ADHRB Weekly Newsletter #397
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** Bahrain
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** Three Belgian Parliamentarians Raise Concerns About Human Rights and COVID-19 Situation in Bahrain
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On May 4, 2021, Belgian Parliamentarians Samuel Cogolati and Fançois de Smet jointly posed questions regarding the situation in Bahraini prisons and the outbreak of COVID-19 in Bahraini prisons. This follows the written questions posed by Member of Parliament Sabine de Bethune, on May 3, 2021.

Written Questions Posed by MP Sabine de Bethune

MP submitted four written questions requesting to know whether Belgium has urged the Bahraini authorities to end all forms of violence and intimidation against human rights defenders and political activists; reintroduce the moratorium on the death penalty; request the immediate and unconditional release of activists detained on charges related to freedom of expression; provide prisoners access to medical care.

The justification for these written questions was categorized as “these constitutional freedoms concern both the federal and the community levels.”

The translated text of these questions is below. Translations were done by ADHRB staff.

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** Profile in Persecution
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** Mohsen Ebrahim AlMajed
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Mohsen Ebrahim AlMajed, unemployed, was 27 years old when he was arrested in Isa Town. Since his arrest, Mohsen has been subjected to torture and medical negligence which affected his health. Until today, the conditions behind his deteriorating health are still unknown. He is currently held at Jau Prison.

On 14 December 2014, officers in civilian clothing and officers from the Ministry of Interior arrested Mohsen at a house in Isa Town after the Intelligence Services tracked and followed him. They did not send him an arrest warrant or inform him of the judgments issued against him, and they failed to mention the reasons behind his arrest when it took place. During his arrest, Mohsen was subjected to torture and beating.

While detained, Mohsen was forcibly disappeared for 9 days. Later, his family found out he was at the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID). At the CID in Adliya, Mohsen was subjected to different forms of torture. He was undressed and hung by his legs, beaten with a board of firewood with nails, whips, and batons, burnt with cigarette buds, threatened with electrocution, sexual assault, and rape, forced to stand for long hours, and deprived of sleep and use of the bathroom. On 17 December 2014, he was taken to the Public Prosecutor’s Office (PPO) where he was blackmailed into signing the case papers. On 24 December 2014, he was taken to a medical examination at Al Qala’ Hospital clinic where it was found that he sustained injuries from shotgun pellets in his leg, in addition to suffering from a broken right ear, epilepsy, delirium, and traces of nail holes and cigarette burns on his body. On the same day, he was also finally able to meet his family.

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** GCC in the Wire
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- Prominent female Saudi activist summoned in relation to case (Associated Press) ([link removed])
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s most prominent women’s rights activist was summoned by security officials on Sunday and informed of a supreme court decision that ultimately upholds her initial conviction, relatives told The Associated Press.

- Qatar finance minister arrested over embezzlement allegations (Reuters) ([link removed])
Qatar Finance Minister Ali Sherif al-Emadi was arrested over embezzlement allegations and stripped of his duties, officials said on Thursday.
In a statement carried by state news agency QNA, the public prosecutor said Emadi was being questioned over allegations of embezzlement, abuse of power and crimes related to the public sector. An investigation was underway.

- Saudi Arabia considers barring overseas haj pilgrims for second year, sources say (Reuters) ([link removed])
Saudi Arabia is considering barring overseas pilgrims from the annual haj for the second year running as COVID-19 cases rise globally and worries grow about the emergence of new variants, two sources familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

- Rights groups slam UAE official’s Interpol president candidacy (AlJazeera) ([link removed])
The candidacy of a United Arab Emirates official for president of Interpol could jeopardise the credibility of the global police organisation’s commitment to human rights, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) have said.

- UK academic Matthew Hedges seeks damages from UAE officials (AlJazeera) ([link removed])
A British academic who was jailed on espionage charges by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has launched civil proceedings in a UK court against four senior Emirati officials, according to his lawyers.

- US legislators call on Biden to help raise funds for Yemen (AlJazeera) ([link removed])
A group of influential United States legislators is calling on the Biden administration to help raise $2.5bn in aid for Yemenis suffering amid what they described as “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis”.

- Coronavirus and aid cuts: Yemen faces 'two disasters at once' (MiddleEastEye) ([link removed])
“It is very difficult to face two disasters at once," Ahmed al-Matari, a Sanaa labourer said, as Yemenis in the war-torn country braced for a likely spread of the novel coronavirus. "We have been thinking how to face the shortage of food aid and we may not find enough food, but to hear that coronavirus has hit Yemen, that's very difficult."
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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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