ADHRB Weekly Newsletter #354
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** Bahrain
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Panel Event – International Day in Support of Victims of Torture
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On 29 June 2020, over 100 people joined BIRD and Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain for a virtual eventmarking International Day in Support for the Victims of Torture, featuring a panel of speakers including Human Rights Watch’s Joe Stork, award-winning Bahraini blogger, activist and torture survivor Ali Abdulemam, prominent Bahraini human rights defender and former political prisoner Ebtisam AlSaegh and The Independent’s Women’s Editor, Maya Oppenheim.

Moderating the event was Josie Thum, Research & Advocacy Fellow at BIRD, who opened the event with an overview of the central position of torture in Bahrain’s judicial system, the use of coerced confessions in death penalty cases and the ongoing scourge of medical negligence in Bahraini detention centres. She also pointed to some of the more positive work being done, including recent efforts by UK parliamentarians to secure justice for torture victims in the Gulf.

A voice recorded message from political prisoner and rights activist Ali AlHajee was also shared with the virtual audience. Ali discussed his experience in Bahrain’s Jau Prison, where he has been subjected to torture and denial of medical care for seven years, expressed his solidarity with other political prisoners and torture victims and called on Bahrain to put an end to torture and secure justice for all victims.

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


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Death Sentence Upheld for Two Bahraini Torture Victims: Zuhair Ibrahim Jasim Abdullah and Husain Abdulla Khalil Rashid
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Zuhair Ibrahim Jasim Abdullah, a 40-year-old former restaurateur, is the father of five children and was arrested on 2 November 2017. Following his arrest, he was held for 55 days in incommunicado detention. During this period he was reportedly exposed to ill-treatment and torture, including forced nudity, electrocution, sexual harassment, and beatings. During Zuhair’s detention, his wife was also separately beaten in her home and threatened at gunpoint and with rape by Bahraini officers. After 13 days of this ongoing ill-treatment in detention, Zuhair signed a forced confession obtained under torture admitting to several charges, which allegedly happened between 2012 and 2017. Some of these inadmissible charges as obtained under torture, were the membership to a terrorist organization, participating in the murder of security forces, and making and detonating explosives.

Although Zuhair’s lawyer stated that no physical evidence was presented to link him to the crimes, Zuhair was sentenced to death and stripped of his citizenship on 29 November 2018 in a grossly unfair trial. The judge refused to issue a court order permitting the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) and the Ministry of Interior Ombudsman, two oversight bodies, to disclose their findings of the investigation into the torture allegation of Zuhair. While Zuhair’s citizenship was reinstated on 15 June 2020, the death sentence was upheld by Bahrain’s highest appeals court.
Read the full article here. ([link removed])

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** Bahraini Rights Group Mark the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture In Bahrain
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On 26th June, the United Nations will observe International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, raising awareness about the continued scourge of torture throughout the world. On this solemn day, Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB ([link removed]) ) and the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD ([link removed]) ) stand in solidarity with torture survivors and call upon the international community to work to put an end to the systematic use of torture in Bahrain and the culture of impunity which prevails in the country.

Despite supposedly committing to reforms, Bahrain’s human rights record has continued to deteriorate in recent years. In 2017, the UN Committee Against Torture (CAT) strongly criticised the systematic abuse of individuals held in police custody, but three years later torture remains deeply ingrained in the Bahraini justice system and abuses are widely and consistently reported across detention centres.

Bahrain’s judiciary continues to rely heavily on coerced confessions to prosecute defendants and perpetrators of abuses have seldom been held accountable. As Human Rights Watch has noted, the few prosecutions that have been pursued against Bahraini officers accused of human rights abuses have “almost exclusively involved low-ranking officers and have – without exception – resulted in acquittals or disproportionately light sentences.” Furthermore, local human rights oversight bodies frequently lauded by Bahrain’s Western allies have consistently failed to obtain justice for victims and are widely accused of failing to investigate or actively covering up abuses.

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


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** Football Club Takeover by Bahraini Royal Family: Warned a ‘whitewash’ by Spanish MP Adelante
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On the 26 June 2020, Spanish political party Adelante released a public statement concerning the Bahraini Royal Family purchase of ([link removed]) Spanish football club, Córdoba FC. Luzmarina Dorado, Member of Parliament for Adelante Andalucía for Córdoba, warned that the Bahraini Royal Family intends to use the purchase as a means to strengthen its public image so as to distract international scrutiny away from its human rights violations.

In the statement, due regard is paid to Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and ADHRB’s condemnation of the Bahraini ruling family’s atrocities. This includes the denunciations of the ‘repression and arbitrary persecution that has been carried out in Bahrain against activists, peaceful opponents of the regime and human rights defenders for having exercised their freedom of expression, condemned torture or participated in anti-government protests since the Arab Spring and the pro-democracy protests of 2011.’

Dorado highlighted the involvement of the two Bahraini princes in the acquisition of the Còrdoba FC. “the Crown Prince, Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, who controls Infinity and is considered the ‘financial mastermind’ of the operation, and his younger brother, Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa”. In the statement, the Spanish MP stressed the serious accusations against Nasser of having persecuted, publicly threatened and personally tortured athletes who opposed the regime. The events she refers to follow the repression of the 2011 pro-democracy movement in Bahrain. In fact, in 2011, Nasser publicly stated on television that “those who call for the fall of the regime, a wall will fall on their heads. Anyone who is involved in this matter and their support networks will be punished. Be an athlete, an activist or a politician. Bahrain is an island and there is no escape”.

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


** Profile in Persecution
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Kameel Juma Hasan
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Kameel Hasan was a 16-year-old high school student when he was arrested in December 2019. Bahraini authorities targeted Kameel as a form of reprisal against his mother, Bahraini activist Najah Yusuf ([link removed]) , who is a former prisoner of conscience who had been released in August 2019. He had been targeted since 23 April 2017 when he was accompanying his mother to the Security Complex which falls under the National Security Agency; he was questioned, and his mother was threatened with arresting or killing Kameel. After being arbitrarily detained, Kameel was convicted and imprisoned following unfair trials. He is currently in the New Dry Dock Prison, reserved for inmates under the age of 21.

On 30 December 2019, Kameel’s father received a phone call from the Nabih Saleh police station, who summoned his son. Upon Kameel’s request and decision, Kameel’s father turned him in to the police the next day, on 31 December 2019. Before he was turned in, Kameel’s house had been raided repeatedly, and he had been chased down the street various times. Kameel was wanted for political reasons; it is considered that he was targeted due to his mother’s activism. Indeed, Najah Yusuf had been arrested in 2017 for criticizing Bahrain’s hosting of Formula 1 amidst the worsening human rights violations. She was arbitrarily detained – as declared ([link removed]) by the WGAD – and tortured. She was subsequently released on 10 August 2019 due to international pressure. On the day of her release, Kameel was chased down the street following a failed trap set for
him by authorities, and he was questioned about his mother’s activity on social media during interrogation.


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


** ADHRB at the UN
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** At HRC44, ADHRB actively engages with the Council
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The Human Rights Council 44^th session starts its work on 30 June. ADHRB will actively participate to and monitor the HRC 44^th session, raising awareness and demanding concrete and decisive actions to be taken by the Council against the human rights violations that are routinely committed in Bahrain and in other GCC countries. The ADHRB’s team will particularly engage with the Council by delivering several oral interventions during the Council’s interactive dialogues.



** Around the Gulf
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** Partners in Crime : How the Italian Banking and Weapons Industry Work Together to Perpetuate the Yemeni Conflict
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Over the last 15 years, Italian arms export production has increased to account for 1.4% of Italian GDP – further fueling ongoing armed conflicts happening worldwide. According to the Trends in International Arms Transfers submitted by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Italy remains as one of the top 10 countries that export arms to countries such as Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Bahrain. Between the years 2014 to 2015, the Italian arms trade ballooned by 200% and specifical exports to Saudi Arabia had increased by 58% just over the course of one year. In addition, exports to Bahrain rose from 24 to 54 million euros, an increase of 125%.

Find here the Table ([link removed]) of Italian arms export in 2019 in million Euros

National and international legislative framework

Over the past few years, Italy has failed to comply with national and international legislation concerning arms exports to high-risk areas such as the Arab Gulf. The first national law that concerned the restriction of weapons to states that employ their use to defy international and human rights law was in 1990. According to Law 185 (modified in 2003), the export of weapons and military equipment is authorised by the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Finance. The law establishes in art. 1 condition of the restriction and ban of the export of weapons; specifically in subsection 6 it lists the prohibitions the arms industry has to abide by in order to trade these weapons. Furthermore, the conditions include the prohibition of the export of military supplies to countries with ongoing armed conflict; to countries whose policies are against art. 11 of the Italian Constitution; to countries which have been the object of the total or partial embargo of
military supplies from the UN or the EU; to countries whose governments have been responsible for violations of International Conventions in the area of human rights, verified and condemned by bodies of the UN, EU or the Council of Europe.

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


** GCC in the Wire
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** - Clashes between Yemen’s gov’t, separatists mar ceasefire (AP) ([link removed])
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Fierce fighting continued in southern Yemen between Emirati-backed separatists and the country’s internationally recognized government Thursday, security officials said, a blow to the Saudi-led coalition’s declared ceasefire between the factions.


** - UAE suspends receiving passengers from Pakistan as of June 29 over COVID fears (Reuters) ([link removed])
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The United Arab Emirates will not receive passengers coming from Pakistan as of June 29 until a special COVID-19 lab is set up to test them, the civil aviation authority said on Sunday.


** - Saudi Arabia says it forces three Iranian boats out of its waters (Reuters) ([link removed])
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Saudi Arabia forced three Iranian boats to retreat from its waters on Thursday after firing warning shots, a spokesman for Saudi border guards said on Saturday.


** - More Yemeni children face malnourishment amid aid shortage, coronavirus: UNICEF (Reuters) ([link removed])
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The number of malnourished children in Yemen could rise to 2.4 million by the end of the year due to a big shortfall in humanitarian funding, the United Nations children’s agency UNICEF said on Friday.


** - Qualifying congestion affects draw plans for 2022 World Cup (AP) ([link removed])
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The tournament draw for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar could be made before the 32-team lineup is complete, or be delayed for two months after FIFA rescheduled a qualifying playoff on Thursday.


** - Saudi Arabia Drastically Limits Hajj Pilgrimage to Prevent Viral Spread (NYtimes) ([link removed])
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Every year, Saudi Arabia welcomes millions of Muslims from around the world for the hajj pilgrimage, a sacred rite that pumps cash into the economy and enhances the prestige of the monarch. But, this year, the kingdom said only “very limited numbers” of pilgrims could perform the hajj this year, with only Saudis and foreign nationals already in the kingdom allowed to take part.
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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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Contact us at: ** info@adhrb.org (mailto:info@adhrb.org)

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