ADHRB Weekly: Formula 1 Announce Postponement of Bahrain Grand Prix Due to Coronavirus Risk

ADHRB Weekly Newsletter #339

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Bahrain

Formula 1 Announce Postponement of Bahrain Grand Prix Due to Coronavirus Risk

Formula 1 (F1) announced that the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix, which was due to take place next Sunday, will be postponed amid concerns over the spread of coronavirus. The announcement follows the cancellation of the Australia Grand Prix early this morning, while the Vietnam Grand Prix, due to begin in April, will also be postponed. F1’s slow response to the Coronavirus crisis has garnered significant criticism, with British six-time world champion Lewis Hamilton slamming the racing-giant yesterday for attempting to press ahead with planned races in the midst of this global pandemic. This cancellation appeared inevitable after two members of the McLaren racing team tested positive for the virus in Australia yesterday.

Read the full statement here.

Political Prisoner Recounts Painful Memories of 10 March 2015 in Letter Marking Fifth Anniversary

Political prisoner Ali AlHajee wrote a letter marking the mass beatings of prisoners that took place on this day five years ago in Jau Prison, recounting the three-month policy of collective punishment endured by prisoners in the form of physical and psychological torture. Though only a minority of prisoners participated in a riot, prison authorities responded with violence deemed excessive and disproportionate.

In May 2015, Human Rights Watch urged Bahraini authorities to order an independent investigation into allegations that security forces used excessive force stating that those involved should be held to account. In June 2015, BIRD, Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) and the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights published a report, Inside Jau: Government Brutality in Bahrain’s Central Prison, exposing the Bahraini government’s response to the prison riot at Jau Prison in March 2015.

Read the full statement here.

Profile in Persecution

Abdulla Ali AlSemoom

Abdulla Ali AlSemoon, a former professional footballer who played for the Bahrain National Football team (2007-8) as well as Busaiteen Club, is currently arbitrarily imprisoned in Jau Prison. On 19 April 2014, Abdulla was arrested when a bomb went off in his car. After being transferred to hospital he was later subjected to torture and convicted in an unfair trial. One year earlier, on 28 January 2013, Abdulla’s house was raided and police forces arrested his brother Jaber, without any mention of Abdulla’s name. However, when Jaber’s case went to court, Abdulla was named and he was accused of rioting and illegal assembly in Karbabad village.

Read the full report here.

ADHRB at the UN

At 43 HRC, ADHRB highlighted the current human rights situation in Bahrain

On March 11, 2020, an oral intervention was delivered at the 43rd Session of the Human Rights Council under Item 4’s General Debate. The intervention highlighted the current human rights situation in Bahrain and that oppositions and human rights defenders are kept behind bars.

Watch the video and read the full statement here.

ADHRB at HRC 43 participated on the Universal Periodic Review on Italy

On March 12, 2020, ADHRB delivered an oral intervention under Item 6 Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on Italy. The intervention highlighted concerns related to the lack of practical steps by the Italian government in creating a National Institute for Human Rights; the use of in criminal law and other punitive procedures against NGOs rescuing people in the Mediterranean; and the lack of implementation of the EU guidelines on human rights defenders.

Watch the video and read the full statement here.

Are you a victim of a human rights abuse in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, or other GCC states?

Document your case with the Special Procedures of the United Nations through ADHRB's UN Complaint Program.

Contact us at: info@adhrb.org

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