Bahrain: Harassment of woman human rights defender, Ghada Jamsheer

Front Line is deeply concerned following information received regarding an alleged harassment campaign against Ghada Jamsheer, a woman human rights defender. Ghada Jamsheer is the president of the Women's Petition Committee, an organisation which campaigns for the rights and dignity of women in the shari'ah family courts.

Further Information

While Ghada Jamsheer was attending the AWID (Association for Women's Rights in Development) conference in South Africa between 14 and 17 November 2008, her home was reportedly entered by a state security agent and detailed photographs were taken. Her house phone, mobile phone, and email account are reportedly under surveillance.

Ghada Jamsheer and her family have also received threats, including many threatening text messages, and have been followed in a car. State security agents in civilian clothes have been sent to Ghada Jamsheer's house to shout at her using abusive language. Finally, she has been accused of attacking officers performing their duties and has been prevented from accessing the media.

Front Line is concerned that the harassment campaign and the media ban against Ghada Jamsheer are directly related to her legitimate work in the defence of human rights, in particular women's rights in Bahrain, and that this may form part of an ongoing campaign against human rights defenders in the country. Front Line is seriously concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Ghada Jamsheer, as well as that of her family.