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Assessing the Human Rights Situation in Bahrain: a Shadow Report on Bahrain's Implementation of Its ICCPR Obligations

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Assessing the Human Rights Situation in Bahrain: a Shadow Report on Bahrain's Implementation of Its ICCPR Obligations Assessing the Human Rights Situation in Bahrain: A Shadow Report on Bahrain's Implementation of its ICCPR Obligations © 2014, the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD), Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) and the Bahran Centre for Human Rights. All rights reserved. Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) is a non- profit organisation focusing on advocacy, education and awareness for the calls of democracy and human rights in Bahrain. www.birdbh.org Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain is a non- profit, 501(c)(3) organization based in Washington, D.C. Through engagement with U.S. government officials, intergovernmental actors, activists, and the public, we seek to foster awareness of and support for democracy and human rights in Bahrain. 1001 Connecticut Ave. Northwest, Suite 205 Washington, DC 20036 202.621.6141 United States www.adhrb.org Bahrain Center for Human Rights The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) is a non-profit, non- governmental organization, registered with the Bahraini Ministry of Labor and Social Services since July 2002. Despite an order by the authorities in November 2004 to close it, the BCHR is still functioning after gaining wide internal and external support for its struggle to promote human rights in Bahrain. www.bahrainrights.org 2 Introduction The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1966 and in force since 1976, is one of three instruments comprising the ‘International Bill of Rights,’ the other two being the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Political Rights (ICESPR). Once a State ratifies the ICCPR, it falls upon its government to implement the necessary laws and mechanisms to protect the rights expressed within the ICCPR, such as the right to participate in government, to vote, and the freedoms of expression and assembly. It falls upon the UN Human Rights Committee (HRC) to review each individual State’s adherence to the ICCPR. This is done through the process by which each State submits a periodic report to the Committee, which then commences its review. As of 2014, 168 countries are party to the ICCPR. Bahrain acceded to the ICCPR in 2006, the only Arab Gulf monarchy to do so (however, Kuwait ratified in 1996). In acceding to the Convention, Bahrain agreed to be bound by the provisions of the ICCPR without the need for an act of signature. In accordance to Article 40 of the ICCPR, Bahrain was required to submit a periodic treaty report to the HRC on the measures adopted within one year of ratifying the convention and maintains an affirmative obligation to submit follow-up reports every four years thereafter. Bahrain has yet to submit either the initial report or any follow-up reports to the HRC. Before discussing the present state of Bahrain’s adherence to the ICCPR, it is necessary to briefly examine human rights developments before and after 2006. In the first seven years of King Hamad’s reign (r. 1999-present), the government made attempts towards meaningful political reforms to bring an end to the political uprising of the 1990’s. Included among these reforms was the scrapping of the 1974 State Security Law, which allowed the detention of persons for up to three years renewable without charges being brought against them, a general amnesty for all political exiles,1 and a commitment to democratic government.2 By 2006, however, during Bahrain’s accession to the ICCPR, many of these reforms had proven to be hollow, and political discontent began to foment once again. In 2007, security personnel once again began employing practices of torture after its absence in King Hamad’s first years as ruler. In February 2011, the ‘Arab Spring’ spread to Bahrain, and protesters took to the streets demanding political and economic reforms. The Government responded with increasingly repressive measures against its political opponents in a clear breach of its legal obligations under the ICCPR. Since then, the government has continued to infringe upon most civil and political rights. This report looks at Bahrain’s commitments to the following prohibitions, rights and freedoms guaranteed under the ICCPR: the prohibition of torture (article 7); right to liberty (article 9); rights of prisoners (article 10); right to fair trial (article 14); freedom of religion (article 18); 1 ‘Bahrain: Promising Human rights reform must continue,’ Amnesty International, 13 March 2001, http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE11/005/2001/en/d76b504c-f84c-11dd-a0a9- 2bd73ca4d38a/mde110052001en.pdf. Archive of original created 9 February 2011, http://www.webcitation.org/5wNVoYKJs, (accessed 5 August 2014). 2 Constitution of the Kingdom of Bahrain, 2002, art. 1.b, 1.d. The 2002 Constitution states that Bahrain is a constitutional monarchy and affirms the country’s commitment to democracy. 3 freedom of expression (article 19); freedom of assembly (article 21) and the freedom of association (article 22). It finds that in every respect, the situation in Bahrain has deteriorated. Freedom of Expression, Assembly, Association and Religion Freedom of Expression As many as 4,000 people are estimated to currently be in detention or prison in Bahrain for crimes related to thought, expression and assembly.3 The most prominent of them are the Bahrain 13. The Bahrain 13 are political leaders, human rights activists and members of Bahrain’s intelligentsia who have been imprisoned for expressing their views for reform in Bahrain. Six are sentenced to life in prison; two are serving five years sentences; another four are serving fifteen years in prison; and one, Mohammad Habib al-Miqdad, is serving a sixty- eight year sentence.4 The government imprisoned all of them in 2011 for offences related to their freedoms of expression and assembly. Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, one of the Bahrain 13, is a co-founder of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) and has been active in campaigns for reform since 1979. Security forces arrested al-Khawaja in 2011 for his role in leading pro-democracy protests. During his detention he was tortured and in June 2011 a military court sentenced him to life. On 25 August 2014 he began a hunger strike in protest of his false charges and poor prison conditions.5 It is his second since his imprisonment, his first in 2012 ending after 110 when authorities force- fed him to break his strike.6 As of 25 September 2014, his second strike continues despite his rapidly deteriorating health and his refusal to be transferred to a hospital.7 Al-Khawaja, punished for exercising his freedoms of expression and association three years ago, is left with no other way of expressing himself. In 2014, King Hamad decreed a new law criminalising ‘insulting the King.’ Persons found guilty face up to seven years in prison and a fine of up to USD$26,500.8 The police and judiciary use this as a pretext to target critics of the reigning monarch King Hamad and the monarchic system in general. However, the courts have convicted individuals for insulting King Hamad prior to the promulgation of this law. In October 2012, police arrested four unidentified individuals for insulting the King on Twitter,9 and as of 29 April 2014 the 3 ‘Advocacy Associate Engages Interactive Dialogue on Arbitrary Detention at HRC27,’ Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain, 14 September 2014, http://adhrb.org/2014/09/adhrb-advocacy- associate-engages-agenda-item-3-interactive-dialogue-at-hrc27/, (accessed 26 September 2014). 4 ‘Freedom for the Bahrain 13: Mohammad Al-Miqdad,’ BIRD, http://birdbh.org/mohammed-habib-al-miqdad/, (accessed 1 July 2014). 5 ‘Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja,’ BIRD, http://birdbh.org/abdulhadi-al-khawaja/, (accessed 12 September 2014). 6 ‘Bahraini activist Khawaja ends hunger strike,’ BBC, 29 May 2012, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world- 18239695, (accessed 12 September 2014). 7 ‘Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja,’ BIRD, http://birdbh.org/abdulhadi-al-khawaja/, (accessed 12 September 2014). 8 ‘New law: Insult Bahrain’s king, get thrown in jail,’ CNN, 6 February 2014, http://edition.cnn.com/2014/02/06/world/meast/barhain-new-law/, (accessed 15 September 2014). 9 ‘Bahrain charges four men with defaming king on Twitter,’ Reuters, 18 October 2012, http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/18/net-us-bahrain-defamation-king-idUSBRE89H0HI20121018, (accessed 25 June 2014). 4 Government admits to having arrested twelve for this crime.10 However, evidence shows that defendants were tried based on statements that do not necessarily target the private life of the King. Ali Abdulla Ahmad al-Hayaki was arrested for two statements he made on the social media website Twitter: ‘Down with Hamad – This immortal tune longs to be called out and inspire the heart – May God bring about the fall of this tyrant,’ and ‘The people said the word and the time of dictators has passed, down with Hamad.’11 Based on these two tweets, the court sentenced the defendant to four months in prison.12 Though the statements are certainly attacks on King Hamad as a public figure, it is difficult to see how they may be interpreted as insults towards his private life. Freedom of Assembly Between April and October 2011, military courts convicted at least 200 defendants of ‘participating in illegal demonstrations’.13 In 2012, a court sentenced Nabeel Rajab to a cumulative three years for three separate charges of illegal demonstration. The Information Affairs Authority said these had been violent protests, though Rajab and his lawyer contended that they were peaceful.14 Authorities arrested many prominent activists, including Abdulwahab Hussain of the Wafa’a Movement, Hassan Mushaima of the Haq Movement and Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, all members of the Bahrain 13, for their leading roles in the February- April 2011 protests.15 YouTube videos also attest to the fact that police have cracked down upon peaceful assemblies.
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