Bahraini human rights activist sentenced to two years

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The sentencing of Nabeel Rajab, an Index Freedom of Expression Award winner for his work defending human rights in Bahrain, underscores the decline of freedom of expression in the Gulf country.

Rajab was sentenced on Monday 10 July to two years in prison for speaking to journalists.

“The decision to sentence Nabeel to two years in prison reiterates the draconian approach Bahrain’s government takes toward non-violent dissent. This is a true miscarriage of justice that strips bare even the veneer of legality that Bahraini authorities like to show the rest of the world. Nabeel expressed opinions about the state of his own country and should not be penalised for free speech,” Melody Patry, head of advocacy at Index on Censorship, said.

Rajab, who is president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, was sentenced in absentia. He has been hospitalised since April.

Arrested on 13 June 2016, Rajab has spent the last year in pre-trial detention, largely in solitary confinement and deplorable conditions.

Rajab also faces trial on 7 August in a separate case related to his tweeting against the Saudi coalition’s war in Yemen, which Bahrain is part of, as well as speaking out against torture in Bahraini prisons. He faces up to 15 years in prison on other charges, according to the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”94125″ img_size=”full”][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”12″ style=”load-more” items_per_page=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1499705443530-4f8668e7-7a47-7″ taxonomies=”3368, 716″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Bahrain: Nabeel Rajab’s trial postponed until 10 July

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Human rights activist Nabeel Rajab has been subjected to ongoing judicial harassment.

The trial of Bahraini human rights activist Nabeel Rajab has been delayed yet again. He was due to stand trial on Sunday 2 July, but this was postponed until 3 July and again until 10 July.

Rajab, president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights and Index award winner, was arrested on 13 June 2016 and remains in prison despite a court order to release him on 28 December 2016. He faces four separate legal cases, the trials for two of which have been postponed over 20 times.

“We are particularly concerned about Rajab’s health, which continues to deteriorate due to the poor conditions and mistreatment he receives in prison,” said Melody Patry, head of advocacy at Index on Censorship. On 5 April 2017, Rajab underwent major surgery at a military hospital to remove ulcerated tissue from his lower back. He was returned to his cell at East Riffa Police Station two days later against medical recommendations.

“My father’s fate is unknown. He might end up in a prison cell for the next 18 years, so it’s difficult and tiring for him and for our family,” Rajab’s son Adam Rajab told Index today. “However, that does not mean he will ever stop his struggle for rights and freedom.”

“We all know that my father will be released if he guarantees them that he will be silent, but he will not,” Adam added. “He will always be a voice for the victims of human rights abuses and he will always stand against oppressors and dictators. As he always says ‘I am willing to pay the price for freedom and democracy.'”

Index continues to express concern over the treatment of many human rights defenders in Bahrain including women’s rights activist Ebtisam Al-Sayegh, who this week was arrested following a raid on her home and now risks being tortured. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The many trials of Nabeel Rajab[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”6″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1499332927690-0ca55f53-22f9-3″ taxonomies=”3368″][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Bahrain: Women’s rights activist arrested and risks torture

Bahraini activist Ebtisam Al-Sayegh

As she was getting ready for bed on 3 July, Bahraini women’s rights defender Ebtisam Al-Sayegh was arrested by masked officers. Her whereabouts remain unknown.

Just before midnight, five civilian cars and one minibus arrived at Al-Sayegh’s home. Two female officers demanded she handed over both her mobile phone and her national identity card. No arrest warrant was presented and the officers did not answer questions from her family on why she was being arrested. Her family believe these officers are from the Bahraini National Security Agency.

“Index calls for the immediate release of Ebtisam Al-Sayegh. The conditions of her arrest are deeply concerning and we fear she is again at risk of torture,” said Melody Patry, head of advocacy at Index on Censorship. “The unceasing harassment and persecution of human rights defenders in Bahrain are blatant violations of human rights and in total contraction with claims of progress or improvement in this regard.”

Al-Sayegh, a human rights defender with Salam for Democracy and Human Rights, was detained and tortured in late May 2017 for documenting the abuses in Duraz where five protesters were killed and about 300 arrested.

During this time, Al-Sayegh was blindfolded and sexually assaulted while standing for seven hours of interrogation. Al-Sayegh told Amnesty: “The men told me ‘no one can protect you’. They took away my humanity, I was weak prey to them.”

Al-Sayegh was also detained in March after she participated in the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. In June, the UN released a statement about the increasingly hostile situation in Bahrain. UN experts said: “We are particularly worried about these measures, coupled with the campaign of harassment aimed at human rights defenders, who are increasingly being charged with offences for which the death penalty may be imposed.”

Press freedom must not be used as a bargaining chip

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The call by four Arab states — UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Egypt — for Qatar to close news network Al Jazeera is clearly motivated by a desire to control the media in the region and silence reporting of stories that these governments would rather not see exposed.

Al Jazeera has brought the world news from the Arab Spring and many of the recent important moments from the region. Including the closure of Al Jazeera in a list of demands that Qatar “should” comply with to end a diplomatic crisis is about reducing media freedom in a region where it is already threatened.

“From its treatment of blogger Raif Badawi to its tightly controlled media environment, the Saudi authorities must not be able to dictate access to information for the public in other countries. Al Jazeera and press freedom must not be used as a bargaining chip,” Rachael Jolley, editor of Index on Censorship said.

None of the nations involved have a free independent media. Bahrain regularly targets criticsjournalists and the one remaining opposition newspaper in the country, Al Wasat. Saudi Arabia sentenced blogger Raif Badawi to 10 years in jail and 1,000 lashes for his “criminal” writings. Egypt has regularly tried journalists on accusations of terrorism. The UAE, too, curtails discussion of its domestic policies. UAE Federal Law No. 15 of 1980 for Printed Matter and Publications regulates all aspects of the media and is considered one of the most restrictive press laws in the Arab world, according to Freedom House. Reporters Without Borders ranks them all below 118, with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Bahrain all below 160 out of the 180 nations it covers.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”12″ style=”load-more” items_per_page=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1498231474147-ef0d779a-68d3-0″ taxonomies=”9044″][/vc_column][/vc_row]