manama map

Manama, 28 June 2007

Ladies and gentlemen, members of international NGOs, authorities, and Media

Best regards from Bahrain.

Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) addresses this urgent letter to you about targeting and randomly suppressing a protest rally against Bahraini Prime Minister.

Ladies and gentlemen,
We would like to inform you that a group of activists and patriotic figures are planning to launch a rally against Bahraini Prime Minister, Sheikh Khalifa Ben Salman Al Khalifa in protest on granting him UN Human Development and Housing Award. The rally will start at Manama district and moves, then, to the UN building on June 30, 2007.

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see more information

Please, send your letters, emails, and/or faxes to the following list:

Bahraini parliament Members:
Fax: (+ 973) 17748445
E-mail: fshehabi@almajlis.gov.bh

Members of the Bahraini Shura Council:
Fax: (+ 973) 17748888
E-mail: info@shura.gov.bh

Note: Do not forget to tell us what you did in support of the Activist

naji pic

Manama, June 27, 2007

Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) is highly concerned by the situation of activist, Naji Ali Fateel, 33, from Bani Jamra. Security forces summoned him and threatened him in an attempt to stop his civil and voluntary activities. Naji is an activist at The Unemployed and Low-Paid Committee (ULPC) and a supporter of BYSHR. It is noteworthy that Naji has previously suffered physical and verbal attacks by security forces during his participation in a peaceful event of ULPC. He was interrogated twice in one year.

Activist Naji told BYSHR: “Al-Hora Police Station phoned me at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday June 27, 2007 and asked me to be present at the station for a serious matter. I objected on the way of summoning me and I asked them to send me an official notification from the police station saying that a security bureau wants me. They, then, said they will tell the officer with this.”

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ohchr

Secretary / Special Rapporteur on violence against women

Higher Commissionaire of Human Rights

Geneva, Switzerland

25 June 2007

Kindest regards from Bahrain,

We would like to thank you for your efforts to protect women against rights violation. You are the international authority specialized in protecting women against targeting and violence.

Dear Rapporteur,

Bahrain has signed the Fighting Violence against Women Agreement on June 18, 2002, and has subjected to implementation on July 19, 2002. This agreement obliges Bahrain to protect women against violence practiced by either the society or local authorities. The agreement works on finding national legislations to protect women rights in different fields.

Dear Rapporteur,

Bahrain is still practicing violence against women through Family Courts, which are known for their corrupt and systematic suppression against women, who call for their slightest rights to live with dignity.

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scales of justice

For the third time, ten minors have been summoned today before the Lower Criminal Court judge against charges of crowd and riot according to Article 178 of the Penal Code, to hear witnesses, representative of the Ministry of Interior, who arrested those kids. At the start of today’s session, the judge ordered that hearing the witnesses be turned into secret (private) mode, to avoid embarrassment, as expressed by the judge, for the eight non-Bahrainis witnesses of the special forces of the Ministry of Interior who lack speaking Arabic. All-the press, observers, parents, friends of the defendants and their supporters, were prevented from attend the “secret session”, which lasted more than two hours to hear testimonies, in the presence of the minors and their lawyers. The judge decided that the court be postponed once again to Sunday, next October 28 th. The accused minors, under the age of 18 years, are:

F rom Sanabis village: Ahmed Jameel Abdullah and Ali Jaafar Alsankis

From Daih village : Fadhel Al-Mulla, Fadhel Mushaimaa, Mahdi Saad, Mohammed abdulkarim, Hussain Radhi, Jaafar Al-Jazeeri, and Ahmed Badr

From Karrana village: Hassan Salman.

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ohchr

Urgent Appeal

Secretary / Rapporteur of the Committee on the Rights of Child (CRC)
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Geneva-Switzerland
June 19, 2007

Greetings from Bahrain,

We cordially thank you for your work in protecting children from violations of their rights, as you are the competent international body to protect children from being targeted or exposed to danger.

The Kingdom of Bahrain, joined the Convention on the Rights of Child on February 13, 1992, which was enforced on March 14, 1992, is obliged to take care of minors who are older than 18 years, and work to maintain their rights to education, freedom of expression and assembly without harassment or encountering any kind of accountability or legal obligations or torture.

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Take Action:Ahmed Khamis

June 18th, 2007

Please, send your letters, emails, and/or faxes to the following list:

Bahraini parliament Members:
Fax: (+ 973) 17748445
E-mail: fshehabi@almajlis.gov.bh

Members of the Bahraini Shura Council:
Fax: (+ 973) 17748888
E-mail: info@shura.gov.bh

Note: Do not forget to tell us what you did in support of the victim

malkiaya

Manama,16 June 2007

Report Content:

1. Introduction to Malkiaya incidents
2. Testimony on security violence by eyewitnesses (documented by Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights)
3. Testimony on Fighting Riot Forces (FRF) by injured participants (documented by Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights)
4. Victim, Ahmed Khamis Abdullah replies to Bahraini Ministry of Interior
5. Name list of Witnesses and victims of security forces attack on Malkiaya village
6. Recommendations by Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR)
7. Photos for victims and injuries

Introduction:

On Saturday June 9 2007, a NGO launched a sit-in in Malkiaya village near seacoast. Protesters called for eliminating some violations committed by royal family member by possessing a large area of the coast. During the sit-in, some young people attempt to remove the signs of violation. However, Fighting Riot Forces (FRF) shot them with rubber bullets and tear-gas bombs. They used the house of the royal family member as a military base to attack and disperse participants in a random manner. The organizing committee clarified that they got a license form the ministry of interior to launch this sit-in.

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ahmed pic

Bahrain, 12 June 2007

Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) is highly concerned by the sufferings of the Bahraini citizen, Ahmed Khamis Abdullah, 23, from Al-Malkia village. Khamis was injured during Fighting Riots Forces (FRF) raid aided by security men in civil clothes. The purpose of the break-into process was to separate participants in a peaceful strike – permitted by Ministry of Interior – near Al-Malkia coast. The participants were dispersed at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday 9 June 2007.

A friend of Kahmis told BYSHR with the details of physical assault the young man suffered after dispersing participants. He was attacked at 9:30 p.m. at another place far form strike place. He said to his friend:

“At 5:30 p.m. FRF fired intensified throttling gas (tear-gas) and security forces fired rubber bullets intensively. This led participants to suffer severe throttling. However, security forces did not stop there; they camped in the venue until midnight. At 9:30 p.m., we were running in an attempt to find a place to hide from security men. They shot rubber bullets on us and Khamis was injured and fell down. Five FRF men and one security man in plain clothes attacked him. The security man ordered them to beat Khamis all over his body. The security forces used wooden and iron sticks to beat him. Two of them climbed on Khamis’s back. The security man in plain clothes ordered them to fractionize his knee joints.”

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ILO pic

Complaint Letter

From: Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights – Kingdom of Bahrain

To: Secretary-General, International Labor Organization – Switzerland

Please accept our kindest regards,

Re: Complaint against Bahraini Minister of Labor

Dear Messer/ International Labor Organization (ILO),

We in Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) would like to praise your permanent efforts to serve workers and non-workers all over the world. Your reputable organization has already participated in establishing the general policies for officials in different countries in terms of proper work climate. You have already mentioned that “Decent work is the work product on which rights are protected, which generates an adequate income, with adequate social protection. It also means working adequately, in the sense that all have the potential to reach the full income-earning opportunities. It opens the way to social and economic development, any way in which employment, income and social protection without compromising the rights of workers and social standards”

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