama) on 17 December in solidarity with the victims of the protests of the nineties and 14 February (what was called the Arab Spring), the Security Forces had used excessive force to disperse the demonstrations and at least 3 people were injured in the face due to using (shotgun), and several others wounded as well.

Photo: The Security forces used (shotgun) to suppress the demonstrations on 16 December.

On 17 December, the Bahraini Authorities closed all entrances to Manama, and tried to prevent the demonstrators from gathering, as well as using teargas and stun grenades.

During the demonstrations in Manama, the Bahraini Authorities arrested almost 24 people according to the statistics of the BYSHR, among them 3 women, and the human rights activist Mr. Sayed Yousif Al-Muhafdha from the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), and the blogger Mr. Hassan Jaber.The Bahraini authorities released almost 5 protesters later.

According to the lawyers of the BYSHR, those arrested were transferred to Hoora police station to interrogate them about their participation in the protests in Manama.

Photo: Mr. Sayed Yousif Al-Muhafdha (Right) and Mr. Hassan Jaber (Left)

This takes places days after the speech of the Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa in the International Conference “The Manama Dialogue” about the Bahraini Authorities being ready to engage in a dialogue with the opposition for the stability of the political conditions in Bahrain, and the King’s speech about the public liberties in Bahrain.

Photo: Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa

The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) calls for:

1. Immediately release the detainees from the peaceful demonstrations in Manama, and other villages, and to drop all charges related to freedom of expression and gathering.

2. The Bahraini Authorities have to abide by not restricting peaceful gatherings.

3. The Bahraini Authorities have to put an end to using excessive force against peaceful demonstrators.

03 Nov 2012

The Gulf Center for Human Rights (GCHR), The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), and the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) express grave concern about the systematic targeting, harassment and detention of Human rights defenders in Bahrain, and in particular the BCHR’s members. After the arrest and severe torture of co-founder Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, the sentencing of the President Nabeel Rajab to 3 years on charges of illegal protesting; the Bahraini authorities yesterday, on the 2nd of November, detained the Acting Vice President and Head of Documentation Unit Sayed Yousif Al-Muhafdhah.