24 January 2012 – Tunis/London

A mission report by six international organisation who travelled to Bahrain last November accuses the Bahraini authorities of failing to deliver on promises of reform, despite a highly-touted commission of inquiry. Bahrain has now experienced almost a year of turmoil, as the anniversary of unrest, 14 February, draws near. Despite promises of change, rights violations continue on a daily basis, and individuals jailed during the government crackdown in February and March remain in prison.

The report, Justice Denied in Bahrain: Freedom of Expression and Assembly Curtailed, outlines human rights violations linked to the authorities’ handling of protests and demonstrations in the country since February 2011. The report details meetings with human rights defenders, lawyers, writers, artists, journalists, government officials and foreign diplomats and provides insight into how the government continues to punish and prosecute individuals for expressing their opinions and protesting ongoing repression.

Bahrain’s government appears to be more concerned with maintaining the façade of a modern Arab nation, rather than listening to the demands of a popular uprising. Citizens have been prosecuted for expressing their views peacefully. Bahraini officials have crushed free speech.
Sara Yasin, editorial assistant at Index on Censorship

Expectations of change in Bahrain were raised by the publication of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) report at the end of November (witnessed by the mission) and its recommendations for reform. However the reality on the ground remains unchanged. Human rights activists, doctors, teachers, union members, political figures, journalists, bloggers and others continue to face harassment, prosecution and imprisonment despite the use of torture and unfair trials against them. Protests continue on an almost daily basis, and the security forces response is virtually unchanged despite the recommendations made in the BICI report.

It seems that despite the BICI report’s extensive catalogue of abuses against Bahraini citizens including torture, and a clear condemnation of the culture of impunity, the government of Bahrain is intent on maintaining the status quo. We are not seeing the immediate release of prisoners. Instead there is an interminable succession of postponed trials.
Marian Botsford Fraser, chair of the Writers in Prison Committee, PEN International

The 11 recommendations made in the report, include calls to end the harassment, imprisonment and prosecution of Bahraini citizens for what essentially amount to persecution of free expression and legitimate human rights work. In line with the BICI report, which was accepted by the government of Bahrain, the international mission report also insists on accountability for those responsible for violating international human rights norms, in particular those responsible for torture and killing.

The mission team was composed of the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), Front Line Defenders, the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR), Index on Censorship, International Media Support (IMS) and the Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of PEN International, and was supported by the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX).

International mission to Bahrain report

The full international mission report is online here, it will be launched today (24 January) at 17:30-19:00, Free Word Centre, London

Please contact Sara Yasin, Index on Censorship for more information.
saray@indexoncensorship.org, tel +44 (0) 207 324 2532, mobile +44 (0) 7805 062 485
Follow the mission on Twitter #BahrainMission

The post Index and rights groups report condemns ongoing human rights violations in Bahrain appeared first on Index on Censorship.

Freedom of Expression Organisations Call for Justice on International Day to End Impunity

London, November 23, 2011

Today Index on Censorship, Article 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists and English PEN  join dozens of freedom of expression organisations around the world to mark the inaugural International Day to End Impunity.

In the past 10 years, more than 500 journalists have been killed. In nine out of 10 cases, the murderers have gone free. Many others targeted for exercising their right to freedom of expression — artists, writers, musicians, activists — join their ranks.

On this day two years ago the single deadliest event for the media took place when 30 journalists and two support workers were brutally killed in Ampatuan, Maguindanao province, The Philippines. The journalists were part of a convoy accompanying supporters of a local politician filing candidacy papers for provincial governor. In total the “Maguindanao Massacre” as it has come to be known, claimed 58 victims. Not one of more than a hundred individuals suspected of involvement in the atrocity has been convicted yet.

We join those in the Philippines not only in honouring their slain colleagues, friends and family members, but demanding justice for them and hundreds more in Russia, Belarus, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Mexico, Colombia, Iraq and Somalia and other countries where killings of journalists and free expression activists have repeatedly gone unpunished. Above all we demand an end to the cycle violence and impunity.

This year alone at least 17 journalists were murdered for their work. These include Pakistani journalist Saleem Shahzad, whose body was found May 31 showing signs of torture. They include Mexican journalist and social media activist Maria Elizabeth Macías Castro Macías, whose killers left a computer keyboard and a note with the journalist’s body saying she had been killed for writing on social media websites. These heinous acts not only silence the messenger, but are intended to intimidate all others from bringing news and sharing critical voices with the public.

We call on governments around the world to investigate and prosecute these crimes and bring an end to impunity.

Article 19                                                        English PEN

Committee to Protect Journalists                  Index on Censorship

Take Action: Write a letter demanding justice for:

1 November: Mohammad Ismail
2 November: José Bladimir Antuna Garcían
3 November: Abdul Razzak Johra
4 November: Laurent Bisset
5 November: Carlos Alberto Guajardo Romero
6 November: Wadallah Sarhan
7 November: Ahmed Hussein al-Maliki
8 November: Francisco Castro Menco
9 November: Dilip Mohapatra
10 November: Misael Tamayo Hernández
11 November: Johanne Sutton, Pierre Billaud and Volker Handloik
12 November: Gene Boyd Lumawag
13 November: José Armando Rodríguez Carreón
14 November: Seif Yehia and Ibraheem Sadoon
15 November: Fadia Mohammed Abid
16 November: Olga Kotovskaya
17 November: Meher-un-Nisa
18 November: Tara Singh Hayer
19 November: Eenadu-TV staff
20 November: Namik Taranci
21 November: Ram Chander Chaterpatti
22 November: Raad Jaafar Hamadi
23 November: Ampatuan massacre victims

23 November marks the anniversary of the 2009 Ampatuan massacre, in which 34 journalists were murdered in an election-related killing in the Philippines, making it the single deadliest incident for journalists in recent history.

The post Take action to end impunity appeared first on Index on Censorship.

The post Concern over journalist murder trial anomalies appeared first on Index on Censorship.