Bahrain Forum for Human Rights

Opening Session: Violations in Bahrain are Criminal Offenses
The Fourth International Human Rights Conference opened sessions in the Lebanese capital of Beirut on Wednesday entitled "Bahrain: Absence of Justice and Breaching International Obligations." The Opening session was commenced by displaying a video entitled "Judiciary adopts policy of escaping punishment and justifies murder," reviewing samples of "escaping punishment policies" pursed by the Bahraini authorities pursued by the Bahraini authority over the perpetrators of crimes and torture, touching on the political trials of the symbols of political and human rights activists. Head of Bahraini Forum for Human Rights, Youssef Rabih, addressed the conferees saying that "choosing the title of the conference was as a result of the Bahraini authorities' politically exploiting the judiciary, which means the absence of constitutional protection for guarantees and provisions of the criminal procedures." "Judiciary in Bahrain became a system," he said, recalling the verdicts against the Secretary General of Democratic National Work Association, Ibrahim Sharif, dorctor Ali al0Akari, activist Nabil Rajab, and leader of Bahraini opposition, Sheikh Ali Salman " in malicious prosecutions without fair legal guarantees." Rabih stated that human rights are suffering "serious violations that reach to criminal offenses, proved by the real humanitarian catastrophe that occurred in Jaww central prison "which reflects the authorities' ethical, humanitarian and legal lack in practicing fatal retaliation, torture against prisoners of opinion and conscious." Rabih reminded the Bahraini government that the "international laws do not allow the use of gendarmerie forces in security missions outside territories, especially after witnesses by detainees about the involvement of Jordanian gendarmerie in torturing the detainees of Jaww prison." "It is not worthy that tribal legislation controls politics in 2015 replacing the democratic state set by the Bahraini Constitution," Youssef Rabih concluded. For his part, Head of Oman Center for Human Rights Studies, Netham Assaf, addressed the conferees on behalf of the Key Partners of the conference, and stating that "the international community continues to betray the people of Bahrain, just like the people of Palestine, through the double-standard policy regarding the rights of peoples and human rights." Assaf said the protests in Bahrain are characterized by the peaceful nature, but they are portrayed as sectarian, just like the case in Yemen., calling upon the Bahraini people to listen to the people's demands and go to dialogue table. The third speaker was a member of Tunisian Parliament and Secretary General of People's Movement Zuhair Maghzawi, who expressed the full support of his country's people with to the people of Bahrain "in all available means," calling the Bahraini government to respond to the popular demands, including the political document as a roadmap for resolving the crisis. "It is shameful to countries to continue providing the political cover for Bahraini government and to provide support as a result of their strategic interests at the expense of human rights," Maghzawi said, stressing that "the Bahraini authorities have missed several opportunities to achieve the national reconciliation," he stressed. Secretary General of Arab Lawyers Union, Abdul-Azim Maghrebi, the spoke and said the honorable Bahraini citizen is criminalized is his country. President of International Democratic Lawyers Federation, Jam Vermont, also addressed the conference, highlighting that the peaceful movement of the Bahraini people is faced "many problems and crimes committed by the Saudi Arabia and the Bahraini regime that led to the killing of many children by poisonous gas." He stressed that Bahraini people have presented an image different from that presented in Syria and Libya, underscoring that the United States and allies are oppressing the peaceful revolution of Bahrain. "These people demanded democracy, but they got oppression and foreign intervention," he said. For her part, head of Arabic Committee of Human Rights, Violette Dagher, urged the conferees to raise their voice to express the civic resistance against any aggression that targets the rights and commits the crimes against peoples. She also criticized the double-standard policy of international bodies that cares for their interests, calling upon the Bahraini authorities to review domestic policies. The last speech was for the British lawyer Ibegay Bach, who tackled stripping of citizenships of the Bahraini opposition figures and activists, stating it is "an assault on freedom of expression in accordance with the Declaration of UNESCO and international treaties signed by the government of Bahrain." She revealed that the international law considers removing of citizenship illegal, and it "ensures the individual's right to resort to the law, even if stripped of his citizenship." "Forming of an international court dealing with violations of the Bahraini government is not impossible," Bach said. The opening session has been concluded by honoring Dr. Ali Al-Akri, a detainee in Bahraini prisons in the medical staff file.

Added on: 2015-04-23 02:35:26