The participation of Ghina Rebai, researcher in the Bahrain Forum for Human Rights on Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association, and Arbitrary Judicial Rulings in Bahrain, in the UPR pre-sessions

To read the speech of participation, please click here

Ghina Rebai, researcher at the Bahrain Human Rights Forum, participated in the UPR pre-sessions, organized by UPR Info, which was held in Geneva from August 29 to 31, 2022. In her speech, which focused on violations of freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, and Arbitrary Judicial Rulings in Bahrain, Rebai stressed the death penalties against prisoners of conscience, noting that 12 PoCs sentenced to death have exhausted all levels of litigation and are one signature away from their executions to be carried out.
In her speech, she also highlighted the provisions for revoking citizenship based on political reasons, most notably against the leader of the Bahraini opposition, Ayatollah Sheikh Issa Qassem, as well as life imprisonment sentences against prisoners of conscience, most notably Sheikh Ali Salman, head of the Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, referring to the number of provisions for revocation of citizenship and life imprisonment issued after the 2017 universal periodic review cycle.

On the issue of violations that affect the freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, Rebai approached the recommendations issued by countries in this regard with the actual practices of the Bahraini authorities on the ground, pointing to the numbers of cases of suppression of peaceful marches and cases of deaths among peaceful protesters as a result of authoritarian repressive practices.

Rebai concluded with five recommendations which she asked states' delegations to adopt in the next UPR cycle, which are the following:
- Put a definitive and effective end to arbitrary judicial rulings of all kinds, especially the death penalty, the revocation of citizenship and life imprisonment, which are based on political stances against PoCs.
- Release all PoCs immediately and without conditions.
- Practically protect the right to freedom of association and peaceful assembly in accordance with Bahrain’s international obligations, especially those stipulated in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
- Stop dissolving political associations and civil society organizations
- Annul the decisions to dissolve associations, especially ‘Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society’, ‘Waad Association’ and ‘Amal Association’.