ADHRB Weekly Newsletter #348
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** Bahrain
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The Cordoba Football Club: A New Tool of Sport Whitewash to Cover Human Rights Violations in Bahrain
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On May 12, 2020, the Spanish national newspaper El Mundo the second largest newspaper in the country published an article denouncing the latest Bahraini ruling family’s attempt to bolster their public image, following their purchase and control of the Cordoba Football Club. The club was acquired by the Bahraini Infinity Company lasthttps://www.newsofbahrain.com/bahrain/59687.htmlDecember, and it has been confirmed that the people in charge of the company is the Bahraini ruling family. Hussain Abdulla, executive director of Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) has confirmed that “The crown prince is the owner of the investment firm that bought the club” and that “The company’s financing comes directly from the government of Bahrain in a clear case of corruption in which public money is used for the benefit of the ruling family”.

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


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Bahrain Censors Anti-normalisation Online Event
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On May 16, 2020, Bahrain’s government forced the cancellation of an online symposium featuring speakers opposed to the normalisation of diplomatic ties between the Gulf States and Israel. The online broadcast was suspended shortly after it began, following a call to event organisers by Bahrain’s Ministry of Labour and Social Development with orders from “high authorities” to halt the event, the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) and Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) said today.

While Bahrain’s government has pushed strongly for the normalisation of ties between Israel and the Gulf States, hosting the Trump administration’s ill-fated “Deal of the Century” conference last year, many Bahrainis have vocally opposed the move. The conference, which featured speakers from Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Palestine was organised by the Bahrain Democratic Youth Society, who apologised online for the event’s abrupt cancellation.

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

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** French MP Jean-Luc Lagleize questions the Minister for Europe And Foreign Affairs referring to the serious human rights violations in Bahrain
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Jean-Luc Lagleize is a French politician member of the Democratic Movement (Mouvement Démocrate) and the Economic Affairs Committee. In 2017, he was elected as a member of the French National Assembly. He posed questions to the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs regarding serious human right violations occurring in Bahrain, which were published on the French government’s website.

He reported that a great number of non-governmental organisations had published worrying information regarding the violations of such rights and freedoms. These violations include breaches of civil and political rights, cases of torture, sexual assault and state coercion tactics. The targets of such practices include government critics, women human rights defenders, political activists within the country and abroad. In addition, the government of Bahrain has been guilty of sustaining inhumane prison conditions by; refusing necessary medical care, restricting family visits to the prison, implementing isolation policies against political prisoners, allowing unsanitary conditions to fester and discriminating against detainees on the basis of their religion.

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


** Profile in Persecution
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Ali Mahmood Husain Mahmood
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Ali was a 15-year-old student when he was arrested for the second time on 16 January 2019. He was violently arrested by officers and beaten in front of all his neighbors. He has since been subjected to torture. Today, Ali is 16 years old and is imprisoned in the New Dry Dock Detention Centre.

Ali was arrested on 16 January 2019 at his grandfather’s house when he was with his grandmother and uncle. No warrant or official document has been presented. A considerable number of riot police, Special Security Force Command and officers in civilian clothing, led by Lieutenant Daaij Khalifa Al-Kowari, surrounded the street of Ali’s grandfather’s house. They raided the house from the roof at around 3.40 am. When Ali heard them, he went to his uncle’s apartment, which is in the same house. However, Ali was arrested and beaten in front of all the neighbors before getting on the bus. The forces searched the house. Moreover, the house was already filmed on video. Authorities did not state the reason behind Ali’s arrest.

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


** ADHRB at the UN
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Human Rights Council 43rd and 44th Regular Sessions
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On May 14, 2020, the Bureau held a virtual meeting to discuss the resumed 43rd and 44th sessions of the Human Rights Council. The President informed the Bureau that given the capacity of UNOG to hold in-person meetings during June, the 43rd session would be resumed on 15 June and the 44th session would open on 22 June 2020.

Follow the latest news on the HRC ([link removed]) here. ([link removed])


** Around the Gulf
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Dispatch on French Arm Sales to the Gulf Region
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France plays a leading role in global arms exports. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), from before the Arab Spring protests in 2011 up until today, France has been in the top-5 of global arms exporters. In 2017, France took over China’s place as the third-largest arms exporter. The latest SIPRI report on Trends in International Arms Transfers shows that amongst the other top-5 countries—US, Russia, China, and Germany—France has experienced the highest growth rate in arms exports, increasing its arms sales by 72% between 2015 and 2019 compared to the previous period 2010 – 2014.

The arms trade has become the most lucrative export for France since the 1960s when the country has embraced the doctrine that arms sales are essential for the country’s strategic autonomy. Moreover, being a major arms supplier, France possesses a significant diplomatic presence, strategic trade partners, and influence over global regions which ensures stability and combats terrorism in order to maintain the French national security. On 7 May 2019, during the hearing of the Minister of Armed Forces in the National Assembly, it was disclosed that the current government is also reluctant to change its liberal arms export policy, which comes at a human cost and violates the UN Arms Trade Treaty, to which France acceded in 2014.

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

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Saudi Arabia: When Impunity becomes a Policy of the Kingdom
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In June 2017, Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) was appointed as the new heir to the throne of Saudi Arabia. Before his appointment, little was known about MbS on the international stage. Many prominent Americans with Saudi ties were eager to frame him as a progressive modernising reformer. This could be said for certain surface-level reforms, but beneath the façade, MbS has proven to be a ruthless autocrat – a continuation of the Al Saud regime. This dispatch aims to document the countless reports of human rights violations and the culture of impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators of such atrocities.

MbS started his reign by imprisoning many high-ranking members of his own family. The Guardian reported that 30 senior royal family members were imprisoned at the Ritz Carlton hotel in Riyadh. This was an unprecedented move in Saudi Arabian history, and demonstrated the potential ruthlessness of MbS. According to The Guardian, Saudi Arabia follows a deeply tribal and patriarchal framework, rooted upon a consensual alliance between the different branches of the ruling family who all descended from the same founding ruler Abdulaziz al-Saud. In one fell swoop, the young prince was able to consolidate his power with minimal consequences to the Al Saud ruling family alliances.
Read the full article here. ([link removed])

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** Free Saudi Activists Commemorating the two-year Anniversary of the Saudi Government’s Arrest and Torture of Women’s Rights Defenders
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Free Saudi Activists, a coalition of women human rights defenders advocating for the release of women’s rights activists from prison, is commemorating the two-year anniversary of the Saudi government arresting multiple activists for defying the government’s ban on women driving and dismantling of the male guardianship system. Imprisoned since May 2018, these women’s rights defenders have been subject to multiple human rights violations under Saudi authority, including electric shocks, flogging and sexual assault. The Free Saudi Activists Coalition hosted a webinar on May 15 to provide an update on the human rights defenders in Saudi Arabia, as well as the state of women’s human rights across the nation.

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


** GCC in the Wire
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** - ([link removed]) UN reports ([link removed]) Yemen ([link removed]) cease-fire progress, COVID-19 cases rising (AP) ([link removed])
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The U.N. envoy for Yemen reported “significant progress” in negotiations toward a nationwide cease-fire in the war-torn country on Thursday, but warned of stark challenges as coronavirus spreads at an unknown rate across the Arab nation.


** - ([link removed]) Why Bombs Made in America Have Been Killing Civilians in Yemen ([link removed]) (NYTimes) ([link removed])
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President Trump sees arms deals as jobs generators for firms like Raytheon, which has made billions in sales to the Saudi coalition. The Obama administration initially backed the Saudis too, but later regretted it as thousands died.


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** - Democrats: Fired watchdog was looking into Saudi arms sale (AP) ([link removed])
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Congressional Democrats say the State Department watchdog fired by President Donald Trump last week was investigating possible impropriety in a massive arms sale to Saudi Arabia last year, adding new questions to the watchdog’s abrupt dismissal.



** - ([link removed]) Abu Dhabi's Etihad cuts hundreds of jobs: sources (Reuters) ([link removed])
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Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways has laid off hundreds of employees this month, including cabin crew, after the coronavirus pandemic forced it to ground flights, according to industry and company sources.



** - Yemen could face 'catastrophic' food situation as pandemic worsens: FAO (Reuters) ([link removed])
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Yemen, already pushed to the brink of famine by a five-year war, could see a “catastrophic” food security situation due to the coronavirus pandemic and lower remittances from the Gulf, the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said on Monday.


** - Coronavirus leaves Gulf migrant workers stranded (BBC) ([link removed])
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For decades, migrant workers have played a key role in building the economies of Gulf Arab states, providing the manpower for the key construction, hospitality, retail and travel sectors. Having lost their jobs, many of those migrant workers want to return home. But commercial flights have all but stopped.


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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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