ADHRB Weekly Newsletter #349
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** Profile in Persecution
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Ali Husain AlTaraifi
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Ali is a high school student in Jidhafs Secondary Industrial School for Boys, and he is a former volleyball player at the Bani Jamra Club. Ali was arrested several times, sometimes multiple times in one day; on 13 February 2014, when only 12, he was severely beaten by police. At aged 18, he was recently violently arrested and subjected to torture for 9 whole days. He remains in Dry Dock Detention Center.

On 13 November 2019, the playground of Diraz Park was surrounded by masked officers in civilian clothing and jeeps with officers from the riot police. They blocked the street and spread fear among people who were present at the park. Officers arrested a group of young people while they were playing football and Ali was among them. He was beaten and kicked by civilian and military forces using everything they had in their hands such as wooden and metal objects, and cables, in the backyard of AlHelli Supermarket. Ali was then driven and taken back to Diraz Park as they beat him.

Forces told him to make a scene of attacking a jeep and a bus, but Ali refused, which made them beat and kick him harder. Finally, they took him to the Mounted Police Station in Budaiya (Ministry of Interior [MOI], Unit Mounted). There, he was also beaten and kicked by a group of civilian and military forces, who took him to the backyard of the Mounted Police Station and released a group of police dogs on him and other detainees. He was then taken to Budaiya Police Station. On 14 November 2019, at 9.00, Ali was taken to the Qalah Hospital for examination and then to the Investigations Building in Jau Prison.

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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ADHRHB has been invited to attend a virtual joint briefing with the President of the Human Rights Council; representatives of the United Nations Office at Geneva; and the Secretariat of the Human Rights Council which will take place on Wednesday, 27 May 2020 at 4 p.m (CEST).

In this meeting, the Human Rights Council Secretariat will provide the most up-to-date information concerning the basic parameters for holding the resumed 43rd session and the 44th session in the context of the measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. As referenced in the minutes of the last Bureau meeting (14 May), it is envisaged that the 43rd session will be resumed on 15 June and the 44th session will open on 22 June 2020.

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


** Around the Gulf
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“Throw Migrant workers into the Desert”: How COVID-19 Exacerbates the Suffering of Kuwait’s Invisible Workers
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The coronavirus pandemic is an all-encompassing worldwide problem and has affected an incalculable number of countries, regions and facets of society. Unfortunately, the most vulnerable people in society are proving to be the worst hit. One particularly vulnerable group in this time of crisis are the migrant workers in Kuwait. A series of Arab celebrities and high-ranking officials publicly outbursting in angry tirades has put the spotlight on the treatment of expatriates in the Gulf region.

A divisive social-media campaign spearheaded by Arab celebrities and high-ranking officials bolstered the issue of migrant workers into the forefront of Kuwaiti coronavirus discourse. Just recently, the famous Kuwaiti actress Hayat Alfahad launched a tirade against the vulnerable group by suggesting that migrant workers should be “sent out” or “put in the desert” now that the crisis is pushing Kuwaiti resources to their breaking point. Alfahad stated “If we get sick, there aren’t enough hospitals. If their own countries don’t want them, what are we supposed to do with them? Doesn’t logic dictate that in times of distress, it is better to get rid of these people? Deport them or throw them out. By Allah, they should be thrown out into the desert. I am not against humane treatment, but we have gotten to a point where we are full”. Similarly, in March Kuwaiti MP Safaa al-Hashem called for the deportation of foreign workers who had overstayed their visas in order to “purify” the country from
the risk they posed of transmitting the virus. These vicious attacks hit the migrant worker community hard, and despite playing an essential role for the Kuwaiti economy, abuse such as this goes vastly unpunished under Kuwaiti law.

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


** GCC in the Wire
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** - Foreigners on front lines of pandemic in Gulf Arab states (AP) ([link removed])
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As she was treated for COVID-19 in a hospital isolation ward in Kuwait City, Amnah Ibraheem wanted to credit those caring for her. The nurses were all South Asian, the radiologist was African, another of her doctors was Egyptian. The only fellow Kuwaiti she saw, briefly, was a lone volunteer.


** - Staying home means starving to death for millions displaced in Yemen ([link removed]) (Reuters) ([link removed])
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When Jamil al-Saboot and his family were told by a Yemeni aid agency to self-isolate to stop the spread of coronavirus, he knew he would not heed the advice. For the 40-year old father of ten, uprooted by civil war and living in a tent on a hillside above the southwestern city of Taiz, staying home means giving up on life.



** - 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.



** - Virus lockdowns stifle Eid celebrations as infections rise (AFP) ([link removed])
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Muslims around the world began marking a sombre Eid al-Fitr Sunday, many under coronavirus lockdown, but lax restrictions offer respite to worshippers in some countries despite fears of skyrocketing infections.



** - Saudi Ramadan TV dramas invite scrutiny of Israel ties (AFP) ([link removed])
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Two Ramadan dramas on a Saudi-controlled TV network have stirred controversy as they test public perceptions of quietly warming relations between the Gulf kingdom and Israel. Most Arab states including Saudi Arabia have no official diplomatic ties with Israel.



** - Qatar virus tracing app stirs rare privacy backlash (AFP) ([link removed])
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Privacy concerns over Qatar's coronavirus contact tracing app, a tool that is mandatory on pain of prison, have prompted a rare backlash and forced officials to offer reassurance and concessions.



** - Abdullah al-Hamid, Saudi Dissident, Dies in Detention at 69 (NYTimes) ([link removed])
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Abdullah al-Hamid, an intellectual and human-rights activist whose calls for reforming Saudi Arabia’s monarchy made him one of the kingdom’s most prominent and persistent dissidents and led to frequent prison terms, died on April 24 in detention. He was 69.


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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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