ADHRB Weekly Newsletter #347
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** Bahrain
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Spanish Government Responds to MP Joan Baldoví’s Questions Referring to the Status of Political Prisoners in Bahrain
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The deputy of Coalició Compromís, MP Joan Baldoví, posed a series of questions to the government relating to the Spanish government’s view and intention regarding the Government of Bahrain’s record of human rights violations, requesting a written response. His questions queried the Spanish Government’s actions in relation to the plight of political prisoners, the precise diplomatic measures that have been undertaken and explicit condemnations of grave human rights violations.

The Spanish government replied to Baldoví’s questions in a written statement. Its response was generalized, as it did not mention specific answers in relation to the questions MP Joan Baldoví raised. Instead, the government reply was a broad response to the Bahraini government’s human rights record and referred to the Spanish Government’s involvement in the EU spearheaded the human rights dialogue with Bahrain and its participation in the last Bahraini Universal Periodic Review.

Read the full article here. ([link removed])


** Profile in Persecution
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**
Husain Ali Mohamed
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Husain is a high school student. When he was 11 years old, he was arrested for a week with no reason provided; at age 13 he was arrested again. Husain was 17 when he was recently arrested twice and subjected to arbitrary detention and torture. During his detention, he missed out on his high school education and he now remains in the New Dry Dock Detention.

On 18 January 2019, Husain’s family house in Bani Jamra was raided by officers in civilian clothing and officers from the riot police. They did not provide any reason for his arrest nor a warrant. Husain was subjected to enforced disappearance for 12 days, after which his family received a call from the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) to bring him clothes and soap. He was then released on 23 February 2019.

Husain was arrested for the second time on 30 April 2019: a message was sent on his phone ordering him to go to the CID with his legal guardian. When Husain went to the CID with his father, officers took him inside and asked his father to leave. Husain was arrested and detained at the CID for approximately 20 days. The authorities did not give any reason for summoning Husain to the CID and arresting him.

Read the full report here. ([link removed])


** Around the Gulf
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Financing Poison at the Top of the Well: How a Culture of Impunity has Allowed the UAE to Continue to Flaunt Grave Human Rights Abuses
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Impunity in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is endemic, thanks to a pervasive culture of dispensation in the upper echelons of government. The UAE can be described as an autocratic police state, with widespread censorship laws and high surveillance. The ambiguity of its laws allows the leadership to easily justify the quashing of dissent or the silencing of government critics. For instance the case of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, and the Prime Minister and Vice-President of the UAE. Sheikh Mohammed has been embroiled in a whole host of different scandals involving his ex-wife and his multiple children. One example is the recent court case in the United Kingdom which has led to Princess Haya and her children receiving protected status. “The court heard how veiled threats from Sheikh Mohammed had left her terrified for her own safety, as well as fears that her children could be abducted and forcibly returned to Dubai”, while in May 2019 his ex-wife Princess Haya
said that Sheikh Mohammed told her: “You and the children will never be safe in England”. He published a poem entitled: “You lived, you died”.

Read the full article here. ([link removed])


** GCC in the Wire
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** - Saudi triples VAT, suspends handouts in virus-led austerity drive ([link removed]) (AFP)
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Saudi Arabia unveiled plans Monday to triple its value added tax and halt monthly allowances to citizens as part of coronavirus-triggered austerity measures


** - Rights group says Saudi Arabia is holding a senior prince incommunicado since March ([link removed]) (Reuters)
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Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Saturday that Saudi Arabian authorities recently detained and are holding incommunicado Prince Faisal bin Abdullah, who had previously been netted in an anti-corruption drive and released in late 2017.



** - Coronavirus cases in Gulf Arab region surpass 100,000 ([link removed]) (Reuters)
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The number of coronavirus cases in the six Gulf Arab states surpassed 100,000 on Monday, with 557 deaths, according to Reuters calculations based on official figures.



** - Virus traps, sickens foreign laborers in Gulf Arab states ([link removed]) (AP)
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Long a lifeline for families back home, migrant workers in oil-rich Gulf Arab states now find themselves trapped by the coronavirus pandemic, losing jobs, running out of money and desperate to return to their home countries as COVID-19 stalks their labor camps.



** -Yemen’s south in turmoil after separatists’ self-rule bid ([link removed]) (AP)
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A bid by separatists funded by the United Arab Emirates to assert control over southern Yemen has reopened a dangerous new front in Yemen’s civil war and pushed it closer to fragmentation at a time when the coronavirus pandemic poses a growing threat.



** - F1 chairman evokes “remote” possibility of no races in 2020 ([link removed]) (AP)
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Discussions to host Formula One races in July are at an advanced stage, although F1 chairman Chase Carey cautions that “the remote possibility of no racing in 2020” remains.
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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 ([link removed])
.

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