ADHRB Weekly Newsletter #350
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** Bahrain
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French MP Frederique Dumas Addresses the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Concerning the Blighted Treatment of Female Government Critics in Bahrain
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French parliament representative, Frederique Dumas, called up the French Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves le Drian to highlight the frequent human rights violations against women in Bahrain. Frederique Dumas, politician, and film producer, who was elected as a deputy of the National Assembly in 2017, where she also serves in the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Frederique Dumas wrote to the minister concerning the cases of several women political prisoners in Bahrain that endured serious sexual, psychological and physical abuses. The most prominent case that the MP addressed is one of Ebtisam al-Saegh. After voicing government criticisms on social media and for human rights work, in 2017 she was summoned by the authorities for questioning. She was interrogated and subjected to hours of physical and sexual violence. She was eventually charged with “falsely using her human rights work as a cover to provide inaccurate information about Bahrain and undermine its international status”. She was then sentenced to 3 months in prison. Following the imprisonment, Ebtisam started suffering from severe symptoms of anxiety and depression, as well as indications of post-traumatic stress. That was not the first time that Ebtisam al Saeg was explicitly targeted because of her human rights work. Bahraini authorities have repeatedly subjected al-Saegh to reprisals
for her engagement with UN human rights mechanisms, including the HRC.

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


** Profile in Persecution
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** Salman Abbas Hasan
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Salman was a 24-year-old volleyball player when he was arrested on 4 September 2014. Without presenting a warrant, authorities had beaten and arrested him. An interrogation and trial marred with human rights violations followed. Salman is currently in Jau Prison serving a 19-year and six-month sentence.

On 4 September 2014, riot police and civilian officers raided a house in Wadi al-Salam neighbourhood in al-Makshaa region, where Salman and others were having their pre-dawn meal, as it was Ramadan. The officers destroyed furniture, beat the individuals, and arrested them. Salman had been wanted due to the cases against him. In fact, his family house was raided multiple times. When the family would ask to see the warrant permitting these raids, authorities would refuse to display any. Salman was subjected to enforced disappearance for eight days. His family had only found out about his arrest through a post on Instagram.

During his enforced disappearance, Salman was being transferred daily between the Criminal Investigation Directorate (CID) and Riffa police station. He would be taken to the CID for interrogation at dawn prayer and kept there until 10 p.m. when he would be returned to Riffa police station to sleep. The interrogation lasted 7 days.

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


** ADHRB at the UN
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** Human Rights Council 43rd/44th
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ADHRB will participate in an online Q&A on NGO engagement with the 76th CEDAW session. This will take place tomorrow, Wednesday 3 June from 13:00 (Geneva time).

ADHRB has also been invited by the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) to an online presentation of the UN Human Rights report 2019, chaired by the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights, which will take place on Friday 5 June from 14:00 to 15:00 via Zoom.

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


** Around the Gulf
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** Reprisals Against Human Rights Defenders in Saudi Arabia

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Human right defenders have suffered greatly from reprisals due to their activism and involvement with international human rights organizations, such as the United Nations (UN), and the Human Rights Council (HRC), among others. ADHRB has and continues to monitor the situation in Saudi Arabia and the Arab Gulf. Since May 2018, Saudi Arabia has implemented travel bans, engaged in incommunicado detention, and participated in other forms of reprisals as a method for preventing human right defenders (HRDs) from participating in international human right sessions or engaging with groups such as the UN.

ADHRB’s work surrounding reprisals in Saudi Arabia has focused on Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) and the systematic reprisals that they face because of their activism. The condition of women’s rights in Saudi Arabia country has always been precarious due to the ingrained patriarchy in which the society is based. Women, in fact, are considered of less value because of their sex thus affecting the attitude in which Saudi society has viewed women when they speak out about prominent and pressuring issues. These issues include fundamental restrictions on woman’s’ freedom, including freedom of expression and association, and freedom of movement. A clear example is the guardianship system, implemented by the Saudi government, which requires women to have their male guardian’s permission before undertaking basic activities such as travelling, seeking employment, or health care access.

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

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COVID-19: How the Pandemic used by GCC Governments to Double Down on Human Rights Violations

The COVID-19 has infected millions of people around the world and has compelled governments to take extraordinary measures to combat its spread across the population. However, these actions pose a risk of infringing upon international human rights law standards, even if COVID-19 poses a significant threat to public health.

Declaring a state of emergency can be one method in which governments can quickly respond to the immediate crisis. This is where state constitutions allow for the executive power to take extraordinary measures in exceptional situations much more quickly, such as in the current health crisis, without having to go through all the stages that make up the normal decision-making process. Although declaring a state of emergency is not inherently illegal, it is evident that a number of governments around the world are using this constitutional tool to severely restrict fundamental freedoms, such as freedom of information, expression, assembly and association. In reality, many measures that were imposed with the pretext of combatting COVID-19 are in fact being used as an excuse to oppress government opposition.

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


** GCC in the Wire
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** - UN forced to cut aid to Yemen, even as virus increases need ([link removed])
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Aid organizations are making an urgent plea for funding to shore up their operations in war-torn Yemen, saying they have already been forced to stop some of their work even as the coronavirus rips through the country.



** - 'Saudi game of thrones': pressure grows to release jailed prince ([link removed])
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A $2 million US lobbying effort and petitions from European lawmakers are piling pressure on Saudi Arabia to release a philanthropist prince jailed for two years without charge amid an intensifying royal crackdown.


** - Deadlock as Qatar embargo marks three-year anniversary ([link removed])
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A bitter feud between Qatar and a Saudi-led alliance drags into a fourth year on Friday with no end in sight.


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



** - ([link removed]) Child ([link removed]) labour ([link removed]) , marriages on ([link removed]) rise ([link removed]) in Yemen as COVID spreads - UN agency ([link removed])
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The U.N. refugee agency said on Tuesday its work in Yemen was near a “potential breaking point” as coronavirus spreads in the war-damaged country, with rising numbers of families resorting to begging, child labour and marrying of children. Around 80 per cent of Yemen’s malnourished population relies on humanitarian assistance, making it the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis even before coronavirus.


** - Qatar halts all commercial activities until ([link removed]) end ([link removed]) of May ([link removed])
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Qatar tightened restrictions on commercial activities on Monday, ordering all shops to close until the end of the month as part of measures to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus.
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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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