Press Release

27 February 2010

The organizations undersigned on this appeal express their great concern regarding the release of a report by the Human Rights Watch entitled “Torture Redux”, where the report addresses the testimonies of human rights defenders and political activists who were tortured during their arrest by the Bahraini Authorities in order to extract forced confessions from them. The report also includes medical and legal information on torture in the Bahraini prisons.

The undersigned organizations emphasize that the information included in this report leads to disappointment in the political reform process, and allowing liberties in Bahrain, especially after 2001 and that the statements of officials had disappeared with the release of a report addressing torture.

Since the press conference, held by the Human Rights Watch in Bahrain on 8 February 2010, the newspapers associated with the Authority and the electronic forums and the official radio launched a criticism campaign against the human rights defenders and others who contributed in preparing this report, whom the international organization extended its gratitude to in the report.

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Mohammed Al-Maskati, President of Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) received a great amount of support from World Youth Movement for Democracy members prior to his recent trial. However, his plight is far from over and needs our support now more than ever!

Al-Maskati, along with activists Abdul Ghani Al-Khanjar and Nabeel Rajab, have recently been attacked by a slanderous media campaign. They have been accused of having links to foreign governments, committing acts of violence by using Molotov cocktails, and betraying Bahrain. They were also accused of inciting young people to violence against the state and defaming the state to international organizations. These allegations were printed as libel in three prominent newspapers, and have contributed to rising public hostility towards human rights defenders. These attacks began shortly after the release of a Human Rights Watch report that exposed the lack of human rights in Bahrain, in which Al-Maskati, Rajab, and Al-Khanjar were credited for their assistance, in a likely attempt to discredit the report. To learn more, go to www.hrw.org.

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A Video Showing the Effects of Torture on a Saudi Citizen by the Bahraini Security Authorities

12 February 2010

The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights expresses its deep concern regarding the video it received of a Saudi citizen being tortured by the security apparatuses; the Saudi citizen had been accused in a criminal lawsuit in Bahrain and he was in provisional detention in the “Dry Dock” prison.

Information received by the BYSHR indicates that the Saudi citizen was arrested in Bahrain on criminal charges, and he was kept in the “Dry Dock” prison for 45 days, where he faced severe torture by the security forces and due to that he was transferred to the hospital for treatment from injuries [1].

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URGENT APPEAL – THE OBSERVATORY

BHR 001 / 0210 / OBS 020
Slandering media campaign

Bahrain

February 18, 2010

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Bahrain.

Description of the situation :

The Observatory has been informed by the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) about the slandering media campaign launched against Mr. Nabeel Rajab, President of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), Mr. Mohamed Al-Maskati, BYSHR President, and Mr. Abdul Ghani Al-Khanjar, Spokesperson of the National Committee for Martyrs and Victims of Torture (NCMVT).

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http://www.frontlinedefenders.org/node/2367

Bahrain: Media harassment of human rights defenders Mr Nabeel Rajab, Mr Mohamed Al-Maskati and Mr Abdul Ghani Al-Khanjar
Posted on 2010/02/18

A media harassment campaign has recently been launched against human rights defenders Mr Nabeel Rajab, Mr Mohamed Al-Maskati and Mr Abdul Ghani Al-Khanjar. Nabeel Rajab is the president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, Mohamed Al-Maskati is the president of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights, and Abdul Ghani Al-Khanjar is the spokesperson for the National Committee for Martyrs and Victims of Torture.
Further Information

Front Line previously issued appeals concerning Nabeel Rajab on 25 November 2009, 30 October 2008, 22 September 2006, 20 July 2005, 14 June 2005 and 29 September 2004, and concerning Mohamed Al-Maskati on 5 February 2009, 3 November 2008, 19 December 2007 and 1 February 2007.

Recently, local online newspapers The Gulf News (http://www.akhbar-alkhaleej.com) and Al Watan News (http://www.alwatannews.net) as well as the Bahrain Radio Station have issued false statements concerning the aforementioned human rights defenders. The three defenders have repeatedly been accused by these media outlets of committing violent acts, using Molotov bombs, and of betraying their country.

This campaign began following the publication of the Human Rights Watch report “Torture Redux” on the use of torture in Bahrain, on 8 February 2010. In the report, Human Rights Watch expressed its thanks to the human rights activists who assisted in the preparation of the report including Nabeel Rajab, Mohamed Al-Maskati and Abdul Ghani Al-Khanjar.

Front Line believes that Nabeel Rajab, Mohamed Al-Maskati and Abdul Ghani Al-Khanjar have been targeted as a result of their human rights activities, in particular their involvement in the preparation of the recent Human Rights Watch report on the use of torture in Bahrain. Front Line fears for the physical and psychological integrity of the aforementioned defenders.

Naji Fateel (Board of Directors in BYSHR) – the second from the right – he is involved in a conference on human rights defenders organized by Frontline