ADHRB Weekly Newsletter #379
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** Bahrain
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ADHRB marks International Human Rights Day by highlighting deteriorating rights amidst COVID-19
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On 10 December, we will observe International Human Rights Day in commemoration of the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. This year, International Human Rights Day will focus on the COVID-19 pandemic and “the need to build back better by ensuring Human Rights are central to recovery efforts.”
In Bahrain, the human rights situation has continued to worsen. Human rights defenders continue to be targeted by the State, including Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja and Naji Fateel, who are serving lengthy sentences in prisons where torture and ill-treatment remain prevalent.
Indeed, Bahrain’s prisons remain overcrowded and unsanitary, with political prisoners routinely subjected to medical negligence in violation of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, also known as the Mandela Rules. Political prisoners and human rights defenders are consistently and punitively denied adequate medical care for chronic conditions, a practice condemned by four UN Special Rapporteurs in September 2019 and eight UN Special Rapporteurs in November 2019.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has highlighted the increased vulnerability of prison populations amid the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Under such circumstances, systematic medical neglect is placing the lives of aging political prisoners, many of whom suffer from underlying health conditions, at heightened risk. Hassan Mushaima, a 72-year old opposition leader who is in remission from cancer and suffers from multiple chronic health problems including diabetes, has seen his health significantly deteriorate over the last few weeks as a result of the sustained neglect of his health.
Read the full article here ([link removed])
** Profile in Persecution
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Ahmed Jameel Abdulla
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Ahmed Jameel Abdulla was a 23-year-old employee at the Fun City game store when he was arbitrarily arrested by the Bahraini authorities on 3 November 2019. During his detention, he was subjected to several human rights violations. Ahmed is currently detained at the Dry Dock Detention Center, and he will soon be transferred to Jau Prison.
At dawn on 3 November 2019, armed special forces, masked officers in civilian clothes, as well as officers from the Ministry of Interior (MOI) stormed the farm where Ahmed was present, without presenting any arrest warrant. Then, they confiscated the identity cards of all the individuals that were present in the farm and took Ahmed to an unknown location after identifying him, where they asked Ahmed in the car about terrorist actions, which he denied having any relation with. Even though they told him that they knew he is not involved in terrorism, they asked him about what he was doing years ago and what he is planning on doing in the future. They yelled at Ahmed and threatened him to confess to the charges that they asked about, but he refused to do so.
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** Around the Gulf
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Event: Peace and Human Rights in the Gulf Region
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On 10 December 2020, the International Peace Bureau (IPB) hosted a webinar on ‘Peace and Human Rights issues in the Gulf Region’. The event had four speakers in total: Husain Abdulla, Executive Director of ADHRB, Bahrain; Sarah Leah Whitson, Dr. Saeed al-Shehabi, and Yasmine Taeb; and was chaired by Amela Skiljan, IPB Coordinator, Germany. Skiljan opened the discussion by introducing both herself and the speakers, and outlined the schedule for the event.
Husain Abdulla, the founder and Executive Director of ADHRB, delivered the opening remarks and briefly discussed several serious issues that are ongoing in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. He specifically spoke about the culture of impunity in the Gulf, the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, and the collapse of the Iran deal. Regarding the increasing culture of impunity, Abdulla discussed the free pass given to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and United Arab Emirates by the Trump administration for human rights violations that they would be convicted for in any fair or international court system–most notably the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi. He also touched upon the rampant restriction of freedom of expression, freedom of speech, and freedom of association over the past four years. Abdulla outlined the war crimes committed in Yemen during the Trump administration–bombing civilians, schools, hospitals, weddings, etc.–as well as the continuation of arms sales by the United States. In
regards to the collapse of the Iran deal, Abdulla highlighted that the United States withdrawing was a threat to peace in the region, created futher instability, and endangered any kind of diplomatic cooperation. He expressed modest hope for the incoming Biden administration, but stressed that Biden’s record is not perfect–he championed the crime bill during the Clinton administration, and voted in favor of the Iraq war, to name a couple of examples.
Read the full article here ([link removed])
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Joint statement: ICJHR and 8 international organisations call for the release of prominent human rights defender Dr. Mohammed Al-Roken
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(GENEVA) On Human Rights day which is observed every year on 10 December, the International Center for Justice and Human Rights (ICJHR), in conjunction with a coalition of 8 NGOs, called on the UAE authorities to immediately release human rights defender and lawyer Dr. Mohammed Al-Roken.
Eight years have passed since Dr. Mohamed Al-Roken was arrested and convicted by the Federal Supreme Court to 10 years imprisonment, with additional administrative control measures, in an unfair trial and forbade him from practicing his profession as a lawyer, and his enforced disappearance, torture and ill-treatment was never investigated. On November 22, 2013, the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued a position confirming the arbitrary nature of the detention of Dr. Al-Roken and 60 other defendants in the “UAE 94” trial.
The signatories expressed their deep concerns at the continued arbitrary and unlawful detention of Dr. Al-Roken who has been in UAE jails since 2012 and his health conditions in light of the Corona pandemic.
Read the full article here ([link removed])
** GCC in the Wire
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- Saudi Court Jails Saudi-American Doctor Despite U.S. Pressure (New York Times) ([link removed])
BEIRUT, Lebanon — A Saudi court sentenced a prominent Saudi-American doctor to six years in prison on Tuesday despite pressure from the Trump administration to drop the charges against him and allow him and his family to travel.
- Bahrain is the second country to approve a Chinese vaccine, and other news around the world. (New York Times) ([link removed])
Bahrain said on Sunday that it had approved the use of a Chinese vaccine against the coronavirus, after the United Arab Emirates became the first government to do so on Wednesday.
- U.S. Senate defeats effort to block Trump-backed drone sale to UAE (Reuters) ([link removed])
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Wednesday defeated an effort to block the Trump administration’s plan to sell billions of dollars worth of Reaper drones to the United Arab Emirates.
- UAE sees 'seeds of progress; on Gulf row, says envoy to U.S. (Reuters) ([link removed])
DUBAI (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates’ ambassador to Washington said there were “seeds of progress” in resolving a long-running Gulf Arab row and a commitment to “tone things down” as the parties work for a solution to end the rift with neighbouring Qatar.
- F1 star Hamilton vows to fight to improve human rights (AP) ([link removed])
World champion Lewis Hamilton vowed not to ignore pleas to improve human rights in Bahrain and other countries where Formula One hosts races, after reading letters from alleged torture survivors and being sent a drawing from the young son of a Bahraini man on death row.
- External source’ causes oil tanker blast off Saudi Arabia (AP) ([link removed])
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An oil tanker off Saudi Arabia’s port city of Jiddah suffered an explosion early Monday after being hit by “an external source,” a shipping company said, suggesting another vessel has come under attack off the kingdom amid its yearslong war in Yemen.
- Record number of journalists imprisoned in 2020: CPJ (Al Jazeera) ([link removed])
A record number of journalists were behind bars this year, a US-based watchdog said, accusing governments worldwide of suppressing the media and increasing misinformation amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
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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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