Jan99

January 1999: Sheikh Al-Jamri must be released

1 January : Mr. Abdul Majid Al-Asfoor (together with his wife and five children) arrived in Bahrain on 27 December from Denmark. He was detained for three days, interrogated and then forcibly deported back to Denmark. Massoma (Om-Mas’ab) and her children returned to Bahrain from Sweden. She was detained for 14 hours and deported back to Sweden. Another person returned to Bahrain in the first week of January and was forced out of his homeland together with his family. Mr. Abdul Hussain Al-Setri, was forcibly deported to Iran.

3 January: A draconian draft law was discussed by the cabinet concerning “the installation and use of loudspeakers” in mosques and assembly halls. The government is aiming to silence nation in every possible way. The draft law was referred to “the Ministerial Committee for Legal Affairs for study”.

4 January: The government-controlled press said that “The Cabinet yesterday agreed on the amendment of the draft law by decree concerning explosives, weapons and ammunition. The Cabinet which met yesterday under the chairmanship of the Crown Prince and Acting Prime Minister, Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, approved the law by decree No 16 for 1976”.

5 January: Several rounds of gunfire were heard around Karbabad. Riot police were seen firing inside two farms in the area.

7 January: The Bahraini journalist, Mr. Abdulla Al-Abbasi, wrote an article in the Qatari newspaper Al-Raya, commenting of the difficulties of overcoming the problems in the Gulf. He pointed out that one of the major problems is the tribal and racist mentality that has even been passed to some of the younger generations of the ruling families. The tribal elements are attempting to marginalise 80% of the total population who do not belong to Bedouin tradition.

7 and 8 January: the security forces established check-points in front of Muqsha’a and Duraz. People in Duraz went out in a demonstration demanding an end to the oppression imposed on them (8 Jan). Thousands of citizens poured into Manama, the capital, to participate in traditional processions, raising slogans condemning the government’s repression and atrocities. The citizens demanded the release of Sheikh Al-Jamri, who will be completing his third year in detention on 21 January. They declared “We are not saboteurs, We demand the return of the parliament”; “With our blood and souls, we defend Al-Jamri”; “God is Greater than the Oppressors”, and various other slogans. The walls of main streets in the capital were painted with pro-democracy slogans and pictures of the detained leaders.

Hundreds of security forces armed with live ammunition and rubber bullets encircled the processions in Makharga and Ras-Romman districts of Manama. However the great number of citizens participating in the events defied the mercenaries who were led by the officers Muqbil (a Yemeni torturer), Khalifa Al-Sha’er and Yousif Al-Arabi. Around the country, the mercenary forces interfered with scores of traditional Quran-reading circles that proliferate in Ramadan. The security forces entered the respected houses and mosques and demanded the halting of Quran-reading. Such a move has never been known in Bahraini history of the past 1400 years. Even the Portuguese had never attempted to halt Quran-reading circles during their occupation of Bahrain in the sixteenth century.

9 January: The security forces attacked a house in Tobli last week and terrorised an entire family. After ransacking the house two brothers were taken away for torturing: Mohammed Hassan, 19, and Zuhair Hassan, 18.

Tobli had been subjected to several waves of dawn raids and many youths (several are brothers) were taken away to be tortured in the first week of January. Those arrested include: Redha Abdul Hussain Nasser, 20, Khalil Ibrahim Mukhtar, 19, Mohammed Ali Ahmed, 19, Haider Hasan Ali, 19, Seyyed Jawad Hashim Baqir, 19, Yonis Ahmad Nasser, 19, Aqil Ali Hassan, 20, Seyyed Jawad Abdulla Shawq, 19, Hani Ali Jaffer, 20, Seyyed Hasan Sharaf, 20, Abdul Qadir Ali Radhi, 18, Seyyed Jaffer Sharaf, 16, Mohammed Hassan Nasser, 20, Zuhair Hassan Nasser, 19, Mohammed Abdulla Mohsin, 18, Jalal Mahmood Sharaf, 16. Citizens in Muharraq have complained about the behaviour of the mercenaries who had been imported from the deserts of Syria and Jordan. The ruling family imported thousands of mercenaries for changing the demography of the country and for using these newly imported people in the defence and security forces. The anti-social behaviour of these imports has caused many problems for the citizens who are suffering from the irresponsible and hate-based policies of the regime.

9 January: An international investment company stated this week that the Lebanese businessman Najib Al-Khuri will be suing the brother of the Amir of Bahrain, Sheikh Mohammed bin Salman Al-Khailfa. The businessman said that in April 1997, a case was brought to the attention of courts in California, USA, concerning an agreement between the two parties. The Lebanese businessman was commissioned by the brother of the Amir to sell an antique sword, known as Al-Ajrab, and claimed to be one of the swords of Prophet Mohammed. The businessman is claiming compensation for the expenses he suffered before the abrogation of the agreement to sell the sword. The Los Angeles Times of 15 May 1997 covered part of the news about his case.

12 January: The Geneva-based International Organisation Against Torture, OMCT, stated its concern “for the physical and psychological integrity of at least 33 minors between the ages of 13 and 17, allegedly arrested in further waves of arrests and house raids in several places of Bahrain during the last two months. Some of the detainees are feared to have been subjected to torture. These arrests are part of an ongoing campaign of intimidation including arbitrary detention and torture.”

13 January: The security forces closed down one of the principal community centres, encircling the premises and sealing-off the area around Matam Salloom in the heart of the capital, Manama. They chained the gate of the assembly hall before departing the scene. A few days ago, thousands of people participated in the processions that were organised by Matam Salloom. The participants demanded the immediate release of the detained pro-democracy leader, Sheikh Al-Jamri, who was about to complete his third year in detention on 21 January. For the past four years, more than fifty mosques and community centres had been attacked and ransacked by the security forces.

13 January: A group of youth who had spent two years in detention were dragged out of their detention by security officers (led by the notorious torturer Adel Flaifel) to be filmed in public places around Nuweidrat. Shaker Bati, 26, Monir Hussain, 21, Ismail Ibrahim Ismail, 24, (all from Nuweidrat) and Redha Al-Sheikh, 24, from Sitra, were ill-treated and tortured severely for the past two years. There are several groups that will be brought before the State Security Courts in the coming weeks. Ali Al-Khabbaz, 26, Abbas Hassan, 26, Abdul Hadi Jaffer, 24, all from Abo-Saiba’a are also expected to be brought before the summary justice after two years in detention.

14 January: The local press stated that the Amir has signed another unconstitutional decree for increasing the jail sentences against the citizens who are arrested, tortured and then sentenced by all types of mercenaries imported from outside Bahrain.

18 January: The sadness of the people made it difficult to celebrate Eid Al-Fitr to mark the end of Ramadan in Bahrain. People visited the families of martyrs and prisoners to offer their support and to declare their steadfastness. Martyrs’ graves were sites for the people to gather, to read prayers and to raise pro-democracy slogans. Wall-writing around the country proliferated and the security forces were unable to wipe-out the slogans due to their intensity. Around Karbabad, the main highway traffic was jammed following protest by youths that resulted in the burning of tyres. Several loud gas cylinder explosions were heard in several areas.

18 January: The Bahrain authorities re-deported Mr. Abdul Majid Al-Asfoor for the second time in one month. Mr. Al-Asfoor had returned from Denmark to his homeland, and was forcibly re-deported to Syria. The government Bahrain is the only “national” government in the world that forcibly strips the citizenship of the natives and at the same time imports mercenaries from the outside and grants them free citizenship.

19 January: The interior ministry released Mahmood Ibrahim Abdulla, 23, Seyed Adnan Saeed Al-Setri, 20, and Abbas Isa Al-Hammar, 26. They were arrested early in 1995 accused of burning a shop in Jedhafs. Last year they were acquitted by the State Security Court, but the interior ministry refused to release them. A year later, the Amir declares an amnesty and these are released as part of such bogus amnesty.

20 January: Members of the Bahraini exiled community in London completed a 24-hour vigil in front of the Bahraini Embassy in Gloucester Road, London. The vigil started on 20 January, at 12.00 pm and continued until 21 January, 12.00 pm. The protestors distributed hundreds of pamphlets and brochures documenting the abuses of human rights in Bahrain. They called for the immediate release of Sheikh Al-Jamri and his colleagues, who on 21 January completed their third year in detention.

21 January: Sheikh Al-Jamri and his colleagues completed three years in detention, and should be released under the unconstitutional State Security Law, where Bahraini citizens are interned for three years without charge or trial. At the end of three years, the detained person must be released. Sheikh Al-Jamri was re-detained on 21 January 1996 following the government’s failure to abide by an agreement struck with Sheikh Al-Jamri for calming down the situation. Three years since his re-arrest, and the political crisis lingers on. The Bahraini government refused all attempts to calm down the situation. They even turned down an historic initiative by the President of the UAE in September 1997.

21 January: In Copenhagen, the Bahraini exiled community organised a picket in front of the Danish Parliament (near the Interior and Justice ministries). Hundreds of signatures were collected demanding an end to abuse of human rights and release of Sheikh Al-Jamri. More than 650 people in Copenhagen (Denmark) signed a petition addressed to the Amir of Bahrain, in support of the pro-democracy movement in Bahrain. The petitioners called on the Bahraini government to abide by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to alleviate the political crisis by listening to the moderate demands of the opposition.

22 January: Mohammed Jaber Sabah, member of the dissolved National Assembly and a leading pro-democracy figure in Bahrain, wrote an article in the London-based “Al-Quds”. The article entitled “No compromise on constitutional demands” outlined that abandoning the constitution of Bahrain is unconstitutional itself. This is because Article 65 mandates that elections must be held two months following the dissolution of parliament. This means that election should have taken place in October 1975.

In the case that such an election did not take place, the constitution specifies that the National Assembly assumes all its powers as if the dissolution has never taken place. This means that the National Assembly and its members (including the jailed Sheikh Abdul Amir Al-Jamri) are immune from detention and persecution. He said that Sheikh Al-Jamri has completed his three-year term according to the unconstitutional State Security Law and must be released. He noted that Sheikh Al-Jamri is being pressured by the authority to be released on conditions that he stops campaigning for the political rights of citizens. The demands for constitutional rights can not be halted. He also noted that this bargaining falsifies the claim of the government that these jailed personalities are terrorists or support terrorism.

In the same issue of Al-Quds (22 January), the newspaper published an article for Dr. Mansoor Al-Jamri of the BFM on the “Contemporary Currents amongst Islamists”. The article pointed out that Islamists have pursued three schools of thought during the past hundred years. One school of thought called for the implementation of “Islamic Shria” law. Another called for establishing the “Rule of Islam” (Hakemeyah or Welayah). The third has adopted a pluralist, rights-based approach to politics. The author called for fostering dialogue amongst, and with, these currents for developing a solid ground for toleration and co-existence.

25 January: Amnesty International called for and end to the administrative detention of Shaikh ‘Abd al-Amir Mansur al-Jamri, Shaikh Hassan Sultan, Shaikh Ali Ashur, Shaikh Ali bin Ahmad al-Jedhafsi, Shaikh Hussain al-Deihi, Hassan Meshma’a, Sayyed Ibrahim Adnan al-Alawi, Abd al-Wahab Hussain, all prominent Shi’a Muslim leaders, who were arrested on 21 and 22 January 1996 for their non-violent political and religious activities “These men have been held without charges or trial for three years – the maximum time allowed by law in the country. Their prolonged detention is in breach of the already oppressive Bahrain laws,” the organization continued.

Al-Shaikh al-Jamri, a well-known 62-year-old scholar and writer who was elected member of the dissolved National Assembly, had previously been detained without charge or trial for around five months in April 1995. His arrest then was also connected to widespread protest by demonstrators who called for the National Assembly to be restored and for the provisions of the country’s 1973 Constitution to be respected.

Lack of freedom benchmarked

The 1998 Freedom House Survey rated Bahrain as one the worst countries that lack freedom.

The article published by the Journal of Democracy 10.1 (1999), pp 112-125 “The Decline of Illiberal Democracy” explained that the survey “is an evaluation of political rights and civil liberties in the world …The Survey assesses a country’s freedom by examining its record in these two areas:

A country grants its citizens political rights when it permits them to form political parties that represent a significant range of voter choice and whose leaders can openly compete for and be elected to positions of power in government. A country upholds its citizens’ civil liberties when it respects and protects their religious, ethnic, economic, linguistic, and other rights, including gender and family rights, personal freedoms, and freedoms of the press, belief, and association. The Survey rates each country on a seven-point scale for both political rights and civil liberties (1 representing the most free and 7 the least free) and then divides the world into three broad categories: “Free” (countries whose ratings average 1-3); “Partly Free” (countries whose ratings average 3-5.5); and “Not Free” (countries whose ratings average 5.5-7)”.

Bahrain received the same shameful rating as that given to Rwanda and Burundi.

Amnesty International, International Secretariat

1 Easton Street, London WC1X 8DJ, UK

Tel (44) (171) 413 5500, Fax (44) (171) 956 1157

AI Index: MDE 11/01/99

25 January 1999

Bahrain: detention of eight prisoners of conscience must come to an end

The administrative detention of eight men held for their non-violent political and religious activities must come to an end, Amnesty International said today

“These men have been held without charges or trial for three years – the maximum time allowed by law in the country. Their prolonged detention is in breach of the already oppressive Bahrain laws,” the organization continued.

The eight people, al-Shaikh ‘Abd al-Amir Mansur al-Jamri, al-Shaikh Hassan Sultan, al-Shaikh Ali Ashur, al-Shaikh Ali bin Ahmad al-Jedhafsi, al-Shaikh Hussain al-Deihi, Hassan Meshma’a, Sayyed Ibrahim Adnan al-Alawi, Abd al-Wahab Hussain, all prominent Shi’a Muslim leaders, were arrested on 21 and 22 January 1996.

Their arrest followed mass protests against the closure by security forces of a number of mosques where prominent Shi’a Muslim leaders, including them, had been calling on the government to restore the National Assembly dissolved in 1975. Hundreds of other people were also arrested and held in incommunicado detention in connection with the protests.

Al-Shaikh al-Jamri, a well-known 62-year-old scholar and writer who was elected member of the dissolved National Assembly, had previously been arrested and detained without charge or trial for around five months in April 1995. His arrest then was also connected to widespread protest by demonstrators who called fort he National Assembly to be restored and for the provisions of the country’s 1973 Constitution to be respected.

Background

Article 1 of the Decree Law on State Security Measures, in force since 1974,allows for a maximum administrative detention of three years. Article 5 of the Decree Law stipulates that “.. The detained person shall be released in any case on the last day of the three years referred to in the first article..”.

ENDS../

The Economist, January 23rd, 1999

Bahrain: Whitewash

Manama Anti-government graffiti calling for “freedom” remain visible beneath a fresh coat of whitewash. The local lads of Sanabis, a dusty suburb of the capital, Manama, scrawl fresh slogans faster than the authorities can paint them over, denouncing Bahrain’s autocratic royal family and celebrating “martyrs”. But the royal family is unwilling to cede power to its citizens, sending in foreign workers to erase the graffiti, and foreign policemen to round up -or beat up- the protestors.. Bahrain was fleetingly a democracy. Soon after independence in 1971, the emir, Sheikh Issa al-Khalifa, signed a constitution providing for a largely elected parliament. But barely two years later, rattled by labour unrest and parliamentary opposition, he suspended the constitution and began ruling by decree. In the 1980s, the Shia Muslim revolution in nearby Iran, which once laid claim to the Bahrain archipelago, made the Sunni Muslim regime more fearful of its largely Shia citizens -and hence more repressive. Demands for the restoration of democracy, both from Sunni professionals and from Shia villagers, have resulted only in crackdowns. In 1994, the most prominent dissidents were either arrested or expelled. Since then, young men in the villages have played a tit-for-tat game with the police, burning tyres and blowing up fuel tanks in exchange for arrests and beatings. The opposition claims that the government systematically uses torture to deter dissent. Since 1994, they say, 36 people have been killed in prison or died after their release as a result of beatings. The government denies everything: some victims died of heart attacks, it claims, some from unrelated causes after being set free, while others are simple figments of human-rights groups’ imaginings. Certainly, many of the opposition’s charges seem far-fetched- such as the assertion that the government is giving its victims cancer- but so are officials’ explanations that involve parents beating the corpses of their children to make it look as if they were pummelled to death by the police. Even if the police stick to the book, Bahrain has a repressive enough legal system to squash most dissent. Anyone can be detained for up to three years without charge, merely if suspected of subversive activity. Sheikh Abdel-Amir al-Jamri, an opposition figure from the dissolved parliament, has been in prison since January 1996 without explanation. The toothless advisory body that the emir created in place of parliament has done nothing to reign on the security forces. Dissidents claim that they are turned away from the emir’s much-publicised public audiences. The government might get away with heavy-handedness if the economy were booming. But Bahrain is suffering from low oil prices and, though it has less than its neighbours, it relies on oil for 50% of government revenue. If the doldrums persist, banks and service industries will be hit. As it is, jobs cannot be found for around 15% of the workforce. The government says it is trying to attract investment and create jobs. But, not trusting the Shias, it imports Pakistanis and Syrians to serve in the army and police. Locals’ resentment of Asian guest-workers has boiled over into arson attacks on foreign stores and restaurants.

Mr. Al-Jamri’s three-year detention period was due to expire on January 21st. Few expected Bahrain’s autocrats to release him. But the future looks testing for them. They cannot paint over the cracks in society indefinitely.

Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty’s Government:

Whether on 20 January, the third anniversary of the detention without charge or trial of Sheikh Abdul Amir al-Jamri in Bahrain, they will comply with the request by his family that the British Embassy in Manama should ask to visit him in prison.[HL431]

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean: I refer the noble Lord to my Answer given on 19 May 1998 (WA 156). The situation has not changed. The Bahraini authorities have again assured our Ambassador in Bahrain that Sheikh al-Jamri has been visited regularly by the International Committee for the Red Cross and members of his family. He has access to medical treatment whenever he wishes, and also when the authorities think it is prudent.

26 Jan 99

Bahrain: More violations of human rights

More people were sentenced by the unconstitutional State Security Court on 30 January. The court, headed by a member of the ruling family and staffed by foreign judges, issued the following arbitrary sentences against five Bahraini citizens:

1 – Abdul Raoof Al-Shayib, 10 years jail term and BD1000 ($2670) fine

2 – Sayyed Ahmed Al-Marzooq, 3 years

3 – Tawfeeq Al-Mahroos, 3 years and BD 200 ($534) fine

4 – Hameed Ahmed Al-Hamran, 3 years and BD 200 ($534) fine.

5 – Shaikh Hussain Al-Sayem, 2 years

The group was denied access to proper defence and had already been informed by their torturers of the sentences awaiting them beforehand.

Students expelled:

The interior ministry ordered the Bahrain Training Institute to expel some of the citizens who had been detained for questioning . On 30 January, the Institutes issued expulsion orders against five citizens: Heitham, aged 22, from Sar; Maytham Bader Al-Shaikh, 22, from Isa Town; Fawzi, 20, from Karzakkan; Mohammed Yousif, 20, from Karzakkan; Khalid Khamis, 24, from Manama.

Re-detained:

On 26 January, one of the social personalities was released after spending three year in administrative detention. Haji Ali Al-Ekri had suffered from detention and torture for three years without any charges. He had spent seven years in jail between 1984 and 1992. His son, Mohammed Ali, was detained at the age of 12 in 1995 and sentenced to 10 year. The son was released after an international intervention, but then was hunted down and re-detained. The father of Hajji Ali, Sheikh Mohammed Ali Al-Ekri, spent many years in jail, in and out. Haji Ali Al-Ekri, was re-detained on 28 January. A new administrative detention order was issued 48 hours after his release and he is now in jail.

Calling for the release of Sheikh Al-Jamri:

Many people are in jail for more than three years violating the limit stated by the oppressive State Security Law which empowers the interior minister to detain political activists for three years without charges or trial. Amongst those who had passed the limit of detention and are still being held is Sheikh Abdul Amir al-Jamri, member of the dissolved parliament and former judge. The French news agency, AFP, reported on 29 January that an official of the Bahraini government responded to Amnesty International’s call for releasing Sheikh Al-Jamri. The official was quoted saying “the detention is legal and is legally renewed”. The official failed to quote the legal framework under which Sheikh Al-Jamri and many of his colleagues are being detained beyond the limit stated by the already oppressive State Security Law.

The Cairo-based Arab Program for Human Rights Activists issued an urgent action on 29 January calling for the immediate release of Sheikh Al-Jamri and his colleagues. Amnesty International and the UK Parliamentary Human Rights Group issued similar urgent actions in the past week.

One of the lawyers defending Sheikh Al-Jamri, Mr. Abdulla Hashim, submitted a petition to the State Security Court on 22 January requesting the release of Sheikh Al-Jamri, whose continued detention has no legal (whether constitutional or unconstitutional) justification. On 24 January, Mr. Hashim was prevented from travelling to Dubai on one of his business trips. Denying Mr. Hashim his right to travel and not responding to his petition indicate the dictatorial intentions of the ruling Al-Khalifa family.

Bahrain Freedom Movement

31 January 1999

Fax: (44) 171 278 9089

His Highness Shaikh Issa Bin Salman Al-Khalifa Amir of Bahrain Office of His Highness PO Box 555, The Amiri Court Rifa’s Palace, Bahrain Fax no: +973 533033 28 January 1999 Your Excellency, International PEN, the worldwide association of writers with a 78-year history of defending freedom of expression, wishes to express its grave concern over the health and wellbeing of Sheikh Al-Jamri, the 62-year old poet and religious scholar currently detained without charge or trial in Bahrain. Sheikh Al-Jamri is a former member of the National Assembly. After this body was dissolved he became a prominent proponent for its reinstatement. He was arrested on 20 January 1996, along with seven other prominent Shi’a Muslim clerics, apparently in connection with a petition he circulated calling for constitutional change. The Writers in Prison Committee respectfully reminds Your Excellency that Article 1 of the Decree Law on State Security Measures, in force since 1974, allows for a maximum administrative detention of three years. Article 5 of the Decree Law stipulates that “The detained person shall be released in any case in the last day of the three years referred to in the first article”. On 21 January 1999 Sheikh Al-Jamri had been held for the three years without charge or trial and therefore must be released immediately as guaranteed by Bahraini Law. Furthermore, the Writers in Prison Committee has received worrying reports that Sheikh Al-Jamri is still being held in incommunicado and has been subject to physical and psychological ill-treatment in an attempt to make him sign pre-prepared legal documents. We understand that he is in poor health and has previously been hospitalised as a direct result of the poor conditions of his confinement. The Writers in Prison Committee believes that Sheikh Al-Jamri, for the past three years, has been detained merely for exercising his right to freedom of expression as guaranteed by Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. His failing health and the severe conditions in which he is held render his immediate and unconditional release an urgent priority; and the law of your country requires this also. Yours sincerely, Moris Farhi Chair, Writers in Prison Committee

Bahrain: AI calls for freeing pro-democracy leaders

On 25 January, Amnesty International urged the release of eight prominent Bahraini opposition figures detained for three years without trial. “The administrative detention of eight men held for their non-violent political and religious activities must come to an end,” Amnesty said. The eight included key opposition leader Sheikh Abdul-Amir Al-Jamri – a judge and a member of the parliament, which was dissolved in 1975. “These men have been held without charge or trial for three years — the maximum time allowed by law in the country. Their prolonged detention is in breach of the already oppressive Bahrain laws,” Amnesty said.

UNHCR frees a forcibly exiled citizen:

The UN High Commission for Refugees succeeded in realising a Bahrain citizen who had been forcibly exiled to Karachi four months ago. Mr. Mohammed Abbas Ali Kamal found himself stranded in Karachi Airport following his forcible exile from his homeland. Following calls from the family of the citizen and noble efforts of Lord Avebury (of the UK Parliamentary Human Rights Group), the UNHCR intervened in the case and managed to release the oppressed citizen. The government of Bahrain is the only “national” government that forcibly exiles its citizens, while at the same time imports mercenaries from all over the world and grant them free citizenship.

Articles on Bahrain:

Several leading articles on Bahrain’s political crisis had been published in the past week. The Economist said on 23 January “Even if the police stick to the book, Bahrain has a repressive enough legal system to squash most dissent. Anyone can be detained for up to three years without charge, merely if suspected of subversive activity”. It concluded by highlighting that “Mr. Al-Jamri’s three-year detention period was due to expire on January 21st. Few expected Bahrain’s autocrats to release him. But the future looks testing for them. They cannot paint over the cracks in society indefinitely.”

The London-based Al Quds newspaper published an article on 28th January for the Bahraini writer Abdul Rahman Al Nuaimi. The article pointed out that the theory of foreign conspiracy – adopted by the Bahraini regime- to destabilise the country is politically short-sighted. He called on the Bahraini authorities to listen to reason and abandon its backward mentality.

On 23 January, Al-Quds published an article for Dr. Abdul Wahab Al-Affandi warning the Bahraini regime of the implication of its intransigence. He said Bahrain used to have some preferential treatment from the US because it was the only one to host a military base. This is not an exclusive advantage anymore, and the West is fed-up with the mess spread by the ill-fated iron-fist approach adopted by the regime.

Pre-requisites for political stability:

The Lebanese periodical, Shu’un al-Awsat, issue No 78-79, Dec 98/Jan 99, published a 17-page study on political violence in Bahrain since December 1994. The research concluded that the stability of Bahrain depends on the capability of the political system in catering for the following:

1. To establish the principle of equality before the law. This means true belief in citizenship and the removal off all types of discrimination amongst the citizens regardless of their religious/ethnic origin.
2. Organising the authorities and ensuring that there is a separation between its branches with constitutional guarantees and check points established.
3. The restoration of the constitutional political process that is based on election rather than appointments.
4. Guaranteeing all public rights and freedoms for the citizens.
5. Reviewing all developmental policies which now pursue a route for marginilising specific and wide sections of Bahrain society.

Workers threatened:

The clandestine Bahraini Labour Union issued a statement on 26 January condemning the Bahraini authorities’ threats of expulsions of employees who chair any of the workers’ joint committees in the country. The statement referred to the recent case of Mr. Yousif Jassim Maki (chair of the workers joint committee in Bafco company). Mr. Maki Was summoned up by the head of the company (Yousif Al Awadi) and warned with expulsion if he did not step down from the chairmanship of the

committee. Mr. Maki resigned later as the chair of the committee. A similar case was reported concerning Mr. Abdul Shaheed Isa Ali (chair of the joint workers’ committee in Bahrain Flourmill Company).

Worsening the deficit:

Local press reported on 28 January that the Amir endorsed a loan agreement between the government and National Bank of Bahrain and City Bank (of the US) for a loan of $19,329,765.00. At the same time the Amiri Court ordered the purchase of a private jet at the cost of around $37 million in addition to $10 million for interior modification and decoration.

Bahrain Freedom Movement

29 January ?1999

Fax: (44) 171 383 2058

Bahrain: “No compromise on constitutional demands”

Members of the Bahraini exiled community in London completed a 24-hour vigil in front of the Bahraini Embassy in Gloucester Road, London. The vigil started on 20 January, at 12.00 pm and continued until 21 January, 12.00 pm. The protestors distributed hundreds of pamphlets and brochures documenting the abuses of human rights in Bahrain. They called for the immediate release of Sheikh Al-Jamri and his colleagues, who on 21 January completed their third year in detentions.

Similarly in Copenhagen, the Bahraini exiled community organised a picket on 21 January, at 4.00 pm, in front of the Danish Parliament (near the Interior and Justice ministries). Hundreds of signatures were collected demanding an end to abuse of human rights and release of Sheikh Al-Jamri.

The authorities re-arrested Sheikh Al-Jamri in January 1996 following their backsliding on a deal to calm down the situation. The government of Bahrain believes that the only way to deal with its citizens is through repression and deployment of mercenary forces imported from many countries around the world.

The situation in Bahrain indicates the failure of the iron-fist policy of the authorities. Stability has never been achieved through sheer force and the political crisis will continue to boil because of gross injustices and lack of civil liberties for citizens.

Two articles in “Al-Quds” of 22 January:

Mohammed Jaber Sabah, member of the dissolved National Assembly and a leading pro-democracy figure in Bahrain, wrote an article in the London-based “Al-Quds” of 22 January. The article entitled “No compromise on constitutional demands” outlined that abandoning the constitution of Bahrain is unconstitutional itself. This is because Article 65 mandates that elections must be held two months following the dissolution of parliament. This means that election should have taken place in October 1975. In the case that such an election did not take place, the constitution specifies that the National Assembly assumes all its powers as if the dissolution has never taken place. This means that the National Assembly and its members (including the jailed Sheikh Abdul Amir Al-Jamri) are immune from detention and persecution. He said that Sheikh Al-Jamri has completed his three-year term according to the unconstitutional State Security Law and must be released. He noted that Sheikh Al-Jamri is being pressured by the authority to be released on conditions that he stops campaigning for the political rights of citizens. The demands for constitutional rights can not be halted. He also noted that this bargaining falsifies the claim of the government that these jailed personalities are terrorists or support terrorism.

In the same issue of Al-Quds (22 January), the newspaper published an article for Dr. Mansoor Al-Jamri of the Bahrain Freedom Movement on the “Contemporary Currents amongst Islamists”. The article pointed out that Islamists have pursued three schools of though during the past hundred years. One school of though called for the implementation of “Islamic Shria” law. Another called for establishing the “Rule of Islam” (Hakemeyah or Welayah). The third has adopted a pluralist rights-based approach to politics. The author called for fostering dialogue amongst, and with, these currents for developing a solid ground for toleration and co-existence.

More abuses of human rights:

The Bahrain authorities re-deported Mr. Abdul Majid Al-Asfoor for the second time in one month. Mr. Al-Asfoor had returned from Denmark to his homeland. On 18 January, Mr. Al-Asfoor was forcibly re-deported to Syria. The government Bahrain is the only “national” government in the world that forcibly strips the citizenship of the natives and at the same time imports mercenaries from the outside and grants them free citizenship.

On 19 January, the interior ministry released Mahmood Ibrahim Abdulla, 23, Seyed Adnan Saeed Al-Setri, 20, and Abbas Isa Al-Hammar, 26. These were arrested early in 1995 accused of burning a shop in Jedhafs. Last year they were acquitted by the State Security Court, but the interior ministry refused to release them. A year later, the Amir declares an amnesty and these are released as part of such bogus amnesty.

Bahrain Freedom Movement

22 January 1999

Fax: (44) 171 278 9089

Bahrain: Sheikh Al-Jamri completes three years in detention

On 21 January, Sheikh Al-Jamri and his colleagues will be completing three years in detention. According to the unconstitutional State Security Law, Bahraini citizens are interned for three years without charges or trial. At the end of three years, the detained person must be released. Sheikh Al-Jamri was re-detained on 21 January 1996 following the government’s failure to abide by an agreement struck with Sheikh Al-Jamri for calming down the situation. Three years since his re-arrest, and the political crisis lingers on. The Bahraini government refused all attempts to calm down the situation. They even turned down an historic initiative by the President of the UAE in September 1997.

Debate in the British Parliament:

On 18 January, the case of Sheikh Al-Jamri was debated British Parliament, House of Lords. Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty’s Government: “What was discussed by the Prime Minister at his meeting with the Prime Minister of Bahrain in the Seychelles.”

Replying for the government, Baroness Ramsay of Cartvale, said “My Lords, the Prime Minister and the Bahraini Prime Minister met in the Seychelles on Tuesday, 5th January. The meeting focused on recent events in Iraq and the Prime Minister took the opportunity to thank Shaikh Khalifa for Bahrain’s continued support.

Lord Avebury: My Lords, did the Prime Minister say anything to his opposite number about the cases of Shaikh Abdul Amir Al-Jamri and Mr. Abdul Wahab Hussain, who will have been detained for three years without charge or trial this coming Wednesday? Did he also take the opportunity of suggesting to the Bahraini Prime Minister that, rather than locking these people up, he should consult them about the restoration of the 1972 constitution and the 1973 parliament in pursuance of the mission statement of the Foreign Office, under which we promised to spread the values of human rights, civil liberties and democracy that we demand for ourselves?

Baroness Ramsay of Cartvale: My Lords, both the Prime Minister and Shaikh Khalifa were on private holidays. The Prime Minister simply took advantage of the opportunity to thank the Bahrainis for their help and support during Operation Desert Fox. It was not an appropriate occasion to raise any individual case in the very complex and sensitive field of human rights. I assure the noble Lord that we have raised the case of Shaikh Al-Jamri and the question of human rights with the Bahraini Government. The case of Shaikh Al-Jamri was raised by Mr. John Shepherd, the Deputy Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office, with the Bahraini ambassador as recently as 11th January.” Several other questions were raised about the seriousness of the UK foreign policy towards human rights.

Inside Bahrain:

Inside Bahrain, the sadness of the people made it difficult to celebrate Eid Al-Fitr to mark the end of Ramadan on 18 January. People visited the families of martyrs and prisoners to offer their support and to declare their steadfastness. Martyrs’ graves were sites for the people to gather, to read prayers and to raise pro-democracy slogans. Wall-writing around the country proliferated and the security forces were unable to wipe-out the slogans due to their intensity. Around Karbabad, the main highway traffic was jammed following protest by youths that resulted in the burning of tyres. Several loud gas cylinder explosions were heard in several areas.

Outside Bahrain:

Members of the exiled Bahraini community called for a 24-hour vigil in front of the Bahrain Embassy in London starting on 20 January, at 12.00 pm and lasting until mid-day on 21 January to mark the third anniversary of Sheikh Al-Jamri’s detention. In Denmark, members of the exiled community will hold a picket on 21 January, at 400 pm, in front of the Danish Parliament (near the Interior and Justice ministries) to mark the anniversary.

Bahrain Freedom Movement

20 January 1999

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Debate on Bahrain in the British Parliament

House of Lords

18 Jan 1999

Bahrain: Prime Ministers’ Meeting

2.46 p.m.

Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty’s Government:

What was discussed by the Prime Minister at his meeting with the Prime Minister of Bahrain in the Seychelles.

Baroness Ramsay of Cartvale (UK Government): My Lords, the Prime Minister and the Bahraini Prime Minister met in the Seychelles on Tuesday, 5th January. The meeting focused on recent events in Iraq and the Prime Minister took the opportunity to thank Shaikh Khalifa for Bahrain’s continued support.

Lord Avebury: My Lords, did the Prime Minister say anything to his opposite number about the cases of Shaikh Abdul Amir Al-Jamri and Mr. Abdul Wahad Hussain, who will have been detained for three years without charge or trial this coming Wednesday? Did he also take the opportunity of suggesting to the Bahraini Prime Minister that, rather than locking these people up, he should consult them about the restoration of the 1972 constitution and the 1973 parliament in pursuance of the mission statement of the Foreign Office, under which we promised to spread the values of human rights, civil liberties and democracy that we demand for ourselves?

Baroness Ramsay of Cartvale: My Lords, both the Prime Minister and Shaikh Khalifa were on private holidays. The Prime Minister simply took advantage of the opportunity to thank the Bahrainis for their help and support during Operation Desert Fox. It was not an appropriate occasion to raise any individual case in the very complex and sensitive field of human rights. I assure the noble Lord that we have raised the case of Shaikh Al-Jamri and the question of human rights with the Bahraini Government. The case of Shaikh Al-Jamri was raised by Mr. John Shepherd, the Deputy Under-Secretary at the Foreign Office, with the Bahraini ambassador as recently as 11th January.

Lord Janner of Braunstone: My Lords, is my noble friend aware–

Lord Wright of Richmond: My Lords, perhaps I may–

Lord Janner of Braunstone: My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for giving way. The courtesies of this House are rather different from those of another place.

Is my noble friend aware of the political complexities in Bahrain, as I am after visiting there on behalf of the Maimonides Foundation? In particular, did the Prime Minister have any chance to discuss with the Bahraini Prime Minister the continuing Middle East peace process and the part that the Gulf states might play, not least in the light of the extraordinary meeting last week at the Peres Peace Centre which was attended not only by Gorbachev and seven Nobel peace prize winners but by representatives of Palestine, Egypt, Israel and Jordan? Surely the Gulf states should be encouraged to come into this process as swiftly and effectively as possible?

Baroness Ramsay of Cartvale: My Lords, my noble friend makes some interesting points. However, to my knowledge, the Prime Minister did not raise the question of the Middle East peace process with the Bahraini Prime Minister when he met him during his holiday in the Seychelles.

Lord Wright of Richmond (Ex-UK Ambassador to Saudi Arabia): My Lords, does the Minister agree that, while it is important that human rights should be preserved and protected in Bahrain, as elsewhere, it is nevertheless of considerable importance to this country that our traditional friendship with Bahrain and the Al-Khalifa family should be preserved and developed? In the present situation in Iraq it is of paramount importance that we continue to protect and preserve our political, economic and military interests in Bahrain and elsewhere in the Gulf.

Baroness Ramsay of Cartvale: My Lords, I wholeheartedly agree with the points made by the noble Lord. The UK’s trade and defence relations with Bahrain are extremely good. There are many recent examples of co-operation, but I shall not take up the time of the House by going into them in detail. On the question of co-operation offered by Bahrain, we have two VC10s in Bahrain providing refuelling in the air for the planes which implement the no-fly zone in southern Iraq. Relations and co-operation with Bahrain are particularly good and it is important that they are maintained. However, that does not prevent us from also having strong views on the question of human rights. Wherever it is appropriate, we make that point to the Bahrainis.

Lord Avebury: My Lords, is it not the case that our strong friendship with the Al-Khalifa family, our indebtedness to them for the assistance they gave us during the recent crisis over Iraq and the presence of UNSCOM’s headquarters in the territory and the American fifth fleet in the area inhibit us from raising human rights matters with the Bahraini Government? Would it not be a good idea if, as happens in other parts of the world, officials at the British Embassy in Bahrain were to visit the prisoners of conscience who have been detained for three years, two of whom I mentioned?

Baroness Ramsay of Cartvale: My Lords, there is no question but that this Government do raise human rights issues with the Bahrainis whenever that is appropriate. The case of Shaikh Al-Jamri in particular is constantly being raised. The noble Lord has asked about Shaikh Al-Jamri on a number of occasions and he has also asked whether officials at the embassy could visit Shaikh Al-Jamri in prison. As he knows, because the noble Baroness, Lady Symons, told him in a written reply in May last year, there is no legal basis for officials at the British Embassy to request to visit Shaikh Al-Jamri in prison. We were then, and still are, assured that he is being well treated and has access to medical treatment whenever he needs it. But our good relations with Bahrain are a way of helping us to encourage our friends in the Bahraini Government to implement the movements, which indeed they are making–by, for example, signing in April of last year the convention on torture–towards improving human rights inside their country.

Human Rights Watch

1999 Report on Bahrain

Human Rights Developments

The government of Bahrain continued to engage in serious human rights violations in 1998. The family of a young Bahraini man who died on July 21, two days after being arrested, reported that his body bore marks of torture. Street clashes between security forces and protesters calling for political reform, which had been intermittent in the first part of 1998, increased in the wake of this incident. In 1998 the government tightened already severe restrictions on the right to freedom of association and freedom of expression.

In February, the government appointed Shaikh Khalid bin Muhammad Al Khalifa, a nephew of the ruler, to head the Special Investigation Service. He replaced Ian Henderson, a Briton who had served as Bahrain’s top intelligence and internal security official since 1966. Henderson presided over a security establishment within which officials committed serious human rights abuses, including arbitrary and prolonged detention and torture. The seventy-year-old Henderson remained in Bahrain as a special adviser to the minister of interior. Another British citizen, David Jump, was employed as legal advisor to the minister.

Human Rights Watch had received reports of at least seven deaths due to torture, mistreatment, or medical neglect of detainees since the political unrest began four years ago, in December 1994. The most recent victim, Nuh Khalil Abdallah al-Nuh, twenty-three, was reported to be in good health when he was detained in the al-Na‘im district of Manama by members of the security forces on July 19. When his body was returned to his family for burial two days later, on July 21, it reportedly bore marks of torture. According to press reports, a government spokesperson said that “no one had died in prison or under torture,” but British Minister of State Derek Fatchett, responding to a parliamentary question, said the government had responded to British embassy inquiries by claiming that “the matter was still under investigation.” The authorities did not respond to a letter from Human Rights Watch requesting information about the case.

The government continued to rebuff calls by the People’s Petition Committee and other critics inside the country for the release or fair trial of persons detained without trial or convicted by the State Security Court in unfair trials, the return of persons forcibly exiled, relaxation of restrictions on free expression and association, and future elections to a restored National Assembly, the partially-elected parliament which was suspended by decree in 1975. According to relatives who had met with Shaikh Abd al-Amir al-Jamri, a detained leader of the committee, the authorities subjected him to a week of intensive interrogation and rough physical treatment in April and then brought him before an investigating judge for the purpose of signing a prepared confession alleging that he had ordered arson and sabotage attacks and had acted on behalf of a foreign power. Shaikh al-Jamri refused to sign the document and remained in detention. The shaikh, who was sixty years old and was hospitalized on several occasions in 1998, had been in continuous detention since January 1996 under the State Security Law of 1974, which allowed for up to three years of detention without trial. As of October the government had not publicly produced any evidence that Shaikh al-Jamri or the other seven Shi’a community leaders detained at the same time had participated in or advocated political violence.

The government continued its policy of providing no information concerning the numbers or identities of persons arrested, tried, convicted, acquitted or released under the State Security Law or brought before the State Security Court, where procedures did not meet basic fair trial standards and verdicts were not subject to appeal. Shaikh Muhammad bin Khalifa al-Khalifa, the minister of interior, insisted in a May 17 interview in Akhbar al-Khalij, a pro-government daily, that “incidents of sabotage and rioting were few and isolated. A few hundred people were involved. Even at the peak of disturbances a little over 1,000 were held.” The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reported in June that in 1997 it had visited 2,111 persons detained for security reasons in twenty-three places of detention. In keeping with ICRC policy, its findings and recommendations to the government were not made public.

The authorities continued to suppress free expression in the country. For example, persons convicted by the State Security Court included those charged with offenses such as “chanting slogans against the existing political system” and spreading “false rumors liable to undermine state security.” Abdallah Fakhroo, an elderly resident of the capital, Manama, was arrested in February after he raised questions regarding political conditions in Bahrain at a lecture by a visiting Sunni religious dignitary, reportedly in the presence of the minister of justice. After being detained for a month under the State Security Law, he was released at the end of March but rearrested several hours later. In September, while still in detention, Fakhroo was reportedly transferred to a hospital security wing after suffering heart or respiratory problems. He was reportedly released from custody in late September.

Public criticism of government officials and policies remained off-limits. The BBC reported in September that its Arabic-speaking Bahraini stringer had not been allowed to file stories for the past year. Al-Quds al-Arabi, a London-based pan-Arab paper, reported on May 8 that the Bahraini government had conveyed to Hafedh al-Shaikh, a columnist for the pro-government daily Al-Ayam, that he could no longer write for publication inside or outside Bahrain after he submitted a column criticizing the militarization of the education sector and questioning the policies of the president of the University of Bahrain, Jasim al-Ghatam, a former military officer.

Bahrainis could, to a limited degree, express themselves and receive information on the Internet. The government apparently appreciated the importance of Internet access for the country’s position as a regional business hub, and the state-controlled telecommunications monopoly, Batelco, reportedly generated considerable revenue from Internet users, including persons who phoned in from Saudi Arabia, which had no public access. Bahraini authorities, however, apparently continued to block access to some websites, including that of the London-based Bahrain Freedom Movement (BFM), an opposition group, and to seek ways to improve its capacity to monitor political speech on the Internet. Jalal Alawi Sharif, a Batelco engineer who was arrested in March 1997, reportedly on the grounds that he was transmitting information to the BFM via the Internet, remained in detention without charge or trial in September 1998.

Despite the guarantee of freedom of association in Article 27 of Bahrain’s constitution, authorized civic associations, clubs, and professional societies were closely monitored and effectively prevented from conducting discussions or activities that touched upon Bahraini politics. The Bahraini Lawyers’ Society had been a very partial exception, on the grounds that the duties of the legal profession required lawyers to interpret legislation and to represent clients in politically sensitive trials. Building on this margin of exemption, the society occasionally held “internalevents,” which did not require prior government permission and to which non-lawyers were invited. In a January 1998 meeting, according to participants, the discussion ventured into matters such as income distribution in Bahrain and the absence of democracy. In the days immediately following, security forces reportedly visited the society’s office to interrogate the staff about participants and speakers, and the ministers of justice and interior separately called in Lawyers’ Society President Abbas Hilal to question him about the meeting. On February 28, Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Abd al-Nabi al-Shu’ala informed the society’s elected board that the general assembly meeting scheduled for March 19, at which new elections were to be held, would not be allowed to take place, and that their membership on the board had been terminated. The minister then issued Decree 4 of 1998, which charged the society with violating the law governing societies and clubs and appointed a new board.

More than seventy members filed a legal challenge to the government’s action. The government appointed Shaikh Khalifa bin Rashid Al Khalifa, a member of the ruling family and the head of the State Security Court, to hear the case. The minister of labor reportedly met with lawyers leading the court challenge to press them to drop the appeal, to agree to seek permission for all society activities including internal meetings three months in advance, and to refrain from any participation in politics. The lawyers were also instructed to remain silent about these meetings. Court hearings in June, September, and October were postponed at the government’s request, effectively leaving the government-appointed board in charge of the society.

A statement from Bahrain’s embassy in Washington, D.C., in an April 15 response to Human Rights Watch asserted that “a significant portion of the Society’s members” had appealed to the Ministry of Labor to intervene in the organization’s internal affairs owing to alleged “serious financial mismanagement” and discontent “over the course that the previous Board seemed intent on following.” This statement and a subsequent letter from Ambassador Muhammad Abdul Ghaffar in Washington failed to specify what activities the government considered to be seriously enough in breach of the law as to require the removal of the board less than three weeks before already scheduled general elections. As of October, Human Rights Watch’s requests for clarification on these and other points went unanswered.

January 1999

The Bahraini opposition is unwavering in its campaign for civil rights

New Year with New Vision

As the world celebrated the coming of a new year, the people of the Gulf had their own worries which were exacerbated by several factors. The crisis in Iraq continued to be a matter of grave concern especially as the latest attacks by the American and British forces unfolded. The 19th summit of the Gulf rulers which was held in Abu Dhabi did nothing to dispel the fears of the people as they faced a bleak future. The dwindling oil revenues added salt to the already grave wounds and the coming of a new year was viewed with gloom and despair. More serious is the gradual diminishing of civil liberties and the ascendance of the police state in the region, the most obvious example is the situation in Bahrain.

Some quarters in the region may have felt indifferent to the bombardment of Iraq at the onset of the holy month of Ramadhan, but the majority was not so easy about the ongoing saga. The scenes of devastation covering the TV screens as events unfolded inside Iraq could not have come at a worse moment of history. Saddam Hussain is, undoubtedly, a villain, but other regimes in the region are only marginally less barbaric in their attitude to the value of the human souls. The campaign to attack Iraq is feared by the people in the region as it could be preparing the ground for a future action against other states in the Middle East, thus heralding a new phase in politics. The people also view the double standards when dealing with, say, Israel, while attacking other states that are not on good terms with the US.

It could be said with a degree of confidence that the absence of a modern political regime in the countries of the region is an important factor in the ongoing crisis. Despite the western call for human rights and democracy, the general feeling is that the US, in particular, prefers to deal with dictatorship. It is only when these dictators threaten the US vital interests that attitude changes, but by then things are usually too difficult to change.

The GCC summit in Abu Dhabi was convened at a time of heightened tension in the region, and the oil crisis forced the rulers to concede, for the first time, that the rentier state may have gone forever. It is the oil money that has hitherto enabled dictatorships to flourish and led to a unique situation unparalleled in any other place of the world. They talked about a unified tariff and gave a promise that within a year it should be adopted. But the rulers of the six GCC countries proved incapable of sorting out the mess created by the huge glut in the oil market. Most of them were reluctant to cut their level of production and the oil prices continued to fall after the summit. They have also failed to address the most sensitive of issues relating to the internal political situation. Despite the movement of the world towards more democracy, pluralism and respect of human rights, the Gulf rulers have never acknowledged that their system of government is obsolete. On the contrary, most of them still maintain that notions of democracy are alien to their culture and are therefore unwelcome.

The political activists in the region, dispute this, fundamentally argue that political openness is the way towards a more prosperous and stable situation. The Bahraini opposition had hoped that the continuing crisis in the country would be addressed seriously. In fact, it has written letters to the leaders of the countries that participated in the summit urging them to take up the issue seriously, and pleaded with them to take an active role in containing the situation. It must be said that their response was not encouraging. They may have reprimanded the Bahraini officials in the bilateral meetings, for their stubbornness and lack of understanding of the grievances of people, but none of them was courageous enough to come forward and take up the challenge of the Bahraini crisis.

However, the Bahraini people and opposition have never relied on anyone else to do the job of changing the situation for them. They are determined to pursue a peaceful approach in their struggle through their campaign of civil resistance. They have received encouraging support from freedom-loving people including international human rights bodies and media institutions. Members of British Parliament and the European Parliament have also lent their support to the people of Bahrain. They have remained faithful to their principles and are held in high esteem.

The Bahraini opposition will always seek ways for alleviating the situation, whenever the opportunity arises for a serious dialogue. In the past two months, the government has been sending twisted and vague messages. The interior ministry is believed to be behind an anonymous statement issued on 13 October 1998 that spoke about an “initiative” by the justice minister to “invite” Sheikh Mohammed Mahdi Shams-ul-Din, the head of the Shia Islamic Council in Lebanon, to visit Bahrain. Again, the same message was reported in Al-Hayat newspaper on 13 November, whose reporter in Bahrain confirmed that the justice minister has invited Sheikh Shams-ul-Din to visit Bahrain. Several detainees who had been held without charges were released In December, while at the same time several others had been interned.

Several factors are influencing the situation. Between 1 to 19 March 1999, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination will be discussing Bahrain’s compliance with the treaty (which Bahrain signed in 1990). The government of Bahrain is pursuing flagrant racist policies that are implemented in all walks of life in Bahrain. These policies and practices are now being investigated. Between March and April 1999, the UN Commission on Human Rights will meet and, though Bahrain may not be tabled for discussion as part of the UN agenda, statements by NGOs will be presented reminding the international community of its duties towards the state of human rights in Bahrain. Also, it is expected that in the spring of 1999, experts from the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention will visit Bahrain as demanded by the UN Sub-commission in August 1998 and promised by the Bahrain government. The visit will investigate the cases of political detention in Bahrain and will be seeking to identify areas of injustice. In August 99, the UN Human Right Sub-Commission’s experts will examine whether the government of Bahrain has delivered on its promises to allow the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to visit the country and to drop the reservations on Article 20 of Convention Against Torture (ratified in February 1998).

The Bahraini opposition welcomes any improvement in the political situation. The pro-democarcy movement is endeavouring to achieve several objectives leading to the reinstatement of civil liberties as specified in the Bahraini Constitution. It has been encouraged by the recent announcement by the Amir of Qatar that he would form a permanent constitution with articles stipulating the formation of an elected parliament in which men and women will take part.

The opposition will press the government to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). It will push for repeated visits to Bahrain by the UN working groups and other human rights organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. It will continue to campaign for the release of all political detainees and prisoners, the abrogation of the unconstitutional State Security Law and Court and will spare no effort in exposing the atrocities of the security forces. The people of Bahrain are increasing their experiences for resisting tyranny, and the blood of their martyrs will not go in vain.

Bahrain Freedom Movement

1 January 1999

Fax: (44) 171 278 9089