Film:Torture in Bahrain
June 21st, 2009Support……
Defended…….
“Victims of Torture on June 26, 2009″
To stop the “Torture in Bahrain”
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The 2009 Annual report of the Observatory :BAHRAIN
June 20th, 2009The 2009 Annual report of the Observatory :BAHRAIN
THE OBSERVATORY for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders :BAHRAIN
Political context
The review by the Human Rights Council member States of Bahrain’s report during the Universal Periodic Review in April 2008 provided an opportunity for NGOs to launch a public debate on the situation of human rights in the country, particularly on the question of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and the systematic discrimination faced by the Shia majority. Moreover, in May 2008, the Government launched an action plan in the presence of a representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in which the Minister of Foreign Affairs affirmed the determination of his country to establish a National Human Rights Institution (NHRI), which should begin its work in January 2009. However, since that announcement, several Bahraini human rights NGOs have repeatedly reminded the authorities of the necessity for this national institution to conform with the Paris Principles .
Joint action
Forty IFEX members protest attacks on free expression
(BCHR/IFEX) - Free expression advocates from around the world gathered this week in Oslo, Norway, at the IFEX General Meeting. Forty IFEX members signed on to the following statement, calling on the Bahraini authorities to address recent attacks on free expression in that country:
In the past few months and since the posting of the new Minister of Information and Culture, Mai Al-Khalifa, the Bahraini authorities have taken severe measures to clamp down on all forms of freedom of expression. This includes preventing access to hundreds of websites, blogs and internet outlets - even those concerned with human rights and non-subversive issues.
Authorities have waged a campaign against free expression, prosecuting writers, journalists and bloggers for practicing their profession, and preventing human rights defenders, activists and dissidents from addressing the public through media, internet and other fora. Moreover, the authorities have led defamation campaigns, through its controlled media, against activists and human rights defenders who express their dissenting views and openly discuss public affairs.
Flim:”We have a dream” Non-Violent Strategies(Arabic)
May 31st, 2009Peaceful protests
May 31st, 2009
Peaceful protests
By BASMA MOHAMMED, Posted on » Sunday, May 31, 2009
AN initiative that claims to train young Bahrainis how to stage peaceful protests is due to resume next month - after five of its six trainers were released from prison.
It was launched by the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) in 2007, but stopped when five trainers were rounded up in connection with an alleged terrorist plot.
The men were among 35 suspects arrested for allegedly plotting to bomb targets during celebrations to mark National Day last December.
However, society president and Non-Violent Centre founder Mohammed Al Maskati denied that they were planning terrorist attacks and claimed they were targeted for non-criminal activities.
Press Release
Bahrain: Reopening a Center for Training on Non-Violent Strategies
30 May 2009
The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights said today that it will reopen its center “Non-violent Youth”, and which the BYSHR established in 2007 with the help of activists in the civil committees and institutions.
The BYSHR indicated that the Center will train youth on non-violent strategies, and that the Society had suspended the activities of the Center due to the arrest of the members working in it.
Mr. Mohammed Al-Maskati, president of the BYSHR, said, “The Non-Violent Center is the only youth center in the region which specializes in training youth on carrying out non-violent strategies and which play a role in securing the principals of human rights in the society and achieving democracy and liberty”.
Teenager’s kidnap claims are probed
May 28th, 2009
Teenager’s kidnap claims are probed
By BEGENA P PRADEEP, Posted on » Thursday, May 28, 2009
POLICE are investigating claims that a Bahraini teenager was kidnapped from his home, beaten and dumped on a nearby wasteland.
Sayed Adnan Sayed Jaffar, aged 16, was allegedly kidnapped from outside his Hamad Town home at around 3.30am last Thursday.
He was found by a neighbour on nearby wasteland at around 4.50am, his father Sayed Jaffar told the GDN yesterday.
He said the teenager, one of 178 people freed after being pardoned for various offences last month by His Majesty King Hamad, was in such a state that they called an ambulance.
Bahrain: Kidnap and Assault of a Young Boy after his Release among the Royal Pardon
24 May 2009
The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights expresses its deep concern regarding the information received on the assault of Sayed Adnan Sayed Majeed – 16 years of age – after he was kidnapped by a group of people wearing civilian clothes near his home in Hamad Town, south of the country.
Sayed Adnan left Salmaniya hospital after he was treated and proved to have bruises in his neck. Sayed Adnan had informed the representatives of the BYSHR that on 21 May at 3:30 am, while he was near his home, two men wearing civilian clothes and masks to cover their faces attacked him. The two covered up his head by using a cover. He tried to resist but he failed to escape. They then forced him into a car with two others in it. He was taken to a remote area that is almost 15 minutes away, then he was beaten first on his back then was assaulted with shoes for almost 30 minutes. He was then asked for the reason he goes to pray in Al-Saddiq mosque, and where the prayer is led by Hasan Mushaimea, president of Haq Movement. He was threatened to be taken next time to the “Qalaa” and not to the Criminal Investigation building. Unknown people then returned him to an open area near his home.
Bahrain: A campaign to defame a human rights defender who was severely beaten and to discredit national and international human rights organizations
May 19, 2009
After a wave of rage and mounting national and international pressure to investigate the severe assault on May 7, 2009 against human rights defender Ja’far Kadhim Ibrahim, the Bahrain authorities changed their version of the story as to the motives of the individuals behind the incident. On the 9th of May, 2009, a security official stated to local newspapers, that the incident was a robbery, while on the 16th of May, a new official story was revealed to the press claiming that Ja’far Kadhim was abducted and beaten by two brothers of a women who was involved in an affair with Ja’far Kadhim.
