Bahrain: Reprisals and intimidation against human rights defender Mohammed Al-Maskati must end immediately

In United Nations Human Rights Council by CIHRS

Geneva – The government of Bahrain must ensure threats against human rights defender Mohammed Al-Maskati are stopped immediately. After tweeting that he was in Geneva attending the 21st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Mr Al-Maskati, a human rights defender and president of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights, received more than a dozen anonymous phone calls threatening his life and the safety of his family. Threats to Mr Al-Maskati’s life have been made following an oral intervention he delivered during a panel discussion on intimidations and reprisals, where he informed the Council of the intimidations against him.

As highlighted in the Secretary-General’s report on reprisals, submitted to the current session of the Human Rights Council, attacks and intimidations against several Bahraini human rights defenders for engaging with the United Nations human rights system have increased in recent months. The report cites the cases of human rights defenders and co-founders of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights, Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja and Nabeel Rajab as clear recent examples of reprisals by the government of Bahrain, which include acts of harassment, intimidation, and physical attack due to their co-operation and engagement with the UN.

On 4 September 2012, the High Court of Appeal in Bahrain ruled to uphold all of the sentences against Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja and 12 human rights defenders and political leaders serving time in prison, and the seven tried in absentia. All sentences against the prisoners of conscience were upheld, as well as charges such as breaching the Constitution, conspiring to overthrow the ruling regime, and having intelligence contact with foreign entities.

Until February 2011, Al-Khawaja was the Middle East and North Africa Coordinator with Front Line Defenders – the International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders. He is also a member of the International Advisory Network in the Business and Human Rights Resource Center chaired by Mary Robinson, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. During all his human rights work, he has co-operated intensively with the UN system and paid a heavy price for that, tortured and imprisoned for life.

On 16 August 2012, human rights defender Nabeel Rajab was sentenced to three years in prison, for three cases relating to his national and international human rights work including cooperating with the UN system, after being abducted from his home by masked men in plain clothes. There are currently five legal proceedings against him in addition to other forms of persecution such as travel bans, tear gas attacks on his home, and harassment of his family. A Bahrain appeals court rejected on 16 September, 2012, Nabeel Rajab’s lawyers’ requests to release him on bail and scheduled the next hearing for 27 September, 2012.

Mr Al-Maskati was part of a large delegation of prominent Bahraini human rights defenders and activists who attended the Universal Periodic Review of Bahrain last May. Following their return to Bahrain, the delegation was subjected to various forms of government-led intimidations, including a media smear campaign, for participating at the review.

The Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR), Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS), and the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) call on the government of Bahrain to abide by its commitments to provide security and protection for human rights defenders who co-operate with the UN. The ongoing threats and intimidation must stop and authorities in Bahrain must respect and protect the legitimate human rights work carried out by human rights defenders.

GCHR, CIHRS and ISHR also call on the member states of the Human Rights Council to encourage the government of Bahrain to end all acts of intimidation or reprisal against human rights defenders cooperating with the UN, its mechanism and representatives in the field of human rights, and to publicly inform the Council of steps taken to do so.

Signatures:

  • Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR).
  • Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS).
  • International Service for Human Rights (ISHR).

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