Webinar on Bahrain’s recent releases of political detainees: Ongoing undermining of freedoms perpetuates arbitrary arrests

The Bahrain Forum for Human Rights (BFHR) organized a webinar on Friday, April 19, 2024, in which its chairman Baqir Darwish along with chairman of Salam for Democracy & Human Rights Organization, Jawad Fairouz have discussed the latest release of a group of political detainees.  The panel was moderated by BFHR’s researcher Ghina Rabai.

Darwish pointed out that since 2011, about 22,000 citizens have been arrested; many of them were subjected to torture, according to documented testimonies. He appreciated the cumulative human rights effort of civil society organizations in documenting and monitoring thousands of infringements.

Brsides, Darwish underscored the founding premises that generated the file of political prisoners, first and foremost: undermining political rights and freedoms; dissolution of opposition associations; systematic marginalization and discrimination;  unfair dismissal from jobs;  sectarian persecution;  banning demonstrations;  restricting press freedoms; hate speech and other violations that have not been addressed by government oversight bodies.  According to Darwish, torture has expanded, impunity has prevailed, and unfair trials have increased.

BFHR’s chairman stressed the need to complete the process of releasing all political detainees who are still behind bars, as well as enabling them to obtain their rights to: reparation and compensation; achieving comprehensive human rights and political reform; moving towards transitional justice; and achieving constitutional consensus.

Darwish expressed the Bahrain Human Rights Forum’s appreciation for the role of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and its follow-up of the human rights file. He added that it is hoped that it will reaffirm the necessity of implementing the recommendations of its periodic reports and of the universal periodic review on Bahrain’s human rights record.

Regarding what is required today regarding the human rights movement, Darwish pointed out that failure to address the causes of arbitrary arrests, and failure to correct the human rights and political conditions may lead to new arrests; further the existence of an politicised judiciary will also lead to unfair trials.  Likewise, failure to address the culture of impunity will mean that the executioners will escape accountability and continue in their transgressions.

Darwish added that social solidarity with the released prisoners is very important, confirming that reparation is their inherent right because they were arbitrarily arrested and their rights were violated, which is an essential step in advancing human rights reform.

Darwish concluded by emphasizing that failure to resolve the reasons for the arrests will mean arrests will continue.  He also pointed out that what is required is to update the plan to implement the recommendations of the universal periodic review.

Chairman of Salam for Democracy & Human Rights Organization, Jawad Fairouz, for his par appreciated the step to release political detainees calling for its completion in a bid to achieve the whitening of poltical prisons, not to mention the resolution of the related files. 

Fairouz pointed out that the issue of transitional justice is an integrated project that requires training of those concerned, in order to do justice to former detainees.  He added that there is an urgent need to achieve transitional justice, which refers to "how societies respond to the legacy of gross and flagrant human rights violations."

SALAM’s chairman that reparation is an inalienable right for all political detainees who were arbitrarily arrested, unjustly tried, and deprived of their rights along with their families, and this right was emphasized in the Bassiouni report (BICI).

Fairouz called for stating the facts honestly and transparently as a step towards achieving national reconciliation, especially with regard to the demolition of mosques and other security incidents, noting the necessity of reformulating and reforming governmental bodies in order to provide justice to the victims. 

Fairouz continued that prevention steps eliminate impunity and eliminate the roots of the problem, as it is unreasonable for those involved in violations to be free, concluding by urging for intensified efforts to achieve transitional justice.