MANAMA (Middle East Eye) – A UN expert has called on Bahrain to release three human rights defenders immediately. The three have been held in long term detention solely because of their legitimate promotion and protection of human rights in the country, a report published on Tuesday has revealed.
Human rights activists Abdulhadi al-Khawaja and Abduljalil al-Singace were sentenced to life imprisonment on ‘terrorism’ related charges in 2011. Al-Khawaja’s detention was declared arbitrary by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.
The report also pointed out that Naji Fateel was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2013 for “forming illegal organizations”. All three worked to promote and protect human rights in Bahrain.
According to the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, Mary Lawlor, Al-Khawaja has suffered facial fractures, while Fateel and Al-Singace have been in solitary confinement and denied basic medical care and their right to practice their religion. She added that al-Singace had been forced to make confessions and had his religious books taken away.
“The fact that their health continues to deteriorate in prison is very concerning,” she said. “I urge the state to conduct an impartial and independent investigation into the allegations of torture while in prison.”
Other human rights defenders such as Abbas Al-Omran and Ali Abdulemam were tried in absentia and sentenced to 15 years in prison for “forming an illegal organization and spreading false information”. In 2012 and 2015, the authorities in Bahrain revoked their citizenship. They have been granted asylum and currently live outside the Persian Gulf kingdom.
“The criminalization of human rights defenders in retaliation for their legitimate and peaceful efforts to advocate for the rights of others in Bahrain is concerning not only for the detrimental impact on the lives of those individuals and their families,” said Lawlor, “but also for the chilling effect it creates on civic space in the country.”
In Bahrain, anti-regime protesters demand that the Al Khalifah dynasty relinquish power and allow a just system representing all Bahrainis to be established. Manama has gone to great lengths to clamp down on any sign of dissent, though.
On March 5, 2017, Bahrain’s parliament approved the trial of civilians at military tribunals in a measure blasted by human rights campaigners as being tantamount to the imposition of an undeclared martial law countrywide.
King Hamad ratified the constitutional amendment on April 3, 2017.