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December 1996: “Day of Martyrs” commemorated; Media war with Qatar failes; Attacks on Mosques

2 December: The official “Al-Ayyam” daily reported that the “security organs arrested two Qatari nationals, a woman and a man, for spying for the State of Qatar”. It named the Qataris (one woman and one man) as Salwa Jasim Muhammad Fakhri, 33, and Fahd Hamad Abdullah Al-Bakir, 28. Having gained “expertise” in making “discoveries” the paper stated that the two persons had “confessed” against themselves that they “came to Bahrain to gather information that could undermine state security and passed it on to the Qatari intelligence service”. Furthermore, the paper said that “Salwa confessed to receiving payments from the Qatari intelligence service in return for carrying out that mission”. To remind the world of other inventions, a security source stated that “a similar group was discovered in January 1987 on charges of spying for Qatar”. A Qatari interior ministry official source completely denied Bahrain’s statement “about the involvement of two Qatari nationals in a spying operation for Qatar”, and expressed surprise over the statement which was issued a few days before the convening of the GCC summit in Doha at a time “when Qatar is exerting sincere efforts to host this important event.”

4 December: The Al-Khalifa mounted a media war against Qatar. The two Qatari citizens are being put before an Al-Khalifa judge today, 4 December, on charges of “spying for Qatar”. The ruling family invited the public to visit Hawar, virtually, free of charge. They have also announced that sports tournament will be organized in Hawar. The crown prince and the prime minister have been quarreling amongst themselves for the private ownership of the islands. Um-Na’san, Jedda and Um-Subban have been occupied by the Amir, the prime minister and their younger brother, respectively. The Crown prince rushed and built a palace for himself on the main island of Hawar, at the same time the prime minister had expressed his intention to name the islands after himself.

4 December: Bahrain ambassador in Washington DC, Dr. Mohammed Abdul Ghaffar, delivered a speech on Gulf Security in a seminar organised by Dr. M. Fandy. The Ambassador contradicted himself on all issues. Members of the audience asked him why is the government of Bahrain refusing to restore parliament and is preventing elections. He responded that Bahrain had elections from the 1930s to early 1970s. What about nowadays? He replied, the majlis of the Amir is “open”. Members of the opposition distributed information packs exposing the atrocities of the security forces and the dictatorial nature of the outdated regime.

5 December (around 9.00 pm), a car exploded in the main Exhibition Road of Manama. Traffic jams were reported all around the capital as a result of the sieges and high alert of the security forces.

6 December: The detained opposition leader Sheikh Abdul Amir Al-Jamri ended a 7-day hunger strike that starte from 30 November. Sheikh Al-Jamri, 58 years old, was re-detained on 21 January and kept in solitary confinement for nine months and 12 days.

The security forces started besieging the central parts of the capital as well as the principal uprising areas from the early hours of 5 December. In the capital both Bab Al-Bahrain and Khawajah mosque were besieged. Khawaja and Momin mosques were closed down to prevent any gathering. However, groups of youth penetrated the sieges and challenged the foreign forces. In Sitra, Daih and Sanabis, the security forces positioned check point to intimidate the public. At evening, residents of Arad, Sitra, Sanabis, Daih, Khamis, Sehla, Aali, Hamad Town, Bani Jamra and Duraz, burnt tyres and defied the sieges and check points. Women in Sanabis marched through the streets denouncing the attrocities of the foreign forces and calling for the restoration of the parliament. All security forces and interior ministry employees were put on high alert with scores of arrests reported in uprising areas.

In the grand al-Sadek mosque in Qafool (a district of Manama), thousands of people gathered for the Friday prayers (6 December) at noon. The news of Sheikh Al-Jamri hunger strike spread all over the country and the gathering chanted slogans demanding the release of Sheikh Al-Jamri, the return of exiled leaders and the restoration of the dissolved parliament. The foreign forces pointed their machine guns at the gathering people but did not shoot. Had they done so, a massacre would have resulted and the price would be unbearable for the ruling Al-Khalifa family. Later on in Jedhafs, Daih and Sanabis, the foreign forces fired rubber bullets at gatherings and skirmishes were reported in all uprising areas. An interior ministry announced on 6 December that “four masked men had set fire to a big shop located in the industrial area of Sitra, southeast of Manama”. Many fires were reported in Sitra, the scene of many clashes between the citizens of the country and the foreign security forces.

At least 60 people were arrested. At night (6 December), traditional religious processions took to the streets of Manama and other places. In the capital, the security forces attempted to intimidate the persons in-charge of the leading assembly halls (matams). However, more than ten thousand people participated and raised all the demands of the opposition, defying the interference of the foreign forces in the religious affairs of the community.

Earlier, both the Amir and prime minister were shown attending special crack down manoeuvres in the para-military town of Safra (all of its residents are foreign security units). The foreign forces were displaying their preparedness to kill the citizens of Bahrain. The opposition has called for the period 5-20 December to be commemorated.

Qatar said on 6 December that the Bahraini interior ministry “had tortured a Qatari man to obtain a confession of spying for Doha, setting what it called a dangerous precedent in Gulf Arab ties”. The statement also placed the “responsibility of the safety of the man and a Qatari woman, who are standing trial in Bahrain on spying charges on Manama”. “If found guilty they could be executed or face long prison sentences” lawyers told Reuters. A Qatari official said: “The timing of the case is illogical.”

7 December: As expected, the failure of the ruling family to command respect amongst the GCC countries and its miserable performance and absence from the GCC Summit that opened on 7 December was vented on the people of Bahrain. A member of the ruling family presiding over a security court passed hate-based sentences against eight Bahraini women on 7 December. The eight respected women were sentenced to three-month suspended prison terms. Another member of the ruling family sentenced a citizen to three years in jail for “joining an illegal organization aimed at overthrowing the political, social and economic system of Bahrain through the use of force.”

On 7 December, at 8.00 pm the foreign riot police attacked Markh village using live ammunition and a new type of smothering gas (making clouds of white smoke that make people hard to breath). Men, women and children were trapped in confined spaces and scores of people were injured. many citizens were taken prisoners and hostages by the attacking foreign forces. The latter also vandalized private properties smashing 25 cars and breaking into houses.

Earlier in the afternoon (7 December), more than ten thousand people converged on Sanabis for a religious procession that raised the slogans and demands for political reforms. Women marched on the street carrying banners and placards calling on the ruling family to stop using the citizens as escape goats for its failures.

7 December: A member of the ruling family presiding over a security court passed hate-based sentences against eight Bahraini women . The eight respected women were sentenced to three-month suspended prison terms. Another member of the ruling family sentenced a citizen to three years in jail for “joining an illegal organization aimed at overthrowing the political, social and economic system of Bahrain through the use of force.”

9 December: The GCC Summit ended with press conferences in Qatar and Bahrain. The border dispute between Bahrain and Qatar was not tackled, but the media war has peaked

10 December, the UK BBC2 TV channel showed a programme about the torture conducted by Ian Henderson in Bahrain prisons. The programme is part of the series Human Rights and Wrongs.

11 December: A significant reorganisation of the interior ministry was announced by the Bahraini government with plans to create more capabilities for intelligence services and repressive units. The new organisation was designed with the view that Ian Henderson, the Scotsman who controlled all security operations in Bahrain since 1966, may not be in charge of the new structure in a short time.

12-13 December: The security forces mounted an oppressive operation on Thursday and Friday 12-13 December and closed down grand mosques in Duraz. al-Sadek (Qafool), Khawaja and Momin mosques (Manama) were closed down with riot police jeeps besieging the areas. On Thursday, the intelligence department summoned Haj Hassan Jaralla, the elderly person in-charge of Al-Sadek grand mosque in Duraz (Haj Hassan has just been released after eight months in solitary confinement). He was ordered to close down the mosque and hand-over the keys or face revenge. On Friday (13 December), the foreign forces attacked the residents of Bilad al-Qadim and deployed tear gas and rubber bullets.

14 December: the State Security Court, presided by a member of the ruling family, resumed the trial of a Qatari man and woman on charges of spying for Doha.

15 December: Residential areas across the country switched of the lighting declaring their sadness and defying the foreign forces that were deployed for intimidating of the citizens. All shops and restaurants were closed down and the streets in all the uprising areas were emptied from people. Earlier in the day students in all major schools boycotted the classes. The students knew of a forced celebration programme and responded to the call of the opposition to boycott the classes. The foreign forces attacked several areas and tyres were seen burning in Sanabis, Daih, Karbabad, Duraz, Bani Jamra. Adhari, Bilad al-Qadim, Sitra, Hamala, Aali and other places. One of those injured in Bilad al-Qadim is Mohammed Al-Saffar. Loud explosions were also heard in Iskan-Aali and Duraz. The smell of burnt tyres was present in most places. The preceding nights had also witnessed demonstrations in many areas where the foreign forces attacked the houses of the citizens and implemented their collective punishment programmes, such as ransacking the contents of houses and taking hostages.

16 December: Clashes, columns of fires, fire-engine sirens, rubber bullets, tear gas were present in most areas. Starting from Sanabis and going through all towns and villages to Bani Jamra and Duraz, the residents defied the foreign forces and commemorated the Day of Martyrs. Similarly in Sitra, the Western, central and Muharraq regions, the population commemorated the martyrs and declared their intention to continue resisting the outdated feudal dictatorship and its mercenary forces led by Ian Henderson. The most affected areas were Sanabis, Bilad al-Qadim, Sehla, Zinj, Sitra, Karzakkan, Dair, Hajar, Abo-Saiba’a, Maghaba, Bani Jamra and Duraz.

The Amir, in his annual speech on 16 December, threatened Qatar that he will go to war over Hawar. The statement of defending the integrity of Bahrain “with all legitimate means” was echoed by the press which reported that Hawar will be a “tourist resort”.

On 16 December, 6.00-8.30 pm, the forcibly-exiled Bahrainis picketed in front of the Dorchester Hotel, Park Lane, London, where the the brother of the foreign minister (recently installed as Bahrain Ambassador) was holing a “celebration”. The forcible exiles distributed information packs to attendants and exposed the extent of oppression and torture in Bahrain. Four groups of the opposition issued a joint statement affirming afirming their just demands.

17 December: A 4.00 pm, a mass demonstration of women went out in Sanabis. After fifteen minutes of marching, the undisciplined foreign forces attacked the peaceful demonstrators with rubber bullets and tear gas. In Bilad al-Qadim, a demonstration marched to the main street and clashed with the foreign forces. In Sitra, clashes erupted following an attack on several demonstrations that surfaced simultaneously. The foreign forces attacked the house of Ali Jassim Khudhair, and when they did not find the named person, they took his brother, Abbas, as a hostage. At 6.00 pm, the residents of A’ali took to the main highway that connects to Hamad Town and Rifaa and clashed with the foreign forces. Riot police had earlier besieged the Hoora Cemetery in Manama to prevent the citizens from commemorating the martyrs who were forcibly buried (following their death under torture or by live ammunition) without the presence of their relatives.

18 December: A security court presided by a member of the ruling family adjourned until December 25 the case against two Qataris accused of spying for Qatar. On the same day the Al-Khalifa foreign minister stated that he wished for an improved relations with Qatar!

19 December: Sanabis, Daih, Karbabad and Bilad al-Qadim witnessed intensive clashes on 18 and 19 December which followed the break out of demonstrations for the commemoration of the “Day of Martyrs”. The foreign forces attacked the citizens and fired haphazardly injuring at least two women and several youths. The also besieged the area and arrested scores of people. Clashes were also reported in almost all areas of Bahrain with heavy presence of foreign forces at main exits and entries of principal areas.

Hoora Cemetery of Manama as well as cemeteries in Duraz, Bani Jamra, Dair, Sanabis, Sitra, Nu’aim, and Karzakkan were besieged on 19 December to prevent the citizens from mourning the martyrs who were killed, tortured to death or executed by the foreign forces on behalf of the Al-Khalifa tribe. Riot police surrounded Hoora causing a traffic jam as many citizens waited on the peripheries reading Quran for the souls of the martyrs. A member of all-appointed Shura Council had obtained a special permission from the prime minister to mourn one of his relatives at the time of the siege. The citizens utilized the opportunity and marched into the cemetery chanting the slogans of the opposition and defying the mercenary forces.

Later on the people marched towards Khawaja mosque in the capital and performed prayers in a solid show of people’s strength. Mr. Ian Henderson, the British chief of intelligence, had ordered the closure of major mosques in the country by summoning the people in-charge of Sadiq grand mosque (Duraz), Sadiq mosque (Qafool) and Karbabad grand mosque.

20 December: For the past five days, residents of Sanabis have continuously demonstrated and clashed with the foreign mercenaries in the security service. On 20 December, the brave youths of Sanabis opened their chests to the foreign mercenaries and challenged them to shoot if they wished. Security forces stopped many cars and started beating drivers entering or leaving Sanabis indiscriminately. Columns of fire in Sitra were visible from a long distance. More than fifty people were arrested. Sitra is one of the down-trodden areas and is also one of the most-hated by the ruling family. At night security helicopters were flying low over the residential areas.

24 December: the Al-Khalifa crown prince, Sheikh Hamad bin Isa, was quoted by local papers that he intends to form a “national guard” force for “internal security”. The crown prince heads the Bahrain Defence Force and is at logger head with his uncle the prime minister.

The residents of Daih were out on the street Similarly in the principal areas of Duraz and Sitra, the foreign forces attempted to intimidate the citizens of the country and the smoke of columns of fire could be seen from a distance.

25 December: Amember of the ruling family, Abdul Rahman bin Jaber Al-Khalifa, sentenced a Qatari man and woman to three years in prison and fined them 1,000 dinars ($2,650) each. The Al-Khalifa accused the two Qataris, Fahad Hamad Abdullah Al-Baker and Salwa Jassim Mohammed Fakhri, of spying, a charge that carries the death sentence.

The foreign security forces acting on behalf of the Al-Khalifa tribe attacked a gathering in Zenj on the evening of 25 December. The citizens were harassed by the foreign forces which closed down the local mosque. At 3.30 pm (local time), fifteen riot police jeeps blocked the entrances and exits of Daih with two intelligence officers directing the operation, Adel Flaifel and Khalid Al-Ma’owdah. At 4.15 pm, the residents of Daih marched in a demonstration defying the siege of the foreign forces and reached the main traffic lights (on the main highway) between Daih and Jedhafs. Clashes erupted with the two notorious torturers (Flaifel and Ma’owdah) directing the foreign forces in their attack against the citizens. Naeema Falah is the wife of a well known lawyer Ahmed Jasim. On 25 December, Naeema was stopped by the foreign forces which besieged Daih at around 3.30 pm. When she explained that all what she wanted was to visit her father who lives in the besieged part of Daih, she was ill-treated and roughly handled. As she was about to reverse her car, a foreign officer fired two rubber bullets on her wind-screen smashing the front window and injuring her. Then, the blood-stained woman was taken to the notorious Al-Khamis detention centre.

26 December: The foreign forces attacked the assembly hall (matam) in Daih and destroyed all its contents. The 6 persons in charge of the place were taken prisoners. The Musala mosque of Nuaim (a district of Manama) is still under siege with three jeeps surrounding the entrance since 21 December. A mosque in Barbar was also closed down and the persons in charge were summoned and intimidated. 27 December: Worshippers headed towards the grand mosque of Ras-Romman in the capital (near the British Embassy) to pray behind a senior religious scholar, Seyyed Jawad Al-Weda’i. Half waythrough the prayers, the foreign forces launched an atrocious attack with rubber bullets and tear gas that left hundreds people injured. They have not only disrupted the prayer, but smashed the windows and contents of the mosque, battoned the worshippers and chased them on the main streets surrounding the grand mosque.

28 December: The two Qataris sentenced three days ago were freed!!

29 December: A member of the ruling family flees the country and seeks political asulum in Qatar. A joint opposition statement called on the government to search for a dialoque-approach to resolve internal and external crises and to safe-guard the intrests of Bahrain.

30 December: The Qatari TV broadcast an interview with Lieutenant Naser Al-Khalifa who fled to Qatar with his helicopter on 30 December. In the interview, he warned the crown prince of corruption in the defence forces which has peaked. He also mentioned the gross injustices all over the country. It was also reported that Kuwait donated the amount 28.8 million dinars (US$ 76.3M). The opposition suspects that this donation will disappear, as usual, in the private funds of the ruling wing of the Al-Khalifa family.

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member of the Al-Khalifa family seeks asylum in Qatar

Two Bahrainis arrived in Qatar seeking political asylum. First Lieutenant Nasir Majid Al-Khalifa, a pilot with the Bahrain Defence Force, landed with his helicopter in Doha and sought political asylum. Another Bahraini, Khalid Al-Busmait, traveled on a normal flight to Qatar on the preceding day (29 December) and sought asylum. Lieutenant Nasir stated that he “went to the aircraft at approximately 1415 (30 December), at the end of the official time for work. The aircraft was in a standby position to carry out search and rescue missions. I started the helicopter and carried out the full starter procedure and headed towards Askar village (of Bahrain) and then I turned 135 degrees, which takes me directly to Doha”.

It is worth noting that the two Qataris who were freed from the prison of Bahrain arrived in Qatar on 29 December and had been received by the Qatari public as national heroes. Fahad Hamad Abdullah al-Baker and Salwa Jassim Mohammed Fakhri were sentenced to three years but were released after three days of their sentencing.

AI Report 1997

Covering the period between Jan – Dec 1996

Several hundred people, among them prisoners of conscience, were arrested in connection with demonstrations demanding the restoration of democratic rights. Most were held incommunicado for months without charge or trial. At least 150 people received unfair trials before the State Security Court. Torture was widely reported, and an increasing number of women and children were ill-treated. At least one person died in custody, apparently as a result of torture, and four people were reportedly shot or beaten to death by members of the security forces. Three people were sentenced to death and one person was executed, the first execution in nearly 20 years. Bahraini nationals suspected of opposition political activities continued to be banned from entering the country.

The widespread protests and unrest which began in December 1994 (see Amnesty International Reports 1995 and 1996) continued throughout the year. Protesters called for the restoration of democratic rights and for the release of political prisoners. The security forces carried out mass arrests, particularly in the Shi’a Muslim districts of Bani Jamra, Sitra, Jidd Hafs and al-Sanabes, in response to demonstrations protesting against the government’s closure of mosques where clerics had called for political and economic reforms. Many of the demonstrations were peaceful, but some escalated into violent clashes with police and security forces. There were at least five bomb attacks on restaurants, business centres and banks that left seven Bangladeshi and four Bahraini nationals dead. In March, the Amir, Shaikh ‘Issa bin Salman Al Khalifa, issued a decree referring all cases of suspected arson and other violent offences to the State Security Court, whose procedures violate internationally recognized standards for fair trial. In October a new Majlis al-Shura (Consultative Council), a government-appointed body with no legislative powers, was formed with 10 additional members. The Amir announced an extension of the Council’s powers, but by the end of the year the Council’s powers had not been widened.

An unknown number of prisoners of conscience were detained during the year. Shaikh ‘Abd al-Amir al-Jamri, ‘Abd al-Wahab Hussain ‘Ali and Hassan Mushaim’a were detained in January along with five other prominent Shi’a Muslim religious and political leaders. Most had been arrested in 1995 and released without charge or trial after about six months (see Amnesty International Report 1996). The eight detainees remained held in solitary confinement at the end of the year with limited access to relatives, but no access to lawyers.

Three men who participated in the preparation of a petition in 1994 calling for democratic reforms (see Amnesty International Report 1995) were detained; all were prisoners of conscience. Ahmad al-Shamlan, a Sunni Muslim lawyer, was detained in February. He was acquitted by the State Security Court in May of possessing and distributing literature containing false information about the government and released. Ahmad Mansur ‘Ali Ahmad was arrested in February and held incommunicado for two months, and Sa’id al-‘Asboul, a civil engineer, was detained in April for eight days. Both were released without charge or trial and no reason was given for their arrest.

In March, 10 women were arrested, apparently because of their relationship to male political prisoners and their involvement in public protests. Among them was Muna Habib al-Sharrakhi whose husband, Muhammad Jamil ‘Abd al-Amir al-Jamri, was sentenced in 1990 to 10 years’ imprisonment for offences including membership of an unauthorized organization (see previous Amnesty International Reports). Also among them was Zahra Salman Hilal whose husband, Ahmad Mahdi Salman, was detained without charge or trial for 18 months and then charged in June with membership of Hizbullah (see below). The women, all prisoners of conscience, were released without charge or trial after having been held incommunicado for periods ranging from several days to 10 weeks.

Mahdi Rabi’, a journalist, was sentenced in April to six months’ imprisonment after an unfair trial before the State Security Court for possessing and distributing false information aimed at harming state security. He was a prisoner of conscience.

By the end of the year, over a thousand political detainees were believed to remain in prison. Most were administratively detained under a law which permits the Minister of the Interior to detain individuals for renewable periods of up to three years. The law allows for a petition challenging the detention every six months, but many people were held without official orders and were detained for several months without any judicial review.

More than 100 minors were reportedly detained for varying periods; most were arrested after demonstrations or school sit-in strikes. Many were released without charge after a few days; all were denied access to relatives or lawyers. Among them were Yasser ‘Ammar, aged seven, who was arrested with Al-Sayyid Majed al-Sayyid Hassan and ‘Ali Mahdi Mahmud, both aged eight, and held for several days for alleged insolence to police during demonstrations in January. At least 12 minors were tried in connection with the protests and convicted during the year, but no details on their cases were available by December.

Scores of people were arrested over several weeks, starting in June, in connection with an alleged Iranian-backed plot to overthrow the government. The authorities announced that the suspects were members of Hizbullah, an unauthorized group. Most were held incommunicado in Jaw and al-Qal’a prisons, and some were reportedly tortured during interrogation. By December, none of the estimated 55 detainees who remained held had been tried.

At least 150 people were tried and sentenced by the State Security Court following the Amir’s decree in March referring all cases of suspected arson and other violent offences to this court. Defendants were denied access to lawyers until they appeared in court; tried in camera; had no right to appeal the sentence to a higher court; and were convicted mainly on the basis of their uncorroborated confessions. Such confessions were often reportedly extracted under torture. Custodial sentences ranged from three months to life imprisonment. In July, four defendants, Khalil Ibrahim Khamis, Qambar Khamis Qambar, ‘Abdullah Ibrahim Khamis and Muhammad Ridha al-‘Attar, were sentenced to life imprisonment for their part in a fire-bomb attack on a restaurant in Sitra in March which resulted in the death of seven Bangladeshi nationals. Another defendant in the same case was sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment and three others were sentenced to death (see below).

There were numerous reports of routine and systematic torture and ill-treatment to extract information from detainees dur-ing the initial weeks of their detention. Methods included severe and sustained beatings, suspension by the limbs, sexual abuse and threats of execution. Women and female students were increasingly subjected to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. In March, over 25 women, including high-school students, were arrested in connection with protests which erupted after the execution of ‘Issa Ahmad Qambar (see below). They were held incommunicado for up to a month and ill-treated. Safiyya Yusuf ‘Ali Darwish, Nawal ‘Ali ‘Abbadi and Ahlam ‘Abd al-‘Aziz Salman ‘Ali, all aged 18, were reportedly stripped to their underclothes by female security officers and kept standing for up to four hours at a time during interrogation. Some of them were also deprived of sanitary facilities and food for more than 24 hours. There were also reports that the students were threatened with rape by male officers. All 25 women were released without charge or on bail. Safiyya Darwish and Nawal ‘Abbadi were later tried and received suspended sentences of six months and one year respectively.

In August, one detainee died in custody, apparently as a result of torture. The body of al-Sayyid ‘Ali al-Sayyid Amin al-‘Alawi was handed over to his parents four days after his arrest, reportedly bearing marks of torture. A British forensic expert who examined photographs of the body found marks suggesting that he died suddenly while suspended face downwards with his wrists bound. No investigation into his death was known to have been carried out.

At least four people, including a woman, died after being shot or beaten by members of the security forces in what may have been extrajudicial executions. Fadhel ‘Abbas Marhoun died in May after being shot by members of the security forces during a reportedly peaceful demonstration in the district of Karzakkan. Also in May, ‘Abd al-Amir Hassan Rustum was knocked down by a police car chasing demonstrators in the village of al-Daih. Police then reportedly beat him with rifle butts and batons. He died of his injuries at home two days later. In July, Zahra Ibrahim Kadhem died after members of the security forces beat her and shot her with rubber bullets in the face and back at close range when she tried to prevent them from arresting her son in the village of Bani Jamra. No investigation was known to have been initiated into these deaths.

Three people were sentenced to death after unfair trials before the State Secur-ity ourt in July. They were ‘Ali Ahmad ‘Abdullah al-‘Usfur, a civil servant; Yusuf Hussain ‘Abd al-Baqi, a teacher; and Ahmad Khalil Ibrahim al-Kattab, employed in an aluminium company. They had been convicted of carrying out a fire-bomb attack in March which killed seven people (see above). In October, the Court of Cassation, which under Bahraini law must review all death sentences, ruled that it had no jurisdiction over State Security Court sentences. At the end of the year, all three remained on death row.

One person, ‘Issa Ahmad Qambar, who had been sentenced to death in 1995 (see Amnesty International Report 1996), was executed in March by firing-squad in the first execution in Bahrain in almost 20 years.

During the year, at least seven Bahraini nationals were banned from entering the country. They included non-violent opponents of the government who had been expelled or had left voluntarily and students who had spent time abroad, especially in Iranian theological centres. Yasser Mirza Ahmad ‘Abdullah was kept with his wife at Bahrain airport for four days when he tried to return from Iran in February. They were forbidden to contact their families or friends in Bahrain and sent to the United Arab Emirates.

At least nine Bahraini nationals, among them political opponents who had fled the country, were arrested in June in the United Arab Emirates and forcibly returned to Bahrain (see United Arab Emirates entry). By December, three of them were known to remain held without charge or trial, including Ja’far Hassan Sahwan and Ghazi Radhi al-‘Abed. Another Bahraini national, Jamil ‘Abd al-Ghani ‘Abdullah, was forcibly returned from Kuwait in May; he was detained for one week before being released without charge.

Amnesty International continued to appeal to the government to release prisoners of conscience, carry out independent investigations into reports of torture of detainees and into killings by members of the security forces, and ensure that detainees were brought before courts which comply fully with international standards for fair trial. Throughout the year, the organization repeated its proposal to send a delegation to Bahrain on a fact-finding visit and to hold talks with government officials. The government responded by rejecting Amnesty International’s findings but failing to address specific cases or concerns. The government did not grant Amnesty International access to Bahrain.

In April, Amnesty International submitted information about its continuing concerns in Bahrain for un review under a procedure established by Economic and Social Council Resolutions 728f/1503 for confidential consideration of communications about human rights violations.

In July, Amnesty International issued a report, Bahrain: Women and children subject to increasing abuse, which described a growing pattern of detention without charge or trial of women and children and the cruel and degrading treatment of women in detention. It also contained recommendations to the government. The government responded by challenging the credibility of the report, but did not address the organ