ADHRB Weekly Newsletter #430
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** Bahrain
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** Report: Women’s rights in Bahrain… Postponed Dreams
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This year, it will be fourteen years since the initial launch ([link removed]) of Bahraini Women’s Day, a national occasion aimed at celebrating the progress of women’s rights and increased freedom in Bahrain. Despite the whitewashing by government institutions concerned with women’s rights such as the Supreme Council for Women, in reality, legislation remains discriminatory and fails to address urgent reform. For instance, the Penal Code still permits the rapist to escape criminal charges if he marries the victim, and gender discrimination can also be observed within the same family and in nationality laws. Also, many Bahraini mothers are not able to grant citizenship to their children, rendering many children stateless, with none of them enjoying basic rights. Additionally, gendered wage inequality persists in the public and private sectors, and women’s rights
are still restricted in terms of their political participation. This reality prevails despite the Kingdom of Bahrain’s ratification of a number of agreements to protect women’s rights, in particular the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the Universal Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.


In this report, Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) will attempt to show the current reality of women’s rights in Bahrain, which contradicts Bahrain’s commitment to and ratification of international treaties and conventions, and we will highlight the gaps surrounding local legislation and laws, presenting the reality of violence against women in Bahrain.


Read the full article here ([link removed])


** The UAE
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** Joint statement on the UAE’s adoption of Federal Decree Law No. 34 of 2021 on Combatting Rumours and Cybercrime
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24 January 2022 – We, the undersigned organisations, are writing ([link removed]) to express our deep concern regarding the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) recent adoption of a new Law on Combatting Rumours and Cybercrime ([link removed]) , which severely threatens and unduly restricts the right to freedom of expression (both online and offline) and the rights to freedom of association
and of peaceful assembly in the UAE.

The new Cybercrime Law, adopted by Federal Decree Law No. 34 of 2021, went into effect on January 2, 2022, replacing the Emirates’ former Federal Law No. 5 of 2012 on Combatting Cybercrime ([link removed]) . However, the new text does not address the problematic provisions of its predecessor and, on the contrary, further restricts civic space and free speech within the UAE and maintains the criminalisation of acts that are protected under international law.

We are concerned that the overbroad and vague terminology used, particularly on “national security” related issues, provide the authorities with excessive discretion to criminalise and impose lengthy prison sentences on individuals exercising their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. The law further enables the criminalisation of the work of journalists, whistleblowers, activists and peaceful critics, subjecting those engaged in lawful activities to harsh prison sentences and excessive fines. As such, we call on the Emirati authorities to immediately repeal the law or sufficiently amend its provisions so that it is brought into line with international human rights standards.

Read the full article here ([link removed])


** Profile in Persecution
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** Habib Ali AlFardan
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**
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Habib Ali AlFardan was a 30-year-old Bahraini shop owner from Sar, who had undergone brain tumor removal less than four months before his arrest in 2015 after his house was raided at dawn. After being forcibly disappeared and tortured, Habib was convicted in an unfair trials. He is currently serving his sentence in Jau Prison.

On 12 May 2015, Habib’s house in Sar village was raided at 4 a.m. by over a dozen officers in civilian clothing and only two police officers. They started searching the place, confiscating personal items and money. Habib was interrogated alone in the bedroom, while his wife and daughter were interrogated in the lounge. The search lasted two hours, and his car was also confiscated. The apartment was raided again in the afternoon on the same day; the search lasted a long time, and many of Habib and his family members’ personal belongings were confiscated. The searches and arrest took place without any warrant being presented.

Habib was subjected to enforced disappearance for 12 days, during which time his family was looking for him, while both the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) and the Dry Dock Detention Center were providing them with false information, until Habib contacted them and stated that he was at the CID. The family submitted a request to the Public Prosecution in order to visit Habib at the CID, but they were able to visit him two days later at the Dry Dock Detention Center.

Read the full article here ([link removed])

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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])
.

Copyright © 2017 ADHRB, All rights reserved.
Contact us at: ** [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

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