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April 1996: Kangaroo courts conclude trials in minutes: Affront to civilisation
1 April: The residents of Bani Jamra staged mass demonstrations to commemorate the 1st of April which last year witnessed the house arrest of Sheikh Al-Jamri, the amputation of the leg of Sadiq Al-Arab and the martyrdom of Mohammed Yousif Atteya and Mohammed Ali Abdul Razzaq. The relatives of the martyrs were summoned by the intelligence department and threatened of arrest if the commemorations continued. In Duraz, residents went out in demonstration after the end of Bani Jamra processions. Riot police continued their attacks against both villages. Several people were arrested on the spot. Clashes were also reported in Sanabis. Some of the girl students who were arrested on 26 and 27 March following schools protests spoke of the way they had been tortured. They were stripped naked and intimidated by women police. The unconstitutional State Security Court sentenced two young persons. Eskander Ahmed Sulman, 22, was sentenced to a seven year jail term and Hussain Ali Ahmed al-Satarwa, 19, to five years. Both were also ordered to pay 16,000 dinars (more than $40,000).
2 April: Clashes resurfaced in several areas of Bahrain. Karzakkan was attacked on 2 April and schools continued to suffer from high absenteeism as well as protests by students. The interior ministry announced the names of two people arrested in Zenj last week and accused them of arson. Zuhair Hassan Ibrahim, 25, and Sadiq Ali Hassan, 19, were haphazardly picked up from Zenj and accused of causing the fire at Al-Zayani car show. These announcements have had negative effects, and insurance companies have met to re-define their policy and practice in Bahrain. The Bahraini security forces dragged the situation to violence and continue to defy all calls for calming down the situation. The opposition demands a return to constitutional politics.
4 April: The following were arrested in Dubai: Shakir Al-Fardan, Mohammed Sanad, Ahmad Al-Mahozi, Mahdi Abbas as well as several others. A Bahrain cleric, Sheik Ibrahim Al-Ansari was arrested in Kuwait and no news was heard about him. Seyed Abdulla Al-Ghoreifi was prevented from entering Saudi Arabia. The Saudi authories returnd him to Syria.
5 April: In Ghoreifa and Jufair, more than fifty people have been detained in the past few days in the worst crackdown on these two districts of Manama. The residents of the principal uprising island of Sitra went out on the streets at 1.00 pm and clashed with the security forces.
6 April: one of the security courts recently created by virtue of two unconstitutional decrees (issued on 20 March), sentenced six Bahrainis to jail for three to five years and imposed arbitrary fines of 16,000 dinars ($42,000) each. Fadhel Ali Abdulhussain Thabit, 30, and Abdulnabi Abdulaziz Al-Adraj, 23, were sentenced to five years. Abdul-Redha Abdulhussain Isa, 23, Mohammed Salman Ahmed Thabit, 18, Fadhel Abdulrasool Radhi Ma’atooq, 20, and Tayseer Mohammed Mohsin Al-Elewait, 19, were sentenced to 3 years. Lawyers were prevented from defending the six persons properly. Two young persons Ali Yousif Hassan and Mohammed Jaffer Mansoor were sentenced to three years imprisonment. One person had his car confiscated by a kangaroo-court order.
7 April: It has been reported that an explosion wrecked a complex belonging to the Sheraton Hotel in the heart of the capital Manama, at 2.00 am (7 April). The explosion damaged three shops but caused no injuries. The cycle of violence is being fostered by the repressive government’s crackdown on residential areas and mass jailing and sentencing of young and innocent people. The opposition has called on the government to restore constitutional law to the country and has called for putting an end to violence from all sources.
7 April: In Abo-Dhabi, Mr. Yaquob Yousif Al-Sori was detained because security men could not find his brother Jamil when raiding their house on 28 March. The family was told that the Bahraini authorities ordered the arrest of Jamil, but no explanation was given for taking another brother as a hostage. Later on, Yaquob was handed over to the Bahrain authorities. Many young persons in detention are given the choice of staying in jail or leaving Bahrain. Some have chosen to exit detention by accepting to leave Bahrain to neighboring Gulf countries. Several Gulf countries started arresting Bahrainis for no reason.
8 April: The unconstitutional State Security Court sentenced two teenage girls to six months and one year prison sentences. Safeya Yonis Ali Darwish, 16 years old from Karzakkan village and studies at Hamad Town Secondary School was sentenced to six months prison term, while Nawal Ali Ebadi,16, also from Karzakkan but studies at Sar Secondary School was sentenced to one year prison term. They were detained after eruption of students’ protests following the unlawful execution of Isa Qambar on 26 March. Scores of girls were arrested and tortured. (Both girls were later released and their parents paid 300 dinars).
Security forces have re-started ransacking mosques in the past few days. In Bani Jamra alone, three mosques were attacked and turned upside down by security forces. Similar attack took place in Jed-Ali, Tobli, and other places. Persons in-charge of mosques have been summoned and threatened of arrest in a desperate attempt to empty mosques from attendants.
9 April: The following girls were arrested: Ahlam Abdulaziz Salman Al-Hindi, 16 (from Tobli) and Zainab Abdulhuissain Khatem, 17 (from Karzakkan). Schools in Jedhafs witnessed clashes between teenage students and security forces.
10 April: The interior ministry announced it arrested three people and accused them of causing the fire in the Sheraton trade complex on 7 April. The three are known to be Zuhair Jawad Al-Alqam, 27, Yasir Omran, 20 and Jalal, 19. All three come from Manama. Security forces attacked Sanabis and arrested scores of people.
11 April: Hundreds of women staged a protest in Sanabis Cemetery and raised slogans denouncing the security forces’ indecent assaults on women. The women also declared that there is no turning back on the original demand of restoring the elected parliament.
12 April, the grand mosque at Qafool (Manama) was besieged by security forces and six people were arrested to prevent normal gathering for prayers.
14 April: Reuters reported that “Bahrain on Sunday jailed 15 Shi’ite Moslems, including a blind cleric, held in connection with anti-government protests, lawyers said. They said the State Security Court jailed Hussain al-Mahoozi and Mohammad Isa Haram for five years each, Ibrahim al-Barbari for three years and Abdul-Amir Jaafar for two years. Three of the four were accused of taking part in an attack on Bab al-Bahrain police station in the capital Manama at the start of the protests in 1994, they added. A blind cleric, Sheikh Ali al-Nakas who is in his 50s, was also jailed for one year on charges of incitement against the government, they said. The court also jailed 10 other protesters, lawyers said, but gave no details.”
15 April: Mr. Saeed Al-Asbool, another nationalist figure, was arrested at night. Mr. Al-Asbool was dismissed from his position in the ministry of power in November 1994 following his sponsorship of the Popular Petition that was signed by 25,000 citizens calling on the Amir to restore the elected parliament. When a court decided last year that his dismissal was unlawful, the intelligence department informed him that no civil court can reinstate his employment. Saeed was released a week later.
16 April: The leading pro-democracy leader, Mr. Ahmad Al-Shamlan, who was jailed on 7 February 1996 was put on trial. Al-Shamlan, lawyer, poet and columnist was accused of “encouraging sabotage and arson”. The session was ajourned until 21 April.
17 April: A university student, Mr Mahmood Khalil Ibrahim Al-Moqahwi, from Salheya village,, was sentenced to seven year imprisonment after a summary trial. Mahmood, 22, was in his final year of Diploma in Accounting. The trial was hel at Jaw prison and his lawyer, Mohammed Al-Watani, spoke to him for the first time half an hour before the trial. On 13 March, the young man was brough back to his residence for a search by the security forces. His relatives in the house spoke of visible signs of torture on those parts of the body that were seen. He also looked mentally scarred. He was accused of stabbing a member of the riot police in the University campus. It was reported that the riot police raided a bus and intmidated female students in the bus and Mahmmod struggled with one of the security men.
Clashes re-surfaced in Bani Jamra and Duraz. Earlier clashes were reported in Dar-Kulaib, Sitra, Daih, and other villages. These were organized in protest against the summary trials and arrest of women and children. Six girls from Demestan were arrested in the past few days, one of them is Raja Ibrahim Dhaif, 18 years old.
18 April: Some sixty persons in-charge of religious places (Mattam) were summoned to the Al-Khamis Police HQ. They were ordered to sign papers pledging that they would not allow grievances to be aired in the religious places. Papers were not signed, but the meeting is in preparation for a decree to be issued by the Amir for monopolizing religious places.
19 April: Demonstrations broke out in Duraz and Bilad al-Qadim. Some distinguished personalities from Muharraq were forced to appear with the prime minister on TV. One person, Haji Ali Ali Al-Aradi refused to attend. On the evening, two of his sone and three of his relatives were detained.
21 April: Around 150-200 people staged a demonstration at 5.00 pm (3.00 GMT) in Sanabis yesterday 20 April. The demonstrators raised posters demanding the restoration of elected parliament and raised large photos of Mr. Saeed Al-Asbool, the nationalist figure who was arrested last week. Also, the demonstrators raised the photo of Hassan Taher who was killed last March in mysterious circumstances. The demonstration reached the main Budaya Highway carrying large placards saying “We Want Parliament” and “Where is Democracy?”. Fifteen minutes later, the foreign-staffed security forces arrived in three packed lorries and six jeeps and started attacking demonstrators with tear gas and rubber bullets. The area was sealed-off until 7.00 pm.
22 April: Mr. Al-Shamlan was released awaiting the verdict on 4 May. He was put under house arrest. Mahdi Rabea, a journalist, from Duraz, known for his pro-democracy views was arrested late last year and has been accused of possessing articles critical of the government. He was sentenced for 6 months.
23 April: Eleven people were sentenced for three to ten years on charges of participating in protests. One person was sentenced to 10 years, another for eight years, four received five years each and five received three years. Additionally, four of them were ordered to pay 16,000 dinars ($42,000) between them.
25 April: The ruling family exacerbated the political crisis by establishing a council to further crackdown on freedom of opinion. The Amir decreed the establishment of a Supreme Islamic Affairs Council to institutionalize the terror campaign implemented against mosques and Shia gathering places (Mattam). The security forces have been attacking mosques for years but in last year these attacks intensified resulting in the virtual banning of prayers and activities in grand mosques and mattams. The constitution of Bahrain states that religious processions and affairs are handled in line with tradition. As part of the faith, imams of mosques and those who preach in mattams are selected and accepted by the public, not by any governmental agency. Religeous scholars issued a fataw (edict) banning any dealing with this illegal body.
28 April: On the day of Eid Al-Adha and in response to opposition call, people in uprising areas of Bahrain staged peaceful processions to mourn the martyrs of the upraising and to protest against the oppressive polices of the ruling family. Processions started on Saturday night (27 April) in Sitra and spread to other areas in the morning the next day . On Sunday 28 April, Eid prayers were performed and people exchanged condolences for the martyrs. The houses of the families of the martyrs were filled with mourners. Similarly, the graves of the martyrs were surrounded by mourners reading prayers and holding peaceful vigils. The foreign-staffed security forces launched savage attacks on mourners and attacked houses randomly arresting any person in the way. In Bani Jamra, the cemetery was encircled by riot police which clashed with mourners. Riot police stormed many houses and randomly arrested all male members of the stormed houses.
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PHRG holds a press conference and launches a major report
Lord Avebury, the Chairman of the UK Parliamentary Human Rights Group, chaired a press conference on 2 April at the British parliament for launching an important report on “The Present Struggle for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain”. The report entitled “Speak Together of Freedom” covered topics such as historical background, independence, formation and dissolution of the National Assembly, human rights violation between 1975-1990, developments following the liberation of Kuwait, events in 1994-5, treatment of women, governmental response, foreign response and the current situation. The report stated that “contrary to the advice given to the Amir by his friends and allies abroad, there has been no dialogue with the opposition since the summer of 1995, when there was a brief period of calm and hope… only through discussion and compromise will it be possible to avert even worse disturbances”. (Copies of the report are available from BFM on request).
The Guardian reported the following on 3 April 1996: “Unrest in Bahrain is reaching dangerous proportions that will bring disaster to the Gulf island state unless the government initiates dialogue with the opposition, a leading human rights group warned yesterday. Seeking to heighten awareness of the crisis, the Parliamentary Human Rights Group and the Bahraini opposition joined at a London press conference to call on the British government and to urge its ally to end the crackdown on dissent. Ministers at the foreign Office are silent about torture, extra-judicial detention, arbitrary detention of women and children as well as men, exile of dissents, and hostage-taking which would “arouse fortissimo chorus” of criticism they happened in an other region of the world, the PHRG said”.
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PHRG holds a press conference and launches a major report
Champions of Human Rights express outrage in Geneva:
Children are abused by the Al Khalifa
Lord Avebury and Foundation Madam Mitterrand led a series of interventions on human rights violation Bahrain during the 53nd meeting of the UN Commission on Human Rights held between 18 March and 26 April.
The French human rights organisation “France-Libertes” of the “Foundation Danielle Mitterrand” delivered its intervention at the annual meeting on 1 April. The representative of the group detailed the torture inflicted on women and children of Bahrain and adopted the cases of several persons who are suffering from ill-treatment and detention. The Bahraini official delegation could not respond to or deny the charges levelled at them by the human rights organisation.
On 16 April, Lord Avebury, the Chairman of the UK Parliamentary Human Rights Group delivered his intervention in front of the Commission. The 52nd meeting of the commission witnessed interventions on Bahrain from many other human rights organizations including the African Commission of Health and Human Rights Promoters, France Libertes, Liberation, Amnesty International, International Commission of Jurists, International Federation of Human Rights, Pax Christi International. The UN Rapporteaurs on involuntary disappearance, torture, arbitrary execution and arbitrary detention, have all reported Bahrain for its violation of human rights. Lord Avebury exclusive submission on Bahrain made the greatest impact and many governments’ officials rushed to obtain copies of the speech. Lord Avebury said:
((In 1973, Bahrain had a Constitution and a partially-elected Assembly. Two years later, the Amir dissolved the Assembly when it declined to pass a law providing for detention without trial. Since then the Amir has ruled by decree, and opponents have been silenced by exile or administrative detention. In 1994, a coalition of opposition forces organized a petition calling for modest democratic and human rights reforms, which was signed by 25,000 people. When a prominent cleric, Sheikh Ali Salman was arrested for referring to the petition in a sermon, spontaneous demonstrations broke out. The authorities used excessive force against demonstrators, causing many casualties and a number of deaths, and they arrested hundreds. Some prominent figures, including Sheikh Ali Salman, were sent into forced exile.
In the middle of 1995, the authorities negotiated with detained opposition leaders including Sheikh Abdul Amir al-Jamri, a former MP and judge. They reached an informal agreement that the political prisoners would be released and would use their influence to restore tranquillity, while the government would discuss the reforms demanded in the petition. However, the ruling family reneged on the deal, tightening the screw by further restrictions on freedom of expression.
Demonstrations resumed when it became apparent, after the National Day of December 16, 1995, that an impasse had been reached. At the same time, security forces began attacking worshippers in the mosques, and an instruction was issued by the Ministry of the Interior to all preachers, not to cover political issues in their sermons. A number of mosques were closed when preachers defied the authorities, including the Grand Mosques in Qafool and Duraz. All the main opposition leaders have been taken back into custody in late January or early February, in spite of their insistence on peaceful methods and their denunciation of terrorism.
Capital punishment, after being in abeyance for 20 years, has been resumed, and the first victim was a young man whose trial did not meet internationally accepted legal standards. A whole range of offences, some quite trivial like graffiti writing, have been transferred from the ordinary criminal courts to the State Security Courts, where there is no right to call defence witnesses. Defendants may be convicted solely on the basis of uncorroborated confessions, which are routinely extracted under torture. In extreme cases the victim dies, and in 1995, two detainees are known to have been murdered in custody, one of them a schoolboy aged 16. The defendant has no access to legal advice until the case is heard; the proceedings are in camera, and there is no appeal. The judgments are not public documents, and consist solely of a declaration of guilt by the court, without reasons.
Every day, an average of ten people are being convicted before the State Security Courts, and sentenced to imprisonment for six months or more after proceedings lasting an hour. Those convicted of arson, we believe on the flimsiest of evidence, are being given three years minimum, plus fines of 16,000 dinars ($42,000). Because of the secrecy cloaking these proceedings, it is not possible to give accurate figures of the number of detainees. We estimate that at least 2,000 people are detained without charge, among whom are known to be 20 women, and perhaps as many as 500 children. Parents have no access to the child detainees and are not even told where they are held.
The arbitrary detention of women is something totally alien to Bahraini culture. Mrs Mona Habib, the daughter-in-law of Sheikh al-Jamri, was roused by security forces at 03.00 on February 29 and told to report to the Criminal Investigation Department by 08.00 five hours later. The same brutal treatment was accorded to Zahra Ibrahim Salman Helal and to her sister Iman. All three had young children at home, who they had to abandon. Among the children given savage prison sentences are two school girls from Karzakan village, convicted for taking part in anti-government protests. Safeya Ali Darweesh, 16, was given six months, and Nawal Ali Ebrahim, also 16, was given one year.
Restrictions on freedom of expression are severe. Mahdi Rabie, a journalist, was due to appear in court on Sunday, accused of ‘publishing and disseminating literature that could disturb security’. It has been made a criminal offence to send ‘false’ information out of the country, and people believe that the government monitors faxes and emails. Meetings are prohibited, and the press and broadcasting are rigidly controlled by the government.
Collective punishments are imposed on villages where opponents of the government are thought to reside. Nuwaidrat, for instance, has been subjected to encirclement by the police and paramilitary forces, and every house ransacked. Jannosen and al-Dair have been given similar treatment, and Britain’s Channel Four News showed an attack on Sanabis in January. Hostage-taking is practiced regularly by the security forces. When Majid Milad was not at home, his wife was taken into custody. The father of Hassan al-Nashit, and the three brothers of Sami bin-Hamad were other examples of relatives taken as hostages.
The ruling family of Bahrain has decided to impose its will by terror and to make no concessions to the democratic movement. They claim that the traditional system, under which the ruler is advised by a group of men he himself selects, and any citizen may theoretically petition the ruler, adequately serves the needs of the state at the end of the twentieth century, as it did in the eighteenth. This is manifestly not the opinion of the people, and the clash between an absolute monarch and the masses threatens the stability of Bahrain and the Gulf as a whole. The necessity to restore the limited human and democratic rights enjoyed by the people of Bahrain more than twenty years ago is imperative.
The Commission should urge the government to resume the dialogue with opposition leaders, so unfortunately broken off last autumn, in a spirit of genuine willingness to concede these basic privileges, which are demanded by the United Nations for all peoples.))
On 18 April, the International Federation of Human Rights (FDIýH) and the Arab Organization for Human Rights (AOHR) submitted interventions denouncing the ruling Al-Khalifa family for its violation of human rights. FDIH stated that “Opposition leaders were rounded up in January, along with hundreds of arbitrarily detained people, including women and children. Freedom of expression was more restricted than ever, with the prohibition of Friday prayers and other religious ceremonies, viewed as critical to government policies, as well as the ban on all foreign contact in order to convey information, including human rights abuses”.
On 23 April, the human rights organization Pax Christi International (PXI) submitted its intervention stating “the reports on children’s situation in Bahrain are alarming. Many children have been dismissed of schools, others separated from imprisoned mothers or forced to live in exile. Among the arbitrarily arrested children, the report of the Special Rapporteur, Mr. Bacre Wali Ndiaye, mentions the case of the 16 years old Saeed al-Iskafi who died after having been tortured and sexually abused on 8 July 1995 whilst in custody in Al-Khamis police Station. PXI urges the authorities of Bahrain to comply with the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child undersigned by their own country”.
This internatioanl support comes after the decision by the Inter-Parliamentary Union to reject the application of the Bahraini government to register the powerless and all-appoined Consultative Council. The president of the union rejected the application by the Bahraini Government because it had abolished the elected parliament in 1975 and suspended constitutional political establishments.
COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS Fifty-secondt session
Item 8 (a) of the provisional agenda
INHUMAN OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT
Bahrain
31. The Special Rapporteur advised the Government that he had received information according to which persons arrested by the security forces for political reasons since December 1994 had been tortured in order to extract information or “confessions”. The forms of torture reported include severe beatings, suspension from the limbs for prolonged periods and sexual abuse. At least 700 persons were said to have been arrested, mainly from the predominantly Shi’a Muslim districts in Sitra, Jidd Hafs and the Northern Region. The detainees were typically held incommunicado for prolonged periods, without charge or trial, in al-Qala and Jaw prisons. A large number of persons, including many women, were also allegedly beaten or otherwise ill-treated during house-to-house searches and peaceful protests.
32. With respect to those allegations, the Government replied that from December 1994 to April 1995 Bahrain had been subjected to a foreign backed campaign of terror aimed at destabilizing the country with the objective of creating a fundamentalist regime under foreign control. Under Bahraini law, torture is a criminal offence and aggrieved persons have the right to seek redress in the courts. However, no complaints about torture had been filed in Bahrain.
33. In addition, the Special Rapporteur communicated five individual cases, to which the Government provided replies. He also transmitted four urgent appeals on behalf of nine persons and the Government replied to one of those appeals on behalf of two persons. The Government also replied to an urgent appeal on behalf of two persons which had been transmitted last year.
COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS Fifty-second session Item 8 (a)
Report of the Special Rapporteur, Mr. Nigel S. Rodley,
Bahrain
Information transmitted to the Government and replies received
45. By letter dated 26 June 1995 the Special Rapporteur advised the Government that he had received information according to which persons arrested by the security forces for political reasons since December 1994 had been tortured in order to extract information or “confessions”. The forms of torture reported include severe beatings, suspension from the limbs for prolonged periods and sexual abuse. At least 700 persons were said to have been arrested, mainly from the predominantly Shi’a Muslim districts in Sitra, Jidd Hafs and the Northern Region. The detainees were typically held incommunicado for prolonged periods, without charge or trial, in al-Qala and Jaw prisons. A large number of persons, including many women, were also allegedly beaten or otherwise ill-treated during house-to-house searches and peaceful protests.
46. The Government replied in a letter dated 25 September 1995 that from December 1994 to April 1995 Bahrain had been subjected to a foreign-backed campaign of terror aimed at destabilizing the country with the objective of creating a fundamentalist regime under foreign control. Under Bahraini law, torture is a criminal offence and aggrieved persons have the right to seek redress in the courts. However, no complaints about torture had been filed in Bahrain.
47. The Special Rapporteur also communicated a number of individual cases, summarized in the following paragraphs, to which the Government provided replies.
48. Haj Mirza Ali Abdul-Radha, the 65-year-old caretaker at the Al-Mashraf mosque in Jidd Hafs, was allegedly beaten severely by members of the security forces during a raid on the mosque on 20 December 1994. He died in hospital the same day. The Security and Intelligence Service (SIS) reportedly ordered his family to bury him secretly in the night and forbade the holding of any ceremonies. The Government replied that Haj Mirza Ali Abdul-Radha had never been in police custody and no incident involving a mosque was recorded on the date in question.
49. Hussain Qambur, aged 18 from Madinat Issa, was reportedly arrested in late December 1994. He was interrogated by the SIS and died in jail on 4 January 1995. The next day his family were summoned to witness his burial in secret, whereupon signs of torture were observed on his body. The Government replied that no record of the arrest or death of Hussain Qambur existed.
50. Shaikh Husain Al Akraf was reportedly arrested on 12 January 1995 in Duraz village and allegedly tortured, including by being suspended from his feet upside down for 15 hours. He was subsequently released, but was unable to walk or stand. The Government replied that there was no record that Sheikh Husain Al Akraf had been in police custody.
51. Ali al-Taitoon, detained at Al-Qala’a prison in Manama, was reportedly brought before another detainee, Shaikh Ali Salman, on 5 December 1994, and tortured until he confessed to his participation with Shaikh Salman in illegal political activities. Abdul Ghani Jaafer Al-Mesbah was similarly taken before Shaikh Salman to confess, after having been forced to stand upright and deprived of sleep for seven days. Upon refusing to make a confession, he was allegedly beaten severely, including by a whipping with a plastic tube. The Government replied that there was no evidence that either person had been mistreated and both had received regular medical attention for minor ailments.
Urgent appeals sent and replies received
52. On 10 April 1995 the Special Rapporteur transmitted an urgent appeal on behalf of Shaikh Khalil Sultan and Shaikh Hassan Sultan, who had been arrested and whose whereabouts were unknown. The Government informed the Special Rapporteur in a communication dated 1 May 1995 that both men were arrested on 1 April 1995 on various charges connected with violent political activity. Their conditions of remand were humane and routine medical examinations did not reveal mistreatment.
53. The Special Rapporteur made an urgent appeal on 4 May 1995 on behalf of Shaikh ‘Abd al-Amir Mansur al-Jamri, a prominent Shi’a Muslim religious scholar, who was reportedly detained from his home in Bani Jamra by security forces on 15 April 1995 and held at an undisclosed location. He and 18 other members of his family had initially been kept under house arrest from 1 April to 15 April 1995. In a subsequent appeal dated 12 May 1995 the Special Rapporteur informed the Government that new information received indicated that Shaikh al-Jamri was suffering from heart disease and was in a deteriorating state of health. Fears were expressed that he was not receiving adequate medical attention. In addition, ‘Afaf ‘Abd al-Amir al-Jamri, the daughter of Shaikh al-Jamri, was allegedly beaten by police officers when she went to visit her father at al-Qal Prison in al-Manama on 9 May. She herself was then reportedly taken into custody and her subsequent whereabouts were unknown.
54. On 10 July 1995 the Special Rapporteur transmitted an urgent appeal on behalf of the following persons, who were reportedly arrested by members of the security police and riot police: Muhammad Ja’far al-Ma’raj, (arrested 29 June 1995 in al-Qur’ya); ‘Ali Yusif Hassan and ‘Ali Fallah ‘Abdullah, (arrested 30 June in al-Qur’ya); ‘Abd al-‘Ali Jassim, (arrested 2 July in Jidd Haffs); and ‘Abd al-Hussein Hussein Ma’raj Mal Allah, (arrested 2 July 1995 in Nuwaidrat). Each of these persons was allegedly beaten in front of their families upon arrest. The whereabouts of the detainees were unknown.
Follow-up of cases transmitted previously
55. On 12 December 1994 the Special Rapporteur transmitted an urgent appeal on behalf of Al-Shaikh ‘Ali Salman and Ibrahim Hassan, who had been arrested on 5 December and were held at Al-Qala prison, reportedly after signing a petition calling for the reinstatement of the parliament. On 26 April 1995, the Government informed the Special Rapporteur that the two men had been arrested on charges relating to the assault of participants in a national charity marathon event on 25 November 1994, not for their signing of a petition. They had been treated humanely and had received medical attention. Ali Salman was released on 18 January 1995 and appeared publicly at a press conference in London shortly thereafter. Ibrahim Hassan remained in custody pending trial.