From 2016 onwards, the Bahrain authorities ramped up a campaign to eliminate political opposition, banning opposition political parties that had existed legally before the uprising in 2011. The government has outlawed major opposition parties and independent media, and also imprisoned prominent opposition leaders. Consequently, Bahrain today lacks any non-imprisoned political opposition leaders or independent media willing to sharply criticize the government in public.

“Over the past 11 years, the Bahraini authorities have crushed all forms of dissent and severely clamped down on the rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association,” said Amna Guellali, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

In Bahrain today, there is no genuine, political opposition and no independent media, while critical human rights organizations are unable to operate freely inside the country.

Amna Guellali, Amnesty International

“In Bahrain today, there is no genuine, political opposition and no independent media, while critical human rights organizations are unable to operate freely inside the country. Holding this general election will not address the atmosphere of repression and the denial of human rights that has gripped Bahrain for years.”

At least 12 prisoners of conscience, including protest leaders from 2011 and Ali Salman, the head of major opposition party al-Wefaq, are currently languishing in prison.

Background

Bahrain will hold parliamentary and municipal elections on 12 November. It is the second time such elections have been held since authorities banned political opposition parties from functioning and blocked the candidacies of their members.

In July 2016, the government outlawed al-Wefaq, a Shia-led political opposition party that has had the most electoral success of any party under Bahrain’s current constitution. Between 2012 and 2017, the authorities also outlawed Amal, an opposition party that had competed with al-Wefaq for Shia voters, and the non-sectarian opposition party Wa‘d. Members of these political parties have also been banned from holding leadership positions in civil society organizations.

Since the authorities shut down the independent newspaper al-Wasat in June 2017, all television, radio and newspaper outlets in the country are either pro-government or directly government controlled.

For further information, take a look at Amnesty International’s full public statement on the elections.

The post Bahrain: Upcoming elections held amidst political repression, rights violations appeared first on Amnesty International.

At least 75 people are in prison in at least four of the GCC states — Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) — simply for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association or peaceful assembly. Saudi Arabia has just won the rights to host the Asian Winter Games in 2029.

Sport fans should pause for thought and consider the dozens of people languishing behind bars in GCC countries simply for exercising basic rights

Amna Guellali, Amnesty International

“Governments in Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain repeatedly repress dissent while investing heavily in rebranding themselves as rights-respecting states. Sport fans should pause for thought and consider the dozens of people languishing behind bars in GCC countries simply for exercising basic rights, and call for their release,” said Amna Guellali, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Middle East and North Africa.

“In GCC countries, public gatherings are severely restricted, women are served outrageous jail terms simply for commenting on Twitter, and NGOs are restricted or banned. Authorities in the region crush dissent by imprisoning state critics and imposing strict censorship. All those jailed for exercising their human rights must be immediately released, and all people in GCC countries should be allowed to speak and move around freely.”

Amnesty International is campaigning for the release of the 75 people, highlighting nine emblematic cases of repression and restrictions on human rights in GCC countries on a special webpage, which you can follow here: ‘Silence is king: the persecution of activists in the GCC’.

Salma al-Shehab, a Leeds University PhD student, was sentenced to 34 years imprisonment in Saudi Arabia solely for her peaceful activity on Twitter. She was initially sentenced to six years behind bars in mid-2022. Following an appeal, a judge raised her sentence to 34 years in prison after a grossly unfair trial, followed by a 34-year travel ban from the date of her release. Many others face a similar fate.

In the UAE, human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor has to date spent five and half years in solitary confinement, for his human rights work. Mansoor is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence after being unfairly convicted of the “crime” of “insulting the status and prestige of the UAE and its symbols, including its leaders” in connection with his human rights activism, such as posting on social media.

In Qatar, lawyers Hazza and Rashed bin Ali Abu Shurayda al-Marri  both members of Al Murra tribe, were sentenced to life in prison on charges of organizing unauthorized public meetings and contesting an electoral law ratified by the Emir that is discriminatory to members of their tribe.

In Bahrain, human rights defender Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja has been wrongfully imprisoned for the past 11 years simply for taking part in peaceful protests. He continues to be denied adequate medical treatment for injuries he sustained in 2011 when he was subjected to torture.

To read more about these cases or to other instances of human rights abuses in GCC countries, please visit our story page.

****************************************      

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact: press@amnesty.org 

The post Gulf: Don’t believe the hype, GCC states are as repressive as they’ve ever been appeared first on Amnesty International.

“Bahraini authorities must immediately and unconditionally release him. They must urgently ensure he receives all the medication he requires without delay, has access to adequate and timely healthcare and is protected from further torture and other ill-treatment.

“Bahraini authorities are continuing to punish Abduljalil al-Singace for his peaceful role in Bahrain’s 2011 uprising. Not only have they unjustly imprisoned him, but they also unlawfully confiscated a book he was writing, prompting him to start his hunger strike. His work should be immediately handed over to his family.”

Background

Abduljalil al-Singace has served over a decade of his life sentence in Bahrain’s Jaw prison, where he has been subjected to torture and other ill-treatment.

On 8 July 2021, he started a hunger strike to protest the confiscation by prison authorities of a book on Bahraini dialects that he spent four years researching and writing. On 18 July 2021, authorities transferred him to the Kanoo Medical Centre, where he remains held, due to the deterioration of his health condition. On 29 June 2022, he announced that he would also stop taking salts which stabilize his health while abstaining from food to protest the authorities’ failure to promptly grant him his prescribed medication, including eye drops and analgesic creams for joint and muscle pain.

Abduljalil al-Singace suffers from multiple medical conditions, including severe intermittent headaches, a prostate problem, arthritis in his shoulder joint, tremors, numbness, and diminished eyesight. Authorities have not shared with him the results of an MRI scan of his shoulder taken in October 2021.

The Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry reported in 2011 that following his arrest police had subjected Abduljalil al-Singace to nightly beatings for two months while placed in solitary confinement, targeted his disability by confiscating his crutches, making him “stand on one leg for prolonged periods”, pushing his crutch “into his genitals”, and “threatened him with rape and made sexually explicit comments about his wife and his daughter”.

The post Bahrain: Release unjustly jailed ailing prisoner after year of hunger strike appeared first on Amnesty International.

Since the end of May, prison authorities disregarded at least two prisoners with symptoms of tuberculosis for over a week without testing them. A third prisoner who was granted hospital care, was returned to the prison two days after a doctor told his family he has tuberculosis.  Prisoners’ families have been sounding the alarm and raising complaints given that no measures have been put in place to protect other prisoners from this contagious airborne disease. In one egregious case, prison authorities failed to move a fourth prisoner with tuberculosis to a hospital until he had been sick for almost a year and was semi-paralysed.

“Bahrain’s inadequate response to address cases of tuberculosis in prison shows a disturbing lack of concern for prisoners’ health, and puts their right to health at grave risk. The prison authorities have stood by for too long in the face of the risk of further infections,” said Amna Guellali, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“The Bahraini authorities must immediately provide people in prison who are sick with all necessary medical care. They should put in place measures to prevent the spread of the illness, including access to voluntary testing for tuberculosis for people with symptoms. Authorities should further investigate any allegations of delayed access to health care and hold those responsible to account.”

Inadequate precautions taken to prevent the spread of tuberculosis

One prisoner, Ahmed Jaber, was confirmed to have tuberculosis by medical examinations at Salmaniya hospital after being left sick for 11 months in prison. In a video posted on social media by an exiled activist on 4 June, Ahmed described how he fell sick in April 2021 and was unable to walk or dress by December 2021.

Despite thi, prison authorities did not transfer Ahmed Jaber to hospital until he was semi-paralysed and bedridden in March 2022. He is currently in a halo vest – a medical device that holds the head and neck in place to prevent further damage to the spine – after severe deterioration of his neck vertebrae due in part to advanced tuberculosis.

Another prisoner, Hasan Abdulla Bati, who also suffers from sickle cell anaemia, was diagnosed with tuberculosis last month. He had been ill with swollen lymph nodes since 2019, and doctors had recommended he undergo an operation, but the prison administration refused to schedule it. On 30 May 2022, after transfer to Salmaniya hospital due to a severe episode caused by his sickle-cell anaemia, doctors informed his family that he had tuberculosis; yet two days later, Bahraini authorities returned him to the prison, placing him back in the same cell with eight other people. He continues to be transported by bus with other prisoners for family visitations inside the prison. Hasan Bati has described his illness and the prison administration’s delay in providing treatment in a voice recording given to Bahraini human rights defender Sayed Ahmed al-Wadaei that he posted on social media.

Sayed Nizar al-Wadaei, who was held in the same cell with Ahmed Jaber, has been sick with tuberculosis-like symptoms since the end of May 2022. When he complained to prison guards about his illness, they put him in solitary confinement as punishment, without time outside of the cell or contact with other prisoners. He received testing on 6 June 2022 only after his family had submitted multiple complaints to Bahraini authorities. As of this writing, authorities have not told Sayed Nizar or his family the results of the test or given him any further treatment.

Amnesty International has determined that prison officials moved Ahmed Jaber between cells holding tens of other prisoners in at least seven different buildings at Jaw prison while he was ill there. With the addition of Hasan Bati, who is held in a different building, this means that at least eight buildings at Jaw have had exposure to a person with tuberculosis.

Under international human rights law, the state has a responsibility to ensure that prisoners have access to the same standard of healthcare as is available in the community, free of charge, which includes transferring prisoners to specialized or civil hospitals for treatment that is unavailable in prison.

Background

Amnesty International has documented a recurring problem of medical neglect at the overcrowded and unhygienic Jaw prison in Bahrain. In 2021, there was a major Covid-19 outbreak. One prisoner died after prison authorities waited until he was suffering from severe breathing difficulties before transferring him to hospital.

The post Bahrain: Prison officials’ inadequate response to tuberculosis cases in Jaw prison puts prisoners’ health at serious risk appeared first on Amnesty International.

“We are very concerned about the health of Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, whom his daughter says is being denied medical treatment for suspected glaucoma, which could lead to blindness، as a result of the injuries he sustained back in 2011 when he was subjected to torture.

“This is the latest show of cruelty by the Bahraini authorities who have a track record of medical neglect of prisoners. Healthcare in Bahrain’s prison system is marred by regular instances of denial of medical care, delay, and arbitrary exercise of authority, which in specific cases rise to the level of intentional ill-treatment.

“We call on the authorities to immediately ensure he receives the medical treatment and care he needs and remind them that medical negligence could amount to a violation of the right to health.”

Background

On 16 February 2022, Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja stood in the prison yard and chanted slogans in solidarity with Palestinians, at the time of Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s visit to Bahrain. His daughter Maryam Al-Khawaja believes that his medical treatment was stopped as retaliation for this incident.

His daughter also reported that on 16 January, he was taken to a hospital appointment and made to sit in the car for three hours, and then brought back to prison without having seen a doctor. He has not been given access to any doctors since.

Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja is among a group of opposition leaders and activists who were arrested in the spring of 2011 simply for taking part in peaceful protests. His arrest at the hands of the security forces was violent, resulting in a broken jaw. He was subjected to additional physical, psychological and sexual torture in detention.

Eleven years later he suffers from chronic pain and requires additional surgery. Despite repeated requests, his medical records have not been shared with his family and authorities have claimed that the records had “gone missing”.

The post Bahrain: Human rights defender at risk of blindness due to denial of medical care appeared first on Amnesty International.

Ali Abdulemam from digital rights organization Red Line 4 Gulf, with technical support from Amnesty International and Citizen Lab,  found that a lawyer, an online journalist, and a mental health counsellor, all of whom have been critical of the Bahraini authorities, were targeted with Pegasus between June and September 2021. The three cases were first identified by Citizen Lab and independently confirmed by Amnesty International. The Pegasus Project consortium had previously identified Bahrain as a potential client of NSO Group, with hundreds of Bahraini phone numbers included on a leaked list of 50,000 potential Pegasus targets.

“Bahraini authorities have pursued their crackdown on dissent in recent years, tightening their monitoring of digital media, which was the only space left for open discussion after the government outlawed the legal opposition groups. This chilling breach of the right to privacy comes in a context of harassment against human rights defenders, journalists, opposition leaders, and lawyers,” said Lynn Maalouf, Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.

“Time and again, we have seen how NSO Group’s spyware provides a useful tool for tracking activists and government critics. We are calling on the Bahraini authorities to immediately cease their use of surveillance technologies, and for NSO and other spyware exporters to cease supplying states with this dangerous software until an international regulatory framework compliant with human rights obligations is put in place.”

NSO Group, the Israeli tech company behind the Pegasus spyware, only supplies government clients.

Mohamed al-Tajer is a lawyer who has represented the families of two victims who died due to torture by Bahraini security forces in 2011. Forensic analysis by Amnesty International and Citizen Lab showed that Mohamed’s phone was infected with Pegasus software in September 2021.

Mohamed said he was shocked and saddened by the attack.

“After all of the years of my career as a lawyer, there was nothing I could have done to protect myself from a zero-click hack. The state can hack into your device and gain access to all of your personal information, work information, financial information, emails, and personal and family photos.”

We are calling on the Bahraini authorities to immediately cease their use of surveillance technologies, and for NSO and other spyware exporters to cease supplying states with this dangerous software until an international regulatory framework compliant with human rights obligations is put in place.

Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International

The second target, Sharifa Swar, is a mental health counsellor who has published allegations on her Instagram account that the Ministry of Health is complicit in drug trafficking. Forensic analysis of her phone showed Pegasus infection from June 2021. She left Bahrain for the UK in December 2021 and has applied for asylum there.

The third target is an online journalist who requested anonymity due to fear of government reprisal. They are well known in Bahrain for covering news about the uprising in Bahrain in 2011, and about ongoing protests. The investigation found that the journalist’s phone was infected in September 2021.

“Two of these individuals were targeted after credible complaints, from Citizen Lab and Red Line 4 Gulf, that Pegasus was being misused to unlawfully target Bahraini civil society, and yet NSO continued to help spy on Bahraini citizens. The continued Pegasus attacks against Bahraini civil society shows that NSO Group cannot be trusted to regulate themselves. We urgently need to rein in the out-of-control spyware industry,” said Lynn Maalouf.

“Bahraini authorities must conduct a thorough and impartial investigation to identify those responsible for the violations perpetrated through this unlawful cyber surveillance.”

Background

This investigation was carried out as part of the Pegasus Project, a consortium of global media coordinated by Forbidden Stories, a Paris-based media non-profit, with the technical support of Amnesty International’s Security Lab, which conducts forensic tests on mobile phones to identify traces of the Pegasus spyware.

Previous forensic work by Citizen Lab and Front Line Defenders has shown that three other Bahraini activists were hacked by Pegasus between 2019 and 2020: Yusuf al-Jamri, an online writer in exile in the UK; Moosa AbdAli, an exiled activist in the UK; and Ebtesam al-Saegh, a human rights defender still in Bahrain. In addition, over two dozen members of the Bahraini government, including more than 20 MPs, cabinet members, and royal family members are known from the Pegasus Project data to be potential targets.

NSO Group’s targeted digital surveillance tool is inherently prone to human rights violations, given its design and the lack of checks in place to ensure its proper deployment.

Pegasus severely impacts the right to privacy by design: it is surreptitious, particularly intrusive, and has the capacity to collect and deliver an unlimited selection of personal and private data.

Amnesty International, Forbidden Stories, and the Pegasus Project have shown how Pegasus has been used to spy on journalists, activists, and human rights defenders in countries all across the world, from Latin America to Asia.

The post Bahrain: Devices of three activists hacked with Pegasus spyware appeared first on Amnesty International.

Despite an earlier outbreak of Covid-19 at the prison in March and April 2021, family members told Amnesty International in early June that the prison administration had still failed to distribute face masks or hand sanitizer to protect prisoners and that prisoners were prevented from calling them, sometimes for up to weeks at a time. Overcrowding in Bahrain’s prisons is a long-standing concern which makes social distancing impossible.

“Bahrain’s authorities must immediately launch an effective, independent and impartial investigation into the circumstances of Husain Barakat’s death, including to determine whether he received timely and appropriate medical treatment,” said Lynn Maalouf, Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.

“Despite the availability of vaccination to prisoners in Bahrain, many have not accepted it due to distrust of the prison authorities and lack of information about the type of vaccine offered. It has never been more important to protect prisoners’ right to health and address overcrowding. The Bahraini authorities’ continued failure to provide prisoners with face masks or hand sanitizer to protect against Covid-19 is unacceptable.” 

The Bahraini authorities’ continued failure to provide prisoners with face masks or hand sanitizer to protect against Covid-19 is unacceptable

Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International

Husain Barakat was serving a life sentence after his 15 May 2018 conviction on terrorism-related charges along with 114 other defendants after a grossly unfair trial known as the “Dhu al-Fiqar Brigades” case. Bahrain’s definition of terrorism is overly broad, does not require an element of violence, and has at times been applied to non-violent acts of political opposition. 

Husain Barakat’s wife told Amnesty International that there were 15 other prisoners in his cell, which had only 10 beds, forcing some of them to sleep on the floor. Despite receiving both doses of a Chinese-made vaccine, he tested positive for Covid-19 in May. Bahrain has generally been relying on Chinese vaccines in its vaccination drive, though concerns about efficacy levels have led the government to begin offering additional vaccination phases.

In late May Husain Barakat told his wife in a video call that he could not breathe properly. He told her he had complained repeatedly to the guards that he was sick but they had not transferred him to a hospital. “He told me: ‘I’m tired, I can’t even breathe, I can’t stand up. I’m dying’,” she said.

She told Amnesty International she was only allowed two calls with her husband during the period of his illness, which lasted from late May until his death. She said that he was not transferred out of Jaw prison until after he was too weak to walk.

The Ministry of Interior, in a published statement, said that :“The deceased was in regular contact with his family throughout his illness.”

His wife said that the officials who called her to tell her about her husband’s illness had said he was in a stable condition, but that in a subsequent call when she managed to speak to a nurse, the nurse said he had been placed on oxygen to help with his breathing.

On 10 June , the Ombudsman office attached to Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior confirmed Husain Barakat’s death to Amnesty International and stated that he had received adequate medical care at all stages. 

A Bahraini human rights activist who is in close contact with prisoners and their families, told Amnesty International that prison guards at Jaw have accused prisoners of faking their sickness. She also said that prisoners had only been given masks when a government film crew was touring the prison. After the film crew left, masks were taken back from the prisoners. 

Family members have held regular protests in recent months against the conditions of detention at Jaw prison.

“The right to adequate health care is a human right. Bahrain’s authorities must urgently take further steps to ensure that all prisoners receive prompt medical care and are protected from the threat of Covid-19,” said Lynn Maalouf.

 “They need to also take the long-overdue step of releasing everyone who has been imprisoned for exercising their right to peacefully protest and criticize the government and to address overcrowding.”

SALAM for Democracy and Human Rights, a Bahraini human rights group, told Amnesty International that they had confirmed that 140 prisoners at Jaw have tested positive for Covid-19 since the second wave of infections began in May. These are in addition to more than 70 cases at the prison previously highlighted in April 2021, by prisoners’ families and Bahraini human rights organizations as well as Amnesty International.

The wife of Fadhel Abbas “al-Jazeeri,” who was held in the same building as Husain Barakat at Jaw, until they both tested positive for Covid-19, said Barakat’s death had worried families: “We’re scared for the prisoners and hope they can be released as quickly as possible and they do not come out as corpses carried in coffins.” Fadhel Abbas has since recovered.

The post Bahrain: Death of prisoner a warning for Covid-19 failings in Jaw Prison appeared first on Amnesty International.

Testimony from prisoners’ family members indicates there have been scores of cases among prisoners and paints a bleak picture of prison conditions – already dire due to overcrowding – casting serious doubt on the government’s recent claims that the outbreak is under control.

Prisoners were not provided with face masks or hygiene supplies and other preventive measures, such regular screening tests, were never put in place. There has been little transparency from the prison administration about numbers of COVID-19 cases and sick prisoners have faced restrictions on communicating with their families.

“The Bahraini government and prison authorities have a clear duty to guarantee the right to health of those in detention and protect them from the risk of infection. They must not gamble with the lives of those in their custody. The authorities must ensure all prisoners are provided with face masks and adequate hygiene supplies, that they can keep physical distance and are tested regularly,” said Lynn Maalouf, Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.

In light of the pandemic, it is particularly critical to address the longstanding overcrowding at Jaw prison given the difficulty of ensuring physical distancing.

The Bahraini government and prison authorities have a clear duty to guarantee the right to health of those in detention and protect them from the risk of infection. They must not gamble with the lives of those in their custody

Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International

Bahrain’s Ministry of Interior first disclosed the outbreak on 23 March, stating that there were three confirmed cases. It has not subsequently released any updated information on the number of infections.

Between 31 March and the date of publication, Amnesty International spoke to family members of six prisoners. Using an online testing status system on the Ministry of Health’s website, family members told the organization they were able to verify scores of confirmed COVID-19 cases among prisoners. Prisoners’ families and Bahraini human rights activists provided Amnesty International with matching lists including names of more than 70 prisoners that they believe have been infected.

Severe overcrowding

Overcrowding remains a major problem at Jaw prison despite the release of nearly 1,500 prisoners in March 2020 due to the pandemic. None of the 12 unjustly imprisoned civil society figures held in Building No. 7, whose immediate and unconditional release Amnesty International has called for, were released.

Amnesty International has received reports of a dozen or more prisoners being held in cells roughly three by four and a half meters. Even when not packed, prison cells fall far short of minimum international standards for floor space per prisoner. The UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, known as the Nelson Mandela Rules, set out the authorities’ legal obligations to reduce overcrowding, provide appropriate accommodation and ensure prisoners’ communication with their families. 

“It is common to find a dozen or more prisoners being held in cells designed to accommodate eight people. The Bahraini authorities must urgently address overcrowding at Jaw prison, starting with the release of all those arbitrarily detained, including the immediate and unconditional release of all those imprisoned simply for peacefully exercising their rights,” said Lynn Maalouf.

Failure to take adequate preventive measures

While Bahraini authorities have taken the positive step of allowing prisoners to register for vaccination against COVID-19 and have carried out some prisoner vaccinations already, preventive measures to combat the pandemic at Jaw prison have been woefully insufficient.

Prison authorities have failed to distribute face masks or hand sanitizer to people in detention. Moreover, prisoners are not given any personal hygiene materials as a standard allotment and must purchase all such items – soap, detergent, rags, towels– from the prison commissary, known as the “canteen.”  Sayed Ahmed al-Wadaei, a human rights defender at the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, told Amnesty International that his imprisoned brother-in-law Sayed Nizar had been denied permission to visit the canteen for roughly a month and a half prior to the outbreak at Jaw. Sayed Nizar is now among those with COVID-19 at Jaw, his family have discovered by checking the Ministry of Health online system.

On 28 March, the Bahraini government claimed that all prisoners that tested positive for COVID-19 had been isolated, were being given adequate treatment and were to be allowed calls with their families “as quickly as possible”. However, families of three different prisoners told Amnesty International that they had not received the ordinary calls from their imprisoned family members between 28 March and 3 April.

“Not only have Bahraini authorities failed to disclose the full scale of the outbreak at Jaw prison, but the failure to grant many of those with COVID-19 their regular weekly calls to family has deprived loved ones of direct communication with their sick relatives and caused great and unnecessary anxiety,” said Lynn Maalouf.

Amnesty International has previously documented how prisoners at Jaw are frequently denied access to adequate health care, and insufficient facilities and hygiene supplies have been a long-term concern. On 30 December 2019, for example, the Ministry of Interior acknowledged that 57 prisoners at Jaw had caught a “skin disease.” A family member of a prisoner held in Building No. 12 told Amnesty that the cause was scabies – an infectious disease linked to living in crowded and unhygienic conditions.

Fears for imprisoned family members in light of the COVID-19 outbreak led to demonstrations in a number of Bahraini localities in recent weeks, calling for the release of prisoners. The wife of Mohamed Ramadhan, a prisoner on death row following grossly unfair judicial proceedings, told Amnesty International that both her father-in-law and brother-in-law had been summoned to a police station for questioning following their participation in a peaceful protest in the town of al-Dair.

Update: On the evening of 9 April 2021, Bahrain released Mohammed Hassan Jawad, also known as Mohammed Jawad Parweez , one of the 12 civil-society figures referred to in this press release, alongside a number of other prisoners. Mohammed Hassan Jawad had been serving a 15-year prison sentence for his peaceful participation in the February 2011 uprising.

The post Bahraini authorities flouting prisoners’ rights to health amid rise in COVID-19 cases at Jaw prison appeared first on Amnesty International.

The global pandemic has exposed the terrible legacy of deliberately divisive and destructive policies that have perpetuated inequality, discrimination and oppression and paved the way for the devastation wrought by COVID-19 globally and within the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Amnesty International said in its annual report published today.

Amnesty International Report 2020/21: The State of the World’s Human Rights covers 149 countries and delivers a comprehensive analysis of human rights trends globally in 2020. 

The report also highlights how the response to the global pandemic has been further undermined by leaders in MENA and across the world who have ruthlessly exploited the crisis to continue their attacks on human rights. 

“COVID-19 has brutally exposed and deepened inequality both within and between countries and highlighted the staggering disregard our leaders have for our shared humanity.  Decades of divisive policies, misguided austerity measures, and choices by leaders not to invest in crumbling public infrastructure, have left too many easy prey to this virus,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s new Secretary General. 

“We face a world in disarray. At this point in the pandemic, even the most deluded leaders would struggle to deny that our social, economic and political systems are broken.”

Pandemic amplifies risks for most vulnerable in MENA region 

Across the MENA existing inequalities in the enjoyment of economic and social rights and a culture of entrenched discrimination left some groups of people including prisoners, refugees, migrants and minorities, disproportionately negatively affected by the pandemic. 

In a clear illustration of the extent of institutionalized discrimination in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Israeli authorities failed to provide vaccinations to five million Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza when the vaccination drive began in December 2020. This move flagrantly violated Israel’s obligations as an occupying power under international law.

Many refugees, migrants and internally displaced people already at heightened risk from COVID-19 due to overcrowding in camps and detention centres such as those in Libya also faced restrictions on their movement limiting their access to employment, protection and the ability of humanitarian workers to deliver aid.

The pandemic also aggravated the already vulnerable situation of migrant workers across MENA who are bound by the abusive kafala (sponsorship) system in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While some Gulf countries brought in measures to waive penalties for overstaying visas, many migrant workers also faced arbitrary dismissal from their jobs and were not paid for months. In Jordan, thousands of migrant workers who lost their jobs rarely had access to social protection or alternative employment.

In Libya minorities from historically neglected regions such as Tabus and Touaregs were denied adequate health care either due to their inability to access hospitals controlled by rival armed groups or at times a lack of official documents. 

Prison officials across MENA failed to use the pandemic to address endemic overcrowding by releasing pre-trial detainees or those detained for offenses not recognized by international law. COVID-19 exacerbated already inadequate healthcare in unsanitary prisons. In Egypt, Iran and Saudi Arabia authorities withheld healthcare as punishment, leading to some deaths in Egypt. 

Across MENA 2020 was a catastrophic year for prisoners, refugees, migrants and minorities who are already marginalized and due to COVID-19 have found their situation more precarious than ever. The pandemic has amplified divisions, discrimination and inequalities that already exist in the region.

Heba Morayef, Amnesty International

“Across MENA 2020 was a catastrophic year for prisoners, refugees, migrants and minorities who are already marginalized and due to COVID-19 have found their situation more precarious than ever. The pandemic has amplified divisions, discrimination and inequalities that already exist in the region. Governments must prioritize the provision of adequate medical care in prisons and to alleviate overcrowding, all those who have been arbitrarily detained must be released,” said Heba Morayef, Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.

 “It is crucial that governments in MENA ensure the health care they provide, including vaccines, is delivered without discrimination.”

Health workers unprotected

Health workers on the frontlines of the pandemic suffered as a result of wilfully neglected health systems and pitiful social protection measures.

In Egypt and Iran health workers were threatened or arrested for voicing criticism or concern over the authorities’ responses to the pandemic. In Egypt at least nine health workers were detained using terror laws for speaking out about the handling of the pandemic.

In Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco and Syria, workers were not provided adequate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

“The courage shown by health workers who have put their lives on the line despite tremendous risks must be recognized. With slow vaccination efforts and the pandemic showing no sign of abating in MENA, it is crucial that authorities ensure health workers are adequately protected,” said Heba Morayef.

Repression continues as some MENA leaders weaponize pandemic

In MENA, governments across the region continued to clamp down on peaceful critics and perpetrate human rights violations. Many of them responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by declaring states of emergency or in some cases passing dedicated legislation that created additional restrictions on freedom of expression or assembly. 

Across the Gulf states in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates authorities used the COVID-19 pandemic as a pretext to further supress  the right to freedom of expression, including by prosecuting individuals, who posted comments on social media about government responses to the pandemic, for spreading “false news.”

Authorities in Algeria and Morocco declared a health emergency and punished legitimate criticism over the pandemic with arrests or prosecutions. In Morocco a new health emergency law was used to prosecute human rights activists and citizen journalists for criticizing the government’s handling of the pandemic. In Egypt and Iran journalists and social media users faced harassment or arrest for critical comments and coverage of the pandemic. Even in Tunisia, activists faced criminal charges for their criticism of local authorities’ distribution of aid during the national lockdown.

In Egypt, Iran and Saudi Arabia authorities continued with their relentless persecution of human rights defenders, protesters and peaceful critics. In Israel authorities resorted to raids, judicial harassments and travel bans to intimidate peaceful critics – including Amnesty International’s campaigner Laith Abu Zeyad who continues to face a travel ban.

Failure of international cooperation in COVID response

World leaders have also wreaked havoc on the international stage, hampering collective recovery efforts by blocking or undermining international cooperation. 

These include:

• Leaders of rich countries, such as former President Trump, circumventing global cooperation efforts by buying up most of the world’s supply of vaccines, leaving little to none for other countries. These rich countries also have failed to push pharmaceutical companies to share their knowledge and technology to expand the supply of global COVID-19 vaccines.
• The G2O offering to suspend debt payments from the poorest countries, but demanding that the money be repaid with interest later.

The pandemic has cast a harsh light on the world’s inability to cooperate effectively in times of dire global need

Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International

 “The pandemic has cast a harsh light on the world’s inability to cooperate effectively in times of dire global need,” said Agnès Callamard.

“States must ensure vaccines are quickly available to everyone, everywhere, and free at the point of use. Pharmaceutical companies must share their knowledge and technology so no one is left behind.  G20 members and international financial institutions must provide debt relief for the poorest 77 countries to respond and recover from pandemic.”

Protests to demand rights continue

While MENA governments have resorted to repressive means to intimidate critics over their responses to the pandemic, across the region, people have continued to demand their right to health, justice and a dignified livelihood. 

In Morocco and Tunisia health workers organized protests against the lack of adequate protection measures including insufficient PPE.  

In Lebanon, just days after the devastating Beirut Port explosion security forces cracked down on unarmed protesters calling for justice for the victims with unlawful force recklessly firing tear gas, rubber bullets and pellets at unarmed demonstrators injuring more than 230 people.

Even before the onset of the pandemic a clear pattern emerged of security forces across the region using often excessive, unlawful and sometimes lethal force to disperse protests from Iraq to Iran. 

In Libya, rare protests in the east and west against corruption and unaccountable militias and armed groups, were met with lethal force and abductions.

In Tunisia, protests against worsening economic hardship took place after months of lockdowns and were met with disproportionate unlawful force and sweeping arrests.

The Palestinian authorities in the West Bank and the Hamas de facto administration in the Gaza Strip continued to crack down on dissent, including by stifling freedom of expression and assembly, attacking journalists and detaining opponents. 

“As leaders across MENA exploited the pandemic to tighten their stranglehold on freedom of expression, the people in the region have continued to show that they will not remain silent the face of oppression and injustice,” said Heba Morayef. 

“From brave human rights defenders and journalists speaking out to health workers demanding their rights people across MENA have stood up to demand social and economic justice and these demands have only intensified in light of the pandemic.”

The post MENA: COVID-19 amplified inequalities and was used to further ramp up repression appeared first on Amnesty International.

Mass protests in 2011 were fueled by mounting discontent over the state’s authoritarianism, sectarianism in government employment and benefits, and refusal to provide accountability for torture and arbitrary detention. Yet ten years on, the Bahraini government continues to ignore key recommendations of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, an independent panel commissioned by the King in response to international concern over the suppression of the 2011 protests.

“Since 2011, the only structural changes Bahrain has seen have been for the worse, as opposition parties have been outlawed, the only independent news outlet has been shut down, and new laws have further closed the space for political participation. The protest leaders of 2011 continue to languish in grim prison conditions, and human rights including the right to freedom of expression are routinely trampled on,” said Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“The Bahraini state has crushed the hopes and expectations raised by the mass protests of 10 years ago, reacting with a brutal crackdown over the subsequent decade that has been facilitated by the shameful silence of Bahrain’s Western allies, especially the UK and the US.”

Inspired in part by similar uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, starting 14 February 2011, tens of thousands of Bahraini citizens gathered at Pearl Roundabout in Manama’s financial district, where protesters set up camp for several weeks. The Bahraini government responded with a brutal crackdown and called in a Saudi-led intervention force from the neighboring states of the Gulf Cooperation Council. The Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) report found that between February and April, at least 19 individuals were killed by the authorities, eight of them due to excessive use of force by security forces, and five others due to torture. Thousands were arrested, BICI also recorded, including protest leaders and opposition figures who remain in prison to this day after grossly unfair trials.

Since 2011, the only structural changes Bahrain has seen have been for the worse, as opposition parties have been outlawed, the only independent news outlet has been shut down, and new laws have further closed the space for political participation.

Lynn Maalouf

The BICI report issued in November 2011 also made recommendations including prompt investigation of all allegations of maltreatment by independent forensic experts, with the burden of proof on the state to show its compliance with law; removal of the national security intelligence agency from the process of domestic law enforcement; relaxation of censorship; and allowing the political opposition access to the state-controlled media. Yet ten years later, none of these recommendations have been implemented by the Bahraini authorities, in violation of their obligations under international human rights law.

Ongoing repression

Bahrain’s approach to critics since 2011 is exemplified by its treatment of Sheikh Ali Salman, the head of the now-banned al-Wefaq, which was the largest legal opposition party. He was first imprisoned for his critical political speech in 2014, had his sentence doubled in 2016, then was given a life sentence in 2018 for joining mediation attempts during the uprising. Bahraini authorities described his participation in Qatari-mediated talks, in which Bahrain’s government itself participated, as “spying” for Qatar.

We urge the authorities to reverse the terrible course of the past 10 years by adopting the full and effective implementation of all the recommendations in the BICI report, and for the immediate and unconditional release of those imprisoned solely for peacefully exercising their human rights, and for all the charges against them to be immediately dropped.

Lynn Maalouf

The second major opposition party, the non-sectarian Wa’ad, has also been banned, and its former head Ebrahim Sharif served five years in prison for his role in supporting the protests in 2011.

Since 2016 especially, dissenters – including political activists and leaders, human rights defenders, lawyers, journalists, Shi’a clerics, and peaceful protesters – have faced growing repression, including threats, summons, travel bans, arrests, interrogations, and prison sentences.

The Pearl Roundabout, which came to be a unifying symbol of the hopes of national renewal in February 2011, was bulldozed and paved over once the uprising had been quashed in March 2011.

“The fate of Pearl Roundabout symbolizes the Bahraini government’s attempt to suppress and erase even the memory of the protests. What was once a site of peaceful assembly, hope and progress is now just concrete and asphalt,” said Lynn Maalouf.

“We urge the authorities to reverse the terrible course of the past 10 years by adopting the full and effective implementation of all the recommendations in the BICI report, and for the immediate and unconditional release of those imprisoned solely for peacefully exercising their human rights, and for all the charges against them to be immediately dropped.”

The post Bahrain: Dreams of reform crushed 10 years after uprising appeared first on Amnesty International.

“We are extremely concerned by these claims of torture and the vulnerability that Sheikh Zuhair Jasim Abbas, or any other detainee, is exposed to as a direct consequence of being held incommunicado and in prolonged solitary confinement, in complete isolation from the outside world. No detainee should have their human dignity violated.” 

After months of being held incommunicado by Bahraini authorities, with no contact with his family or lawyer, Abbas was finally allowed to speak to his family on the phone on 17 and 18 January. Abbas described in detail the torture and other-ill treatment he had suffered over the past five months. This includes being held in solitary confinement for months on end, being beaten by guards with fists, feet and hoses, being subjected to sleep deprivation and receiving water only twice per day. 

Abbas also told his family in the call that he faced repeated death threats from prison guards, who taunted him that he was about to be executed and should prepare himself. While he was speaking about his abuse in prison, his family heard guards begin to shout at him and the call was cut off. 

“The Bahraini authorities must immediately order a halt to the torture and ill-treatment of Sheikh Zuhair Jasim Abbas, ensure he is given a medical examination by an independent doctor and end his solitary confinement. Bahrain must also open a full inquiry by the Special Investigation Unit, the only government monitoring body with the power to prosecute the perpetrators,” said Lynn Maalouf. 

“We are extremely concerned by these claims of torture and the vulnerability that Sheikh Zuhair Jasim Abbas, or any other detainee, is exposed to as a direct consequence of being held incommunicado and in prolonged solitary confinement, in complete isolation from the outside world. No detainee should have their human dignity violated.”

Lynn Maalouf

Background 

Prior to 17 January, Sheikh Zuhair Jasim Abbas’ family had not heard from him since August, after prison visits were halted at the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Bahrain and the authorities failed to provide him alternative means of communication. 

Abbas’ family approached the National Institution for Human Rights (NIHR) and the Ministry of Interior Ombudsman to secure contact with him, with no result. On 11 January, the NIHR tweeted that Abbas—identified only as “Z.A.”—”enjoys all his rights but refuses to exercise his right to communicate with his family by phone.” This resulted in his family making public their concerns for his safety. On 19 January, the prison administration denied that there was any truth to the family’s account. 

Abbas’ placement in incommunicado detention coincided with Jaw prison guards’ beating of inmate Ali AbdulHusain al-Wazeer until his arm was dislocated at the shoulder. That case was also referred to the NIHR and the Ombudsman, neither of which took any effective action. Months after his beating was reported to authorities, al-Wazeer still had not been examined by a forensic doctor, resulting in key medical evidence being lost and therefore undermining any future investigation. Mistreatment in prison has been a recurring problem in Bahrain, as Amnesty has documented several times in recent years. 

The post Bahrain: Investigate cleric’s report of torture appeared first on Amnesty International.

Bahrain’s judiciary has decided to blatantly ignore court evidence of torture in the case of Mohamed Ramadhan and Hussain Moosa, and this, despite the repeated violations of the men’s right to a fair trial since their arrest over six years ago

Lynn Maalouf

The two men were convicted of killing a policeman in 2014 following a grossly unfair trial. Their 2015 final death sentence verdict was subject to a re-trial following medical records attesting to the men’s torture, which were submitted by the Special Investigate Unit (SIU) tied to the Ministry of Health. The men have now exhausted all rights of appeal in the judiciary system. Responding to today’s verdict, Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s Middle East Research Director, said:

“Bahrain’s judiciary has decided to blatantly ignore court evidence of torture in the case of Mohamed Ramadhan and Hussain Moosa, and this, despite the repeated violations of the men’s right to a fair trial since their arrest over six years ago.

The death penalty is abhorrent in all circumstances and should never be used

Lynn Maalouf

“We call on the Bahraini authorities to immediately quash these convictions and death sentences. Instead of condemning to death the victims of this irreparably flawed trial, they must hold to account those responsible for their torture and guarantee that the defendants receive reparations, rehabilitation, and an ironclad guarantee of non-repetition.

“The death penalty is abhorrent in all circumstances and should never be used.”

Background

Security forces arrested Hussain Ali Moosa Hasan Mohamed, a hotel employee, on 21 February 2014. Mohamed Ramadhan Issa Ali Hussain was arrested on 18 February 2014 at Bahrain International Airport where he worked as a member of security staff.

The two men were taken to the Criminal Investigations Department where they were tortured during interrogation. Mohamed Ramadhan refused to sign a “confession”, though he was subjected to beating and electrocution. Hussain Ali Moosa said he was coerced to “confess” and incriminate Mohamed Ramadhan after being suspended by the limbs and beaten for several days.

On 29 December 2014, a criminal court sentenced Mohamed Ramadhan and Hussain Ali Moosa to death for the killing of a policeman, who died in a bomb explosion in al-Deir, a village northeast of Manama, on 14 February 2014.

The High Criminal Court of Appeal upheld their conviction and death sentences on 27 March 2015 and the Court of Cassation confirmed them on 16 November 2015.

In March 2018 the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) presented medical reports prepared by doctors affiliated to the Ministry of Interior, indicating that the two men had been tortured; and recommended a review of the trial. On 22 October 2018, the Court of Cassation suspended the death sentences and ordered the High Criminal Court of Appeal to re-examine the case under a new panel of judges.

On 8 January 2020,  Bahrain’s High Criminal Court of Appeal reinstated the death sentences of Mohamed Ramadhan and Hussain Moosa.

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception regardless of the nature or circumstances of the crime; guilt, innocence or other characteristics of the individual; or the method used by the state to carry out the execution.

The post Bahrain: Two men facing execution lose last court appeal despite torture-extracted ‘confessions’ appeared first on Amnesty International.