10 Sep 2018 | Campaigns -- Featured, Statements
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Dear Mr./Ms. Foreign Minister,
We, the undersigned, are writing to you concerning Saudi Arabia’s upcoming 3rd Cycle Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in November 2018 and ahead of the 39th Session of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council (HRC 39) in September. The UN HRC and the kingdom’s UPR review are important opportunities to raise concerns about Saudi Arabia’s abysmal human rights record and to press for urgently needed reforms. We thus call upon your government to publicly engage with Saudi Arabia during the forthcoming HRC as well as the UPR in November, to call for the release of detained writers and activists, and to issue strong recommendations to end restrictions on the right to freedom of expression.
During Saudi Arabia’s 2nd UPR cycle in October 2013, the kingdom received nine recommendations pertaining to protecting and promoting the right to freedom of expression out of 225 total recommendations. Saudi Arabia fully accepted three of these freedom of expression-related recommendations and partially accepted the remaining one. Despite this commitment, the kingdom has failed to implement the recommendations, and we remain concerned over the continued criminalization of the right to freedom of expression and opinion as Saudi Arabia’s UPR approaches in November.
Fundamentally, the Saudi government does not recognize the right to freedom of expression and opinion. Rather, the kingdom’s de facto constitution – the Basic Law – grants authorities the power to “prevent whatever leads to disunity, sedition and division,” including peaceful criticism. It likewise proclaims that “mass and publishing media and all means of expression shall use decent language and adhere to State laws. Whatever leads to sedition and division, or undermines the security of the State or its public relations, or is injurious to the honor and rights of man, shall be prohibited.” Subsequent laws have enshrined further limitations on free speech, including the 2000 Press and Publications Law, the 2007 Anti-Cybercrime Law, the 2014 Law on Terrorism and Its Financing, the 2015 Law on Associations, and most recently, the November 2017 Penal Law for Crimes of Terrorism and Its Financing which explicitly criminalizes expression critical of the King and the Crown Prince.
This web of legislation empowers Saudi officials to arrest activists, journalists, writers, and bloggers who are accused of crimes related to religion, including blasphemy, atheism, and apostasy, as well as crimes filed under the counter-terror law related to speech critical of the royal family, government, or ruling structure.
Among those currently in prison for speech crimes related to religion and critical expression of the government are:
– Blogger Raif Badawi, arrested in June 2012 on atheism charges for his writings and sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes;
– Palestinian poet Ashraf Fayadh, arrested in January 2014 on charges of atheism and apostasy for his poetry and serving a sentence of eight years in prison and 800 lashes– reduced from an initial death sentence;
– Saleh al-Shehi, a columnist for al-Watan, arrested on 8 February 2018 and sentenced to five years in prison after he discussed corruption and the royal court on television;
– At least 15 other journalists, including Nadhir al-Majid, who was charged on 18 January 2017 with “slandering the ruler and breaking allegiance with him,” and Wajdi al-Ghazzawi, the owner of religious satellite broadcaster Al-Fajr Media Group, who was sentenced on 4 February 2014 to 12 years in prison after he criticized the government and accused it of corruption.
The Saudi government has also arrested several women activists over their speech, including a number of prominent women human rights defenders arrested on 15 May 2018. According to nine UN Special Rapporteurs, although many of the women had advocated for gender equality and the lifting the ban on women driving, “reports state they were accused of engaging in suspicious communications with foreign groups allegedly working to undermine national security, and of trespassing against the country’s religious and national foundations.” In a demonstration of the kingdom’s attempt to silence women and activists, reports recently emerged that the government was seeking the death penalty against activist Israa al-Ghomgham, who was arrested in 2015 for her role in organizing protests and for calling for the release of political prisoners and an end to anti-Shia discrimination.
Saudi Arabia’s suppression of free expression demonstrates the kingdom’s failure to implement its 2nd Cycle UPR recommendations. We therefore see both the UN HRC session in September and the kingdom’s UPR in November as important and significant opportunities to raise concerns not only about ongoing restrictions on the right to freedom of expression, but also the kingdom’s failure to abide by its commitments to reform. To that end, we call upon your government to publicly urge Saudi Arabia to lift restrictions on free expression, call for the release of activists, journalists, and writers, urge implementation of its 2nd Cycle UPR recommendations, and offer serious follow-up recommendations during the 3rd Cycle UPR in November.
Signed,
Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB)
Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE)
Bytes for All (B4A)
Cartoonists Rights Network International (CRNI)
Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR)
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
Freedom Forum
Fundamedios – Andean Foundation for Media Observation and Study
Independent Journalism Center (IJC)
Index on Censorship
Initiative for Freedom of Expression – Turkey
International Publishers Association (IPA)
Mediacentar Sarajevo
Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance
Norwegian PEN
PEN American Center
South East Europe Media Organisation
Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression (SCM)
Vigilance for Democracy and the Civic State
AlQst
Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC)
Association for Human Rights in Ethiopia (AHRE)
Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD)
Caucasus Civil Initiatives (CCIC)
Center for Civil Liberties (Ukraine)
CIVICUS
European Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (ECDHR)
International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
Karapatan (Philippines)
Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED)
Odhikar, Bangladesh[/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:1536591904030-5e1deab8-708b-0″ taxonomies=”6534″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
6 Sep 2018 | Bahrain, Bahrain Statements, News and features, Press Releases, Statements
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”102525″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes”][vc_column_text]Leading writers including Margaret Atwood, Elif Shafak and Claire Tomalin have signed an open letter to the king of Bahrain urging him to intervene in the case of a political prisoner being denied the right to read in jail.
Hassan Mushaima, a leader of the political opposition in Bahrain who was part of the country’s Arab spring protests, has faced repeated torture, and humiliating and degrading treatment in prison. A cancer sufferer, Mr Mushaima has been denied access to all but the most basic medical care. In the latest effort to break Mr Mushaima’s spirit, the prison authorities have confiscated all of the former English teacher’s books — more than 100 collected during his seven years in jail.
His son, Ali, who lives in exile in Britain, is on the 36th day of a hunger strike outside the Bahrain embassy in London protesting on behalf of his father.
“In some ways when you are prisoner, your books are not less important than your life-saving medication,” said Ali. “While your medicine physically saves your body, the books you have saves your mind in a place where life seems to stand still
“My father is a researcher and his books where how he spent his days in prison, they gave him purpose. Taking them away from him felt like a new way to suffocate him in his prison.”
The letter follows:
Your Highness,
We write to you on behalf of Bahraini activist Hassan Mushaima to ask for your assistance in assuring his fair treatment in jail and in particular the return or replacement of his books. Mr Mushaima is a leader of the political opposition in Bahrain and in 2011 was part of the Arab spring protests – a mass movement that peacefully called for human rights and democratic reforms in the kingdom.
Mr Mushaima, along with other leading human rights defenders and opposition figures – known collectively as the Bahrain 13 – was arrested, tortured and sentenced to life imprisonment, simply for calling for democracy.
Throughout his detention, Mr Mushaima has been subjected to humiliating, inhumane treatment in Jau prison. The torture he has endured has caused such severe problems that he has required surgery four times. Although Mr Mushaima has been allowed access to basic medical care in recent days following a hunger strike – which is still ongoing – by his son Ali Mushaima outside the Bahraini embassy in London, he has been denied access to other basic rights – such as access to reading material.
Over the past seven years, Mr Mushaima has accumulated a collection of more than 100 books in jail. These include books on history, religious teachings, and English dictionaries and grammar books. However, the prison authorities have now confiscated these books and we have since learned that they may have been destroyed. We ask your assistance in calling on prison authorities to return or replace these books – and to ensure Mr Mushaima’s fair treatment in prison.
Access to reading materials is considered to be a basic condition for humane treatment of prisoners worldwide: UN general assembly resolution 45/111 on the Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners proclaims that “All prisoners shall have the right to take part in cultural activities and education aimed at the full development of the human personality.”
Mr Mushaima deserves to be treated with dignity. This is a right that should accorded to all prisoners. We urge you to restore Mr Mushaima’s dignity by returning his books.
Yours,
Lisa Appignanesi
Margaret Atwood
Amanda Craig
Ariel Dorfman
Daniel Hahn
Ruth Padel
Elif Shafak
Gillian Slovo
Ali Smith
Preti Taneja
Claire Tomalin[/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:1536223253239-45a7da5a-81c4-2″ taxonomies=”716″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
6 Sep 2018 | Campaigns -- Featured, Digital Freedom, Digital Freedom Statements, Egypt, Statements
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]We, the undersigned, call for the immediate repeal of the Anti-Cyber and Information Technology Crimes Law (“The Cybercrime Law”), as well as the review and reform of articles on internet surveillance and blocking of websites in the law on the regulation of the press and media (“The Media Regulation Law”).
The Cybercrime Law and the Media Regulation Law are only the latest steps in the Egyptian government’s attempt to impose full control over the flow of information online, as part of an effort to close the space for public debate and prevent the exercise of the fundamental right to freedom of expression. These actions must be opposed in order to defend Egyptians’ human rights.
Background
On 18 August, 2018, President Sisi ratified the Anti-Cyber and Information Technology Crimes Law (Cybercrime Law). The Egyptian parliament had already approved the law on 5 July, granting the government new powers to restrict digital rights and interfere with activists’ freedoms online. Only last month, the parliament also passed another dangerous law (the Media Regulation Law) that would place under government regulation and supervision as member of the media anyone with a social media account that has more than 5,000 followers.
Egyptian authorities have a recent history of escalating attempts to restrict online freedoms. On 24 May 2017, Egypt began to block websites, mostly media related, on a mass scale; the number of blocked websites so far totals more than 500. Apart from an order to block 33 websites issued by the government committee that appraised and seized the funds of members of a banned Muslim Brotherhood group, it is unclear on what basis the other websites have been blocked. No decision has been published, whether by the courts or government departments, and no reasons have been provided as to why those websites ought to be blocked. Numerous attempts have been made to get the government to disclose the legal basis for blocking, and a number of lawsuits have been filed before the administrative judiciary.
Now, the ratification of the Cybercrime Law appears to be an attempt by the government to legalize the repressive steps it took more than a year ago, providing full authority for internet censorship.
The Cybercrime Law also authorizes the mass surveillance of communications in Egypt. Under the law, ISPs are required to keep and store customer usage data for a period of 180 days, including data that enables user identification, data regarding content of the information system, and data related to the equipment used. This means that ISPs have the data related to all user activities, including phone calls and text messages, websites visited, and applications used on smartphones and computers. The National Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (NTRA) can also issue an administrative decision obliging telecommunications companies to save “other data” without specifying what it is, and without stipulating it in the law.
National security entities (defined by the law as: Presidency, Armed Forces, Ministry of the Interior, General Intelligence, and Administrative Control Authority) were also granted the right to access and review the data referred to in the preceding paragraph. ISPs are also obliged to provide the “technical capabilities” to those entities.
This approach to impose mass surveillance on all users in Egypt is contrary to Article 57 of the Egyptian Constitution, which states: “Private life is inviolable, safeguarded and may not be infringed upon. Telegraph, postal, and electronic correspondence, telephone calls, and other forms of communication are inviolable, their confidentiality is guaranteed, and they may only be confiscated, examined or monitored by causal judicial order, for a limited period, and in cases specified by the law.” Egypt has also signed and ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and must follow the guidance of the Human Rights Committee, the only official body charged with interpreting the treaty.
In addition, the law regulating the work of the press and media, the Media Regulation Law, which the President ratified on September 1, 2018, expands the power to censor individuals’ personal accounts on social media, if the account has at least 5,000 followers. The Supreme Media Regulatory Council has the right to block those accounts if it believes that they publish or broadcast false news, incite a violation of the law, violence or hatred, discriminate between citizens, or advocate racism or intolerance.
Call to action
The Cybercrime Law and the Media Regulation Law threaten the fundamental rights of Egyptians. They are overbroad, disproportionate attempts to give the government full control over cyberspace. Therefore, to protect Egyptians’ human rights, preserve the public domain, and keep open any space for exercising freedom of expression, the undersigned call on the Egyptian government to immediately repeal the Cybercrime Law and reform the Media Regulation Law.
Signed, a coalition of some of the world’s leading human rights and digital rights organisations from 25 countries,
7amleh – Arab Center for Social Media Advancement
7iber
Access Now
Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB)
Article 19
Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression (AFTE)
Association for Progressive Communications (APC)
Bahrain Centre for Human Rights
Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)
Community Media Solutions
Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
Democratic Transition and Human Rights Support Center (DAAM)
Derechos Digitales
Digital Rights Foundation
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Electronic Frontier Finland
Epicenter.works
Euromed Rights
Fight for the Future
Global Voices Advox
Gulf Centre for Human Rights
Humano Derecho Radio Estación
I’lam – Arab Center for Media Freedom Development and Research
i freedom Uganda Network
Index on Censorship
Internet Sans Frontieres
Kenya ICT Action Network
Fundación Karisma
Maharat Foundation
Majal.org
Motoon.org
DDHH Redes Ayuda
Open Media
Point of View India
REPORTERS SANS FRONTIÈRES / REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS
Social Media Exchange (SMEX)
Syrian Center for Media and Freedom of Expression
Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC)
Turkey Blocks
The Syrian Archive
Visualizing Impact
WITNESS
Xnet – Internet Freedoms[/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:1536246503666-e8c5e4e3-31d6-5″ taxonomies=”147″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
31 Aug 2018 | Bahrain, News and features
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/HNYN5IHfDgE”][vc_column_text][socialpug_tweet tweet=”Happy Birthday @NABEELRAJAB! Bahrain must #FreeNabeel #OpinionsAreNotCrimes!” display_tweet=”Happy Birthday @NABEELRAJAB! Bahrain must #FreeNabeel #OpinionsAreNotCrimes!” remove_username=”yes”][/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Have you expressed disapproval of your government? Called for more democratic decision-making in your country? Criticised prison conditions or criticised a country allied with your government? Retweeted a comment that included #opinionsarenotcrimes?
You are a criminal. You could be facing up to 15 years in prison for simply expressing your point of view if you lived in Bahrain.
Nabeel Rajab, just like you, thinks his country could be better. And he has made those views public. He speaks out against poor prison conditions and argues for more freedom of speech in Bahrain.
Friday 1 September 2018, marks his third birthday in prison, where he has been since 13 June 2016. He has been subjected to harsh treatment in often appalling conditions that have exacerbated his health issues.
Rajab is in prison for tweets and retweets about the war in Yemen in 2015, for which he is charged with “disseminating false rumours in time of war” (Article 133 of the Bahraini Criminal Code) and “insulting a neighboring country” (Article 215 of the Bahraini Criminal Code), and for tweeting about torture in Jau prison, which resulted in a charge of “insulting a statutory body” (Article 216 of the Bahraini Criminal Code).
What’s worse, it’s just the latest in a long line of actions taken by the Bahraini government against Rajab, one of the Middle East’s most prominent human rights defenders.
Rajab has been subjected to ongoing judicial harassment, physical intimidation and imprisonment for his non-violent advocacy of democracy and for his calls for an end to endemic corruption. Police officers have beat him up, the country’s press have published the government’s accusations against without his side of the story. He has been imprisoned, pardoned, banned from travelling, rearrested and held in solitary confinement.
Nabeel Rajab, BCHR – winner of Bindmans Award for Advocacy at the Index Freedom of Expression Awards 2012 with then-Chair of the Index on Censorship board of trustees Jonathan Dimbleby.
Despite the huge personal cost to himself and his family, Rajab continues to speak out.
His activism began during protests in the 1990s and grew with his involvement with the Bahrain Human Rights Society, which he helped found in 2000.
In 2002 he partnered with Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who is now serving a life sentence for his human rights work, and others to launch the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, which was awarded an Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Award in 2012. BCHR has consistently spoken out for non-violent resistance and the peaceful struggle for social justice, democracy and human rights.
Rajab has also been outspoken in working for the protection of the Gulf’s migrant workers, founding, in 2003, one of the first committees in the region to advocate improved conditions for them.
When the Arab Spring swept across the Middle East in 2011, Rajab participated in the pro-democracy protests that were focused on the Pearl Roundabout in the country’s capital Manana. His vocal criticism of human rights violations and outspokenness — even after the government issued a state of emergency and invited foreign intervention to help maintain control — brought him into frequent conflict with security forces.
Born 1 September 1964 to a middle-class family, he went to university in India to study politics, before returning to work in Bahrain. Rajab is married and has two children. He is a nephew of Mohamed Hasan Jawad, one of the “Bahrain 13” — political figures imprisoned for participating in the Arab Spring protests, and a cousin of Hussain Jawad, a prominent human rights activist arrested in February 2015.[/vc_column_text][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”12″ style=”load-more” items_per_page=”4″ element_width=”6″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1535714923645-bfdcebc4-5f38-6″ taxonomies=”3368″][/vc_column][/vc_row]
