Arrests and Injuries lumber Bahrain in 2015

10th April 2015

The Liberties and Human Rights Department's 2015 First Quarter Report

Politically motivated jail terms exceed 2800 years

Arrests and Injuries lumber Bahrain in 2015 Violations perpetrated by Bahraini Authorities in first quarter of 2015 Jan

Feb

Mar

1002 877

378 195

258

294 200

258 172

163 43

arbitrary arrests

excessive force/injuries

203 193

61 59 torture and mistreatment

812

441 203

25 30 31 illegal raids

vandalism of property

collective punishment

sporadic protests

Introduction: Failure to hide the truth After the UN backed Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry issued its report in November 2011, the Bahraini Authority have been making significant efforts to whitewash their damned reputation in the eyes of the international community and international human rights organizations. For this, it used foreign friends and Public Relations firms. The Authority continued with this even as the opposition societies took a decision to boycott the legislative and municipal elections in 22nd November 2014. Indications of the Authority's respect of human rights have fallen even further as it banned the opposition societies from organizing peaceful rallies. Moreover, it banned Al Wefaq Society from holding its General Conference on December 4th, 2014, before it finally allowed it on the 26th of the same month. However, on the very next day, the Secretary General of Al Wefaq, Sheikh Ali Salman, was summoned then taken into detention on the 28th of December 2014.

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From January till March 2015, the Liberties and Human Rights Department (LHRD) saw that the Authority continued to ban peaceful marches and events led by the opposition societies. Meanwhile, the top opposition leader, Sheikh Ali Salman, remained in detention. Also, in the defined period of documentation, over 1600 inmates in the Jaw Prison were subjected to torture and degrading and cruel treatment. These inmates were deprived from their fundamental human rights. Security forces fired tear gas canisters in a number of wards in the prison's buildings. Many prisoners were beaten with batons on the head and other parts of the body. They were also forced to stay outside the buildings, they were humiliated and deprived toilet access, family phone calls and visits and prayer. Furthermore, the Authorities in Bahrain have arrested hundreds of citizens with cases related to the political crises in the country, including political activists and human rights defenders like: Sayed Jameel Kadhim-chairman of Al Wefaq Shura (consultative) Council as well as the Council's member Mahdi Alekri. Hussain Jawad Parweez, President of the European-Bahraini Organization for Human Rights also remains in detention. Fadhil Abbas Mahdi, a political activist and the Secretary General of the Unitary Assemblage Society was arrested after security forces raided his house. In this report, we also come across death sentences issued against three Bahraini nationals. Another sign of the deteriorating human rights situation over this period was the shutdown of AlArab Television Channel after it interviewed Khalil Almarzooq, a senior member of Al Wefaq National Islamic Society, indicating a strangling restriction on freedom of expression and opinion in Bahrain. This report highlights the main human rights issues during the first quarter of 2015.

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First: Arbitrary arrests The Liberties and Human Rights Department documented 653 cases of arbitrary arrests between January and March of 2015. The arrests included 16 women and 119 children. The total number of arrests in January, February and March reached 195, 258 and 200, respectively According to the standards put the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the LHRD saw that most of the documnted arrests are considered to be arbitrary. The arrests were based on criminal charges with an aim to expropriate the individuals’ freedom or as a tightening measure on the practice of freedom of expression and assembly. In other cases, the LHRD saw that there was a failure to follow due process which could contribute to realising that the arrest and continued detention are implemented in line with the standards of a fair trial. Arrests documented by Al Wefaq as of first quarter of 2015 children women Total arrested 36 10 195 43 4 285 40 2 200

month Jan Feb Mar

Based on information collected by the LHRD, most arrests are carried out during raids of homes or other places. In the first quarter of 2015, the total number of raids reached 559 and led to 278 arrests. Most households told the LHRD that security forces failed to present legal permission to enter the house. A number of raids were carried out at late night hours, whilst, in 21 cases, front doors and furniture were vandalized by security forces. Other methods of arrests over the 3 months came as follows: arrests from streets summed up to 237, summonses made reached 31, arrests at the borders totaled to 26, whilst 24 were arrested in governmental institutions, 54 during home raids, 19 at checkpoints and 38 in other places.

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Methods of arrests documented by Al Wefaq as of first quarter of 2015 raids

streets

summonses

borders

gov institutions

check points

other

123 97

101

95

54 45

3

9 Jan

16

9

7

15 3 Feb

4

6

12

19

13 14 4

4

Mar

Special cases Case number 1: Sayed Jameel Kadhim Sayed Jameel Kadhim (51 years old, Bilad Al-Qadeem) is a political activists who is currently heading the Al Wefaq Shura Council, a monitoring body in the Al Wefaq Society. He is also a former member of parliament. Kadhim uses his Twitter account to post his political opinions and criticism of the political system to thousands of followers. On 14th January 2015, Kadhim was arrested outside Al Wefaq headquarters. The arrest followed the lower criminal court’s decision to sentence the activist to 6 months in prison with a fine of 500 Bahraini dinars (around $1,300). The court accused him spreading false news in attempt to influence the results of the elections. Kadhim had posted a tweet about “political bribery”1 in the parliamentary election whilst the opposition societies boycotted it. Before Kadhim’s arrest, his lawyer issued a report in which he said the case is malicious and the law has been used for political purposes and restrictions of freedom of opinion.”1 on 21st December 2014. The lawyer also stressed that it is up to the citizen to use his right to vote or not and that every political association must have right to mobilize for participation or boycott, adding, this is not considered a distortion of the elections nor can it be considered an influence on the freedom of voters. Kadhim’s lawyer mentioned that his client told the court that his tweet about political bribery was based on an incident he told about where an individual was offered better financial and social status in return for running for the parliamentary elections. The Public Prosecution Office called in both individuals involved in the incident and they confirmed the offer was presented. The lawyer mentioned that his client put forward a number of tweets, press articles, lectures and symposiums made by several individuals and which clearly indicated the role of political bribery in the elections process. “Supposing any talk about political bribery is considered a crime, then why did the Public Prosecution Office accuse Kadhim and ignore 4

the others?”, the lawyer said, “this highlights the malicious targeting in the issue. Different dealing in similar conditions means that the law is being used for political purposes”. On 1st February 2015, the Court of Appeals issued a decision to release Kadhim on bail. Then, on 15th February 2015, he was arrested again after this same court issued a 6 month sentence against him.

Case number 2: Hussain Jawad Barweez Hussain Jawad Parweez, aged 27, is a prominent human rights activist and the president of the European-Bahraini Organization for Human Rights (EBOHR). His father, Mohammed Hasan Jawad Parweez, is also a political activist and a prisoner of conscience, currently serving a 15 year sentence for "plotting to topple the ruling regime". On 16th February 2015, Hussain Parweez was arrested when his home in Markuban, Sitra, was raided after midnight. Family members said security forces were backed by militants and masked men in civilian clothes. They also said the house was searched and Hussain's mobile phone and passport were confiscated. Furthermore, security forces failed to present legal permission to search the house and arrest Parweez. The family was not informed of the reasons behind the arrest nor the governmental body that ordered for it, let alone where he was being taken to. Hussain was subjected to mistreatment and physical and verbal abuse during the arrest. On 18th February 2015, Parweez was transferred to the Public Prosecution Office, however, his lawyers and family were not informed of this step. He was accused of riot and assembling and possessing Molotov cocktail bottles. Although the Prosecution Office ordered for his release he was kept in custody. After that, the Public Prosecution Office questioned him again where he was remanded in detention for 7 days. He was accused of collecting and receiving money from inside and outside the country for the purpose of financing riot groups. Parweez denied the charge in front of the judiciary, however, he confessed at the Prosecution Office out of fear of torture and mistreatment. He was coerced into confessing during his interrogation at the criminal intelligence directorate. Family members to the LHRD that Parweez was seen in the Prosecution Office in a worrying condition as he was not fully conscious of his surroundings or situation. The family then learnt from him, during a visit on 25th February 2015, that he had been subjected to assault, deprivation from sleep and he was forced to stand up for prolonged hours. Furthermore, he said he was put in a cold room with very low temperature and that he was deprived of toilet and was beaten whenever he asked to be allowed toilet access. He was also subjected to sexual abuse by touching his private parts and stripping his clothes of. He said he was threatened that even his wife would be abused. It is worth mentioning that the Public Prosecution Office has repeatedly extended Parweez's detention. His case is still being looked into by the judiciary.

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Second: torture and mistreatment During the past three months, the LHRD was able to document 413 cases of torture and degrading and cruel treatment; 85 of which occurred in January, 67 in February and 261 in March. These cases can be categorized under 4 forms of mistreatment; 183 prisoners were deprived from contacting their families, 59 cases of short-term enforced disappearance, 30 cases of deprivation of medical treatment, 71 cases of torture in addition to 35 cases that are considered to reach the level of torture. Moreover, 36 relevant various cases were documented, such as: threatening to use torture against the victim or his family members, summoning the victim to force him into spying, publishing pictures of victims in the media before their conviction, humiliating victims at checkpoints, placing prisoners in solitary confinement…etc. Special Cases: Case number 3: Ahmed Mohammed Abdulwassi Ahmed Mohammed Abdulwassi, 20, was arrested on the Hidd causeway around 8 am on 21st January 2015. He was pulled out of the car by a large number of security policemen and masked men. Ahmed was beaten with the back of their guns and kicked with boots. The beating was mostly on his head and the sensitive parts of the body, this came along with a huge amount of insults. Later, he was taken to the criminal intelligence directorate where he was subjected to torture over 18 days. Family members said that he was punched, kicked, beaten with sticks and hanged while handcuffed. He was also stripped of his clothes and raped by placing a glass bottled in his anus. He was also electrocuted and deprived from sleep and prayer in the first days of his detention and he was forced to stand up for a prolonged hours. Case number 4: Aqeel Hasan Jassim Abdulnabi Aqeel Hasan Abdulnabi, aged 31 from Aleker area, was arrested on 19th February 2012 as a hostage in return for his brother to give himself in. However, he was released on 28 th March 2012 due to suffering from Epilepsy, where the prison administration told the family that it is not responsible for the safety of Aqeel. On 19th October 2012, Abdulnabi's home was raided and he was arrested again because his brother, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the killing of a policeman, was not home. Family members told the LHRD that Aqeel is still suffering from Epilepsy and needs to take his medicine on a scheduled basis. However, the prison administration has been denying him adequate access to medicine since 2012. The prison administration does not provide his medicine at most times, and even when the medicine is available, he would not be allowed to take it at the scheduled time. When the medicine is finished, the prison administration stalls in receiving more from his family. Therefore, Aqeel has been suffering from continuous health relapses where the prison administration would take him to the Salmaniya hospital emergency unit at every time, but when his doctor requests the detainee to be admitted in hospital to receive necessary check-ups the prison would refuse. Case number 5: Hasan Nasser Alzurqi Hasan Nasser Alzurqi, aged 18 from Manama, was arrested from the Marina Club in Alqudhaibia area after a security pursuit on 21st March 2015. After his arrest, the family received a phone call of no more than 30 seconds where he told them that he was fine and that he needed clothes. When the family approached the police 6

station in the area of his residence to deliver his clothes, they were not informed of the his location nor the accusations against him. The family was finally allowed to speak to him over the phone on 17th March 2015. He was questioned by the Public Prosecution Office without the presence of his lawyer. Until the date of this report, his family has not been allowed to visit him. Third: unjustified use of force and collective punishment The LHRD has documented 2691 peaceful protests that were staged in numerous areas across Bahrain during the first quarter of 2015. Meanwhile, at least 1022 of the protests were attacked with tear gas grenades and birdshot firearms resulting in 509 injuries. The LHRD also documented one case where torture and mistreatment resulted in wounds to a prisoner, however, it was not able to reach other victims who suffered from injuries due to the same reason. It is worth mentioning that these protests end peacefully when security forces do not attack them. In some cases the protests turned into clashes between the protesters and security and military forces after the protest is attacked. According to testimonies collected by the LHRD, police attacks on protests were excessive and disproportionate to the nature of the protests. Also, the attacks widened to include homes which were rained with tear gas grenades. Whereas private properties were vandalized; the LHRD documented 65 cases of vandalism of civilian cars and home windows, another 21 cases included the vandalism of doors and furniture during raids. Security authorities banned 82 peaceful events which were to be held by the opposition parties, without presenting the reasons behind the ban. Special cases: Case number 6: Mohammed Mahdi Alsawwad-(Child) On 30th January 2015, Mohammed Mahdi Alsawwad, aged 12, from Duraz area) was fired at with birdshot to the upper part of the body. The child's family said at around 1 pm, Mohammed was playing with his relatives outside his grandparent's house which is located near the main road in Duraz area. At this time, the area saw a peaceful march which was then attacked by security forces who chased the protesters after the attack. An armored vehicle passed and fired birdshot at Mohammed at a range of less than 5 meters. The fire-shot hit him to the upper part of his body. He was then promptly taken to the Bahrain International Hospital by family members, then to the Salmaniya Medical Complex. The birdshot pellets riddled Mohammed's face and went as far as the brain, breaking tunnels through his skull. He also suffered from internal bleeding in the lungs and lost one eye. Now, he continues to be treated abroad.

Case number 7: Youth injured in Bilad Al-Qadeem On 20th January 2015, a youth was hit with birdshot to the face as security forces cracked down on peaceful protests in Bilad Al-Qadeem who were staging daily protests since December 2014 demanding to free Sheikh Ali Salman, Secretary General of Al Wefaq National Islamic Society. In a video footage (1) that was widely circulated, the youth appears to stand beside a wall after the protest was attacked. He had nothing in his hands except a picture of Sheikh Ali Salman and, there were no signals that he was imposing any form of 7

threat or danger to the security forces in the area. Then the footage shows a security officer firing a birdshot shell at him from inside a military armored vehicle, directly to the youth's face and chest. Fourth: politically-motivated cases Over the first quarter of 2015, the courts in Bahrain issued jail terms totaling to 2845 years against 337 defendants with cases of political backgrounds. The LHRD's statistics and news published in the local press made a total of 32 defendants sentenced to life in prison. Furthermore, 45 defendants were handed 15 year sentences and 56 were sentenced to 10 years in prison. In addition, 30 defendants received 7 year sentences and 73 were got 5 year sentences, 60 got 3 year sentences, 22 were handed 2 year sentences and 4 got sentences of no more than one year. The courts acquitted 11 defendants. On top of these harsh and lengthy sentences, the courts sentenced 3 Bahraini nationals to death; Abbas Jameel Alsamea, aged 25, Ali Abdulshaheed Alsingace, aged 18, and Sami Mushaima, aged 40. Number of citizens sentenced with cases of political backgrounds Less 10 15 Life Death Jail term Acquittal than 1 yr 2 yrs 3 yrs 5 yrs 7 yrs yrs yrs sentence sentence 1 yr No. of 11 2 3 22 60 73 30 56 45 32 3 citizens The trials these defendants stood saw numerous infringements of the law by denying defense teams to see the lawsuit documents and questioning prosecution witnesses. Lawyers also said the prosecutor (Public Prosecution Office) failed to present sufficient evidence against the defendants as The cases were ruled based on "secret sources". Also, the vast majority of confessions were obtained through torture, whilst the judges turned their back to the defendants when they complained of torture and even silenced them.

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Judicial rulings as published in the press, as of the first quarter of 2015 80 73

70 60

60

56

50 45

40 30

30

0

verdicts

22

20 10

32

11 2

3

3

Special cases: Case number 8: the "Daih bomb attack" The Fourth Supreme Criminal Court issued death sentences against 3 defendants, sentenced 7 defendants to life in prison and revoked the nationality of 8 of them in what is known as the "Daih bomb attack" that took place on 3rd of March 2014. The Ministry of Interior announced that 3 policemen died in the attack. According to the information received by the LHRD, the defendants were coerced to confess to fake accusations of their involvement in the bomb attack through torture, severe beating and electric shocks. The Public Prosecution Office accused the defendants on being involved in a terror attack and referred them to the court after they were arrested on different dates. The defense team walked out in protest to the court's denial to their requests, details are as follows: 1. The court refused to present material evidence and relied on the information obtained from the criminal interrogations. 2. The court refused to hear the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses in the presence of the lawyers. The court heard 13 of these testimonies out of a total of 23 without the presence of the lawyers. 3. The court refused to present the remote chips used to explode the bomb and, it refused to reveal the names of the companies that manufactured the hardware. 4. The court refused to present the materials that were used in the bomb attack and the uniform that the policemen were wearing at the time of the explosion. 5. The court refused to show the video that filmed the incident. Also, the defense lawyers told the LHRD that the first forensic doctor made his testimony on assumptions and did not name the third deceased. The other forensic doctors knew 9

nothing about him and his case was not even discussed. This forensic doctor was not even aware of the location where the first deceased was killed in the incident. As to the judge, he did not consider the official documents that proved that both defendants Abbas Alsamea and Tahir Alsamea were at their work locations at the time of the incident and until night. Fifth: revoking nationalities of 72 citizens A royal decree was issued on 29 January 2015 to revoke the nationalities of 72 citizens, including 49 political and human rights activists and journalists in exile who have not been involved in combat battles. The decree mentioned in an official paper published on 5th February 2015(2) that the revocation was based on a report presented by the Minister of Interior about these individuals' involvement in activities that endanger the interests of Bahrain and contradict to the obligation of loyalty to it. The LHRD considers this royal decree against the international conventions and declarations which Bahrain is signatory to. It can also be categorized under restrictions on freedom of expression and political and human rights activism. Al Wefaq National Islamic Society

Liberties and Human Rights Department

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