ADHRB Weekly Newsletter #357
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** Bahrain
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Three Conferences Highlighted the Ongoing Systematic Human Rights Violations in Bahrain
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This week, Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) had the pleasure of participating in three online events; (1) International Day in Support of Victims of Torture in Bahrain, (2) Online Side Event During the 44 th session of the UN HRC; (3) Deepening Political and Human Rights Crisis in Bahrain. A wide range of issues were addressed during these conferences: yet a constant element that remained was the worsening oppression of the Bahraini civil society perpetrated and exacerbated by the Bahraini government during recent times.

The first event, the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture in Bahrain, was hosted by the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) and ADHRB. The panel was moderated by Josie Thum, representative for BIRD. Panelists included; Joe Stork, Deputy Director of Middle East and North Africa at Human Rights Watch; Ali Abdulemam, Bahraini Human Rights Defender, Blogger and founder of Bahrain Online and contributor to Global Voices as well as; Maya Oppenheim, Women’s Correspondent and Journalist at the Independent. Surprise panelist was Ebtisam al-Saegh, a frontline human rights defender in Bahrain.


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




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** Profile in Persecution
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Ahmed Mohamed Abdulla
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Ahmed was a 22-year-old recent graduate who was looking for a job when he was arrested in 2015 without a warrant. Ahmed was subjected to enforced disappearance, interrogated without a lawyer, tortured, and convicted in an unfair trial. He has been the victim of many human rights violations, and his confession has been broadcasted on TV. Today he remains in the Jau Central Prison where authorities have denied him access to healthcare.

On 8 May 2015, while he was sitting near his house with his friends, police forces and armed individuals in civilian clothing arrived in five cars and police jeeps, surrounded the place, aimed their weapons at Ahmed, and then arrested him. Ahmed’s house had already previously been raided and searched several times by civilian and armed forces, and they had tried to arrest him without presenting any warrant. Ahmed’s warrantless arrest was filmed with a video camera. After the arrest, Ahmed’s family received a call informing them that their son was at the Criminal Investigation Directorate (CID); the call was then disconnected.

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


** ADHRB at the UN
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Kuwait: End Systematic Discrimination against the Stateless “Bidoon”
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On 17 July 2020, ADHRB has delivered an oral intervention at the United Nation Human Rights Council session 44 during Kuwait UPR.

Watch the video and read the full statement here. ([link removed])

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ADHRB Raises Women Rights and Statelessness During Kuwait’s UPR at the Human Rights Council
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On 17 July 2020, ADHRB has delivered an oral intervention at the United Nation Human Rights Council session 44 during Kuwait UPR.

Watch the video and read the full statement here. ([link removed])
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During Kuwait’s UPR: End Systematic Human Rights Violations Against the Bidoon
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On 17 July 2020, ADHRB has delivered an oral intervention at the United Nation Human Rights Council session 44 during Kuwait UPR.

Watch the video and read the full statement here. ([link removed])
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During Spain’s UPR: ADHRB Raises Spain’s Role in Possible War Crimes Committed in Yemen
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On 16 July 2020, ADHRB has delivered an oral intervention at the United Nation Human Rights Council session 44 during Spain UPR .

Watch the video and read the full statement here. ([link removed])
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At HRC 44: ADHRB’s raises concerns about OHCHR technical cooperations programs and the situation of prisoners of conscious in Bahrain
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On 15 July 2020, ADHRB has delivered an oral intervention at the United Nation Human Rights Council session 44 under the annual panel on Technical cooperation.

Watch the video and read the full statement here. ([link removed])
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** Around the Gulf
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** Bidoon: Being Stateless in Kuwait
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Bidoon (shortened from the term Bidoon jinsiyya and meaning “without nationality” in Arabic) are stateless minorities in Kuwait who, despite being long-term inhabitants of the country, have been systematically denied Kuwaiti citizenship. The government of Kuwait classifies Bidoon as “illegal residents,” though they do not hold any alternative connection to another country. Following decades of suppression, Bidoon are confronted with significant difficulties when attempting to obtain civil documents, education and employment status, healthcare and social services, as well as encountering difficulties with marriage rights and passing their nationality to their children. Despite these struggles, their experience has been largely met with silence from the international community.

The majority of Bidoon came from nomadic tribes native to the Arabian peninsula, and established themselves in Kuwait in 1961 when the country gained independence. However, many Bidoon were unable to register as citizens – thus rendering them as stateless. This was due to legislation set out in the 1959 Nationality Law, where they were subsequently denied citizenship and the privileges that the status afforded to Kuwait’s non-bidoon citizens. Additionally, in 1991 during the Iraqi invasion, some Bidoon sided with Iraq and were consequently rejected from Kuwaiti society, further stoking ongoing national prejudice that was held against them. An estimated one third of the population of Kuwait was previously classified as Bidoon, with the government of Kuwait recently asserting there to be “over 100,000” Bidoon in the country in 2014. Today, there are thought to be as many as 500,000 people recorded as stateless across the Gulf region in total. Yet official numbers of the Bidoon in Kuwait are
difficult to ascertain. Some activists claim official Kuwaiti government statistics on the matter are whitewashed, estimating the true number of Bidoon in the country to be nearer 240,000.

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


** GCC in the Wire
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** - IMF did not recommend Saudi Arabia VAT tripling, official says (Reuters) ([link removed])
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The International Monetary Fund did not recommend the decision taken by Saudi Arabia to triple value-added tax this month, an official said, cautioning against increasing consumption taxes in the Middle East amid the coronavirus-driven downturn.


** - Tanker off Yemen risks spilling four times as much oil as Exxon Valdez- U.N (Reuters) ([link removed])
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If action is not taken to deal with a deteriorating oil tanker stranded off the coast of war-torn Yemen there is a risk it could spill four times as much oil as the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster near Alaska, the United Nations warned on Wednesday.


** - Saudi King Salman, 84, admitted to hospital (Reuters) ([link removed])
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Saudi Arabia’s 84-year-old ruler, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, has been admitted to hospital in the capital Riyadh, suffering from inflammation of the gall bladder, state news agency SPA said on Monday.


** - Saudi social media campaign targets former crown prince ([link removed]) (Reuters) ([link removed]) . ([link removed])
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Saudi Twitter users have sent thousands of tweets accusing the kingdom’s former crown prince and his long-time aide of corruption, in what two Saudi sources said was a campaign to discredit him ahead of a possible indictment, as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman moves to sideline rivals to the throne.


** - Qatar State Minister for Defence meets with Turkish Defense Minister and Lybia`s Minister of Interior(NYtimes) ([link removed])
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Qatar's state minister for defense affairs met on Monday with the Turkish defense minister and Libya's minister of interior to discuss the latest developments in Libya, Qatar's ministry of defense said on Twitter


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- ([link removed]) Fears in India as Kuwait looks to cap migrant worker numbers ([link removed]) (Reuters) ([link removed])

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With no job or savings, Indian electrician Shibho Clemance had hoped to return to work in Kuwait until he learned of a proposal to drastically cut on migrants in the country
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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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