BHR 002 / 0812 / OBS048.21

Arbitrary detention /

Criticalhealth condition /

Ill-treatmentin detention

Bahrain

June 29, 2016

The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, apartnership of FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), hasreceived new information and requests your urgent intervention in the followingsituation in Bahrain.

New information:

The Observatory has been informed by reliable sources about thedeterioration of the medical conditions of Mr. Nabeel Rajab, President of the Bahrain Centre for HumanRights (BCHR) and FIDH Deputy Secretary General, while in police custody andhis transfer to the hospital for heart problems.

According to the information received, on June 28, 2016, Mr. NabeelRajab was transferred from police custody to the Bahrain Defence Force (BDF)Hospital due to unprecedented heart problems, following 15 days of solitaryconfinement. On the same day, he was examined by a doctor. Later, Mr. Rajab wastransferred back to West Riffa police station. Further medical examinationshould be conducted in the upcoming days.

It has to be recalled that on June 21, during the last appearance beforethe Public Prosecutor, Mr. Nabeel Rajab complained about severe pain related togallstones and skin infections. He stated that, earlier in the morning, he hadbeen examined by a doctor of the BDF Hospital who confirmed the need to removehis gallstones. Nonetheless, Mr. Rajab was denied a copy of the medical report.He also reported that he had been held in solitary confinement in a dirty cell.

Moreover, on June 26,the authorities notified Mr. Rajab that his first court hearing in another casewas set for July 12, 2016. This is a separate case over two charges related tostatements he made on Twitter in 2015 about conditions of detention in Jawprison and the war in Yemen. He faces up to more than 10 years of prison ifconvicted in that case, for which he has been already detained from April 2 toJuly 13, 2015.

Mr. Rajab findshimself in extremely poor detention conditions while in solitary confinement atWest Riffa police station. The living conditions in his cell are extremelyunsanitary, as the toilet and shower are unclean and unhygienic, withinsufficient water. Moreover, cleaning products and other items,such as a radio, provided by his family were not allowed. According toMr. Rajab's family he has lost 7kg since his arrest, has developed high bloodpressure and has irregular heart beats. His skin has yellowed in colour.

Mr. Rajab is due to appear in court later today to hear whether his detentionin police custody will be extended.

The Observatory denounces the degrading conditions of detentionamounting to ill-treatment imposed on Mr. Nabeel Rajab and his continuedarbitrary detention, which seem to be yet another evidence of a long-standingpattern of harassment against him in an attempt to sanction his legitimatehuman rights activities (see background information).

The Observatory calls upon the Bahraini authorities to immediately andunconditionally release Mr. Nabeel Rajab, and to put an end to any act ofharassment against him and in general against all human rights defenders inBahrain.

Background information:

Mr. Rajab has faced continuous judicial harassment for hislegitimate human rights work since his first arrest in June 2012. On July 9,2012, Mr. Rajab was sentenced to three months' imprisonment for allegedlylibelling the residents of Al Muharraq via several tweets posted on his twitteraccount. On August 23, 2012, Mr. Rajab was acquitted by the Higher AppealCourt.

On August 16, 2012, the Lower Criminal Court sentenced Mr. Rajab tothree years of imprisonment in relation to three cases related to hisparticipation in peaceful gatherings in favour of fundamental freedoms anddemocracy. In December 2012, the Appeals Court reduced the sentence to twoyears of imprisonment. Mr. Nabeel Rajab completed his sentence and wasreleased in May 2014.

On October 1, 2014, Mr. Nabeel Rajab was summoned and remanded indetention by the General Directorate of Anti-Corruption and Economic andElectronic Security of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for“insulting a public institution” under Article 216 of the Bahraini Penal Code.The case related to a tweet hepublished in September 2014, in which he criticised the military institutionsfor generating extremist ideologies (the “terrorism tweet” case). On November2, 2014, the Third Lower Criminal Court ordered Mr. Rajab’s release butbarred him from leaving the country.

On January 20, 2015, the Third Lower Criminal Court sentenced Mr. NabeelRajab to six months' imprisonment on the charges of “insulting publicinstitutions and the army”, pursuant to Article 216 of the Bahraini PenalCode[1].

In 2015, two other sets of criminal charges were brought against Mr.Rajab. On February 26, 2015, Mr. Rajab was summoned for investigations forcharges of “inciting hatred towards the regime” in relation to a speech he madein February 2011 during a funeral (the “funeral speech case”). To date, thepolice investigation is ongoing.

In addition, on April 2, 2015, over twenty police cars surroundedMr. Rajab’s house and policemen arrested him. Mr. Rajab was then sentto the General Directorate of Anti-Corruption and Economic and ElectronicSecurity to be interrogated and placed in detention in solitary confinement inIsa Town Police Station. On April 3, 2015, Mr. Rajab was interrogated bythe CID regarding two new charges brought against him under criminal case No. 2015/38288. The first charge was“insulting a statutory body” (Article 216 of the Penal Code) referring to theMinistry of Interior in relation to tweets he posted denouncing the torture ofdetainees at Jaw Prison (the “Jaw torture tweets” case). The second charge was“disseminating false rumours in time of war” (Article 133 of the Penal Code) inrelation to tweets he published about the Saudi-Arabia led coalition airstrikes in Yemen (the “Yemen tweets” case). If sentenced on the second charge,Mr. Rajab could be facing up to 10 years' imprisonment. Mr. Rajabrefused to sign the police minutes of the investigations. On April 4, 2015,Mr. Rajab was brought before the Public Prosecution. The Prosecutionordered seven days detention pending investigation. On April 5, 2015, securitypolice confiscated all electronics devices belonging to Mr. Rajab andmembers of his family.

On April 11, 2015, the prosecution ordered an additional fifteen days indetention for Mr. Rajab. On April 26, 2015, the Public Prosecutionofficially charged Mr. Rajab under Articles 133 and 216. The PublicProsecution subsequently extended his detention for an additional fifteen days.On May 11, the Bahraini High Court extended Mr. Rajab´s preventive detentionfor 15 days.

On May 14, 2015, the Bahrain Criminal Court of Appeal upheld thesix-month prison sentence (the “terrorism tweet” case).

On July 13, 2015, the King of Bahrain Hamad Ben Issa Al-Khalifa orderedthrough Royal Pardon the release of Mr. Nabeel Rajab for health reasons. Mr.Rajab had already served three of the six months jail sentence. Moreover, onthe same date, the Public Prosecution imposed a travel ban against Mr. Rajab inrelation to criminal case No. 2015/38288 related to the Jaw torture and Yementweets cases.

Mr. Rajab’s lawyers subsequently filed appeals against the travel banwith the investigating prosecutor on September 2, 2015, with the AttorneyGeneral on September 16, and with the Office of the Public Prosecution onOctober 1, 2015. They received no response to such petitions. On December 3,2015, Mr. Rajab's lawyers submitted another petition to the Attorney Generalrequesting the lift of the travel ban imposed on Mr. Nabeel Rajab on July 13,2015. In the written request filed to the Attorney General, Mr. Rajab's lawyersraised the issue of urgency, as Mr. Rajab's wife health is continuouslydeteriorating and needs treatment outside of Bahrain, accompanied by Mr. Rajab.This request has been disregarded.

In themorning of June 13, 2016, police forces reportedly led by the Cybercrime Unitarrested Mr. Nabeel Rajab, after raiding his house and seizing a number ofelectronic devices.

In the afternoon, Mr. Rajab was able to contact his wife by phone, andreported being detained at East Riffa Police Station. On June 14, he wastransferred to the Public Prosecution, which remanded him in custody for sevendays, on accusations of “publishing and broadcasting false news that underminethe prestige of the State” under Article 134 of the Penal Code[2].

On June 21, 2016, Mr. Nabeel Rajab appeared before the PublicProsecution, which remanded him in custody for eight additional days, in spiteof a request for immediate release made by his legal counsel.

Actions requested:

The Observatory urges the authorities of Bahrain to:

i. Release Mr. Nabeel Rajab immediately and unconditionally, as hisdetention is arbitrary and its conditions amount to ill-treatment and areendangering his life;

ii. Guarantee the physical and psychological integrity ofMr. Nabeel Rajab and that of all human rights defenders in Bahrain;

iii. Put an end to any act of harassment, including at the judiciallevel, against Mr. Nabeel Rajab and against all human rights defenders inBahrain;

iv. Conform in any circumstances with the provisions of the Declarationon Human Rights Defenders, adopted on December 9, 1998 by the United NationsGeneral Assembly, in particular:
its Article 1, which states that “everyone has the right, individually orin association with others, to promote the protection and realization of humanrights and fundamental freedoms at the national and international levels” ;
its Article 6 (c) which states that “everyone has the right, individuallyand in association with others to study, discuss, form and hold opinions on theobservance, both in law and in practice, of all human rights and fundamentalfreedoms and, through these and other appropriate means, to draw publicattention to those matters” ;
and its Article 12.2 which states that “the State shall take allnecessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities ofeveryone, individually and in association with others, against any violence,threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure orany other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exerciseof the rights referred to in the present Declaration”.

v. Ensure in all circumstances respect for human rights and fundamentalfreedoms in accordance with international human rights standards andinternational instruments ratified by Bahrain.

Addresses:

• Cheikh Hamad bin Issa AL KHALIFA,King of Bahrain, Fax: +973 176 64 587
• Cheikh Khaled Bin Ahmad AL KHALIFA, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fax : 0097317 21 05 75; Email: ofd@mofa.gov.bh
• Cheikh Khalid bin Ali AL KHALIFA, Minister of Justice and Islamic Affairs,Fax: +973 175 31 284
• Lt. Gen. Cheikh Rashed bin Abdulla AL KHALIFA, Minister of Interior, Email:info@interior.gov.bh
• Permanent Mission of Bahrain to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.Fax: + 41 22 758 96 50. Email: info@bahrain-mission.ch
• H.E. Ahmed Mohammed Yousif Aldoseri, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain tothe Kingdom of Belgium, Fax: 0032 (0) 26472274; E-mail:Brussels.mission@mofa.gov.bh

Please also write to diplomatic representations of Bahrain in yourrespective countries.

[1] Article 216 of the Penal Code provides for a maximum sentence of three years'imprisonment. However, during the October-19 hearing, the Prosecution made anoral statement to ask the judge to consider Mr. Rajab as a “recidivist” in thelight of the repetition of the alleged “crime”, and that aggravatedcircumstances should be retained, to double the maximum penalty applicable tohim, meaning six years.

[2] Article 134 of the Penal Code provides thats “A punishment of imprisonment forat least 3 months and a fine of at least BD100, or either penalty, shall beinflicted upon every citizen who deliberately releases abroad false ormalicious news, statements or rumors about domestic conditions in the State, soas to undermine financial confidence in the State or adversely affect itsprestige or position, or exercise in any manner whatsoever activities that areharmful to the national interests. The punishment shall be imprisonment for aperiod not exceeding 10 years if an offence is committed in wartime.”