All News items from Bahrain

"The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) and the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR) welcome the initiative of the Bahrain authorities to release 178 activists and human rights defenders, considering it a step in the right direction and hoping that none of the detainees had been excluded. The BCHR and the BYSHR congratulate the released citizens and their parents, and would like to thank everyone who participated, since December 2007 until now, in acting to release those detainees" 

In a joint statement issued by the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), Human Rights Watch and ARTICLE 19 the organisations expressed their concern about the deteriorating situation for human rights defenders in Bahrain. "Blogs and social networking websites have been censored, union leaders have been slapped with defamation suits and human rights activists are facing up to 10 years or even life in prison" said the statement. 

Human rights defenders in Bahrain are facing increasing restrictions on their activities. The authorities have sought to target independent human rights organisations including the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights and restrict human rights activities. Human Rights defenders have been subjected to arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment, fabricated judicial proceedings, threats and harassment. 

Front Line has been informed that Mr Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, former President of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights and now Protection Coordinator for the Middle East at Front Line (excluding Bahrain), has been interrogated for several hours at the Public Prosecutors Office (PPO) in Bahrain on 9 January 2009.

He was questioned for five hours about his human rights activities and then released on bail. He was instructed not to change his address - which could mean that the authorities may take another action against Mr Al-Khawaja. 

Prior to a meeting in the United Kingdom's House of Lords in London to discuss the human rights situation in Bahrain, Front Line is issuing a statement sumarising our concerns re the situation of human rights defenders. 

State security forces arrested the chair of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, Abdulhadi Al-khawaja and the Secretary General of the HAQ Movement for Liberty and Democracy, Hasan Mushaima on 2 February 2007. Abdulhadi Al-khawaja’s arrest is the latest in a pattern of persecution at the hands of the Bahrain authorities. 

The increasing repression faced by human rights defenders in Bahrain was discussed at a seminar in the UK House of Lords on 18 December 2006. The speakers included; Mrs. Ghada Jamsheer, President of the Women's Petition Committee, who discussed the situation with regard to women's rights in Bahrain. Jamsheer has repeatedly faced fabricated legal charges including "insulting the judiciary" as a result of her work to press for the rights of women in Bahrain's family courts. Front Line Deputy Director, Andrew Anderson, spoke of the pattern of threats, harassment, fabricated legal charges, torture and detention faced by human rights defenders who have dared to speak out about human rights in Bahrain. He stated that it was particularly ironic that Bahrain was repressing human rights defenders and trying to close down the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights at a time when it sits on the UN Human Rights Council.