BFHR’s panel, PoCs’ families: Our beloved ones are victims of the systematic retribution; GoB’s oversight bodies are implicated

To watch the panel click here

The “Bahrain Forum for Human Rights” organised, on the eve of March 2^nd 2023, a panel entitled “Updates on Bahrain’s human rights situation”.

The panel, moderated by Sayyed Mortadah al-Talbee, hosted Mr. Jawad Fairouz, chairman of SALAM for Democracy and Human Rights, and included interventions by:

1 – Mother of the victim of arbitrary execution, Sami Mushaima (She also has a detaineed son, a former detainee who suffers from permanent disabilities as a result od severe torture,  and a 3^rd former detaineed son who is repeatedly summoned for interrogation);

2 – Activist & father of political prisoner, Ali Muhanna;

3- Ibrahim Al-Madhoun, member of Al-Wefaq, whose nationality has been revoked);

4- Yusuf Rabie, a member of Al-Wefaq.

Fayrouz: Some Mps & human rights organisations have expressed their willingness to address Bahrain human rights while attending 146^th IPU Assembly

Fairouz, Salam’s chairman, pointed out that the authorities criminalise all forms of peaceful expression. It has deliberately created a state of intimidation for citizens through continuous summons, arbitrary detentions, and the imposition of high fines.  He condemned these measures, stressing that they will exacerbate the crisis, but will not force the people to stop demanding their legitimate rights and protesting against the deteriorating economic conditions, as well as against the official authorities’ continuation of the normalization moves.

 Fairouz noted that the authorities deal with these demands from a purely security perspective, commenting on the arbitrary measure taken by the Ministry of Education in a school against students who peacefully protests, adding that the Minister of Education has a long history of extremism and suppression of freedoms, and these grave violations are not strange in his shadow.

Fairouz, who is also a former parliamentarian, revealed that he had raised, during a meeting with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, the issue of prisoners of conscience, especially the 14 politically isolated detainees who are subjected to an unstoppable systematic retaliation even with the end of the “trial”.  He affirmed the deprivation of prisoners of conscience of their rights, specifically the right to receive treatment, pursue studies, and practice rituals, in clear violation of “the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners – Nelson Mandela Principles.”

Fairouz appreciated the ongoing movement of political prisoners, stressing that it exposes the allegations of government oversight bodies, along with the MPs who claim that they defend the supreme interest of the country and that they represent the people, as they showed that their presence is fake and shameful, and not to redress the damage and do justice to the victims, but rather to polish the image of the authority.

As Bahrain is expected to host 146th IPU Assembly, from 11-15 March, Fairouz noted that the assembly’s “Human Rights Committee” was not convinced by the authority’s response regarding his complaint and the complaint of former MP Matar Matar regarding their torture in 2011.

He revealed that some parliamentarians and human rights bodies have expressed their willingness to address the human rights situation – while they are in Bahrain – with the aim of pushing for justice for former parliamentarians, as the authority revoked the nationalities of 6 of them, including Ayatollah Qassim, as well as Sheikh Ali Salman, and various violations other parliamentarians were subjected to, in addition to addressing the continuing violations such as the death penalty.

Mother of a victim of arbitrary execution exposed her family’s grievances including: execution, imprisonment, and torture

The mother of the arbitrary execution victim, Sami Mushaima, spoke -with regret- about the suffering of her four sons due to the oppression of the authority, as “Sami” was arbitrarily executed, while “Abdul-Zahraa” suffers from a chronic mental issues as a result of severe torture while imprisoned.

She added that the authority continues to summon her third son, “Muneer” for interrogation, noting that he is a former detainee, while her youngest son, “Ridah” is imprisoned.

The mother described what “Abdul-Zahraa” is suffering from as a moral execution, as he was subjected to the worst forms of abuse and torture, which affected his psychological and mental health.

Fairouz commented that the authority is practising immorality in its suppression of Bahraini families, stressing the right to prosecute violators and the need to document these crimes. Besides, he praised the patience and sacrifices of this family, calling on the people of Bahrain to help them treat their son.

For his part, Ibrahim Al-Madhoun, a member of Al-Wefaq Society whose citizenship has been revoked, called on the parliamentarians who will come to Bahrain to slam the violations committed by the authorities and its persistence in persecuting the citizens, pointing to the case of the former president of the former largest parliamentary bloc, Sheikh Ali Salman.

He called on parliamentarians to learn about the parliamentary experience of the people of Bahrain, and how the “dictatorship” mentality thwarted it, as well as the “Manama Document” that was presented by the “Al-Wefaq Society” as a solution initiative, but the authorities ignored it.

Al-Madhoun noted that the authority ignores international recommendations due to the culture of impunity and on the basis of saying: “whoever is safe from punishment has misbehaved”.

He added that the current parliament, which claims to represent the people, ignores the suffering of political prisoners and the grievances of the people of Bahrain, who demand intuitive rights and radical reforms, foremost of which is an elected  government and a just judiciary.

In turn, activist Ali Muhanna (He served for years as a governmental teacher but was unfairly dismissed because of your political views) spoke about the continuous abuse his is subjected to.

Muhanna described what the Bahrainis are subjected to as systematic intimidation and its aim is to deter the people from participating in peaceful protests.

With regard to the political isolation of the 14 detainees, including his own son, Muhanna detailed the heinous practices they are subjected to, especially after the end of their trial, while the Jau Central Prison’s administration continues to deny their existence in isolation.

Muhanna regrets that the Bahrain’s deputies ignored his request to them to question the Minister of Interior for various reasons.

In this context, Fairouz commented that the isolation of detainees is a retaliatory, unjust, and illegal measure in accordance with international law.

Yusuf Rabie: Four basic freedoms are infringed in Bahrain

Yusuf Rabie, a member of Al-Wefaq Society, affirmed the absence and crushing of the four freedoms in Bahrain, “press, expression, assembly, and association.”

He stressed that the denial of the political crisis has negatively influenced “the political prisoner crisis, the socio-economic crisis, and the diplomatic crisis,” noting that this reality has obstructed parliament and the judiciary.

Rabie pointed out that the authorities are manipulating the political prisoners’ crisis as a blackmail card, describing the trial of Sheikh Ali Salman as a “fallen” because it is based on a fabricated accusation that would expose the authorities if reconciliation with Qatar takes place.