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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Arab Human Rights Defenders Union (AHRDU)

First, Name: Arab Human Rights Defenders Union (AHRDU)
Second, definition:
- AHRDU is an international Arab non-governmental organization
- AHRDU consists of :
(A) the organizations defending human rights in Arab countries acceding to AHRDU.
(B) defenders of human rights, individuals and practitioners, to defend human rights within the Arab countries.

Authenticity and references:

1. International Bill of Human Rights.
2. United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders
3. Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations High Commissioner for human rights defenders.
4. EU Guidelines on the protection of human rights defenders.

AHRDU aims to:

1. Create a regulatory and democratic framework that includes defenders of human rights working to protect organizations and individuals and develop their abilities in the field of human rights.
2. Create a framework for dialogue, consultation, coordination, joint action, integration, and solidarity among NGOs and individual defenders on the basis of absolute equality between all its members.
3. Coordination, cooperation and exchange of experiences at all levels to promote and protect human rights defenders.
4. support dialogue, coordination with networks and other Arab organizations, regional and global, on human rights defenders.
5. Provide legal , moral and material protection for human rights defenders who are at risk.
6. Contributing to the training of human rights defenders on the methods of
protection.

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