NUT EXECUTIVE STATEMENT

ON THE BAHRAINI TEACHER

TRADE UNIONISTS –

ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2012

ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2012 - TORQUAY

NUT Executive Statement on the Bahraini Teacher Trade Unionists:

Mahdi ‘Issa Mahdi Abu Dheeb and Jalila al-Salman and the Iranian Teacher Trade Unionist Abdolreza Ghanbari

The Executive is appalled at the continuing imprisonment and torture of Mahdi ‘Issa Mahdi Abu Dheeb of the Bahrain Teachers’ Association.

The Executive demands that the Bahraini authorities release Mahdi ‘Issa Mahdi Abu Dheeb immediately and unconditionally and to drop all charges against Jalila al-Salman.

The former vice-president and president of the BTA Jalila al-Salman and Mahdi ‘Issa Mahdi Abu Dheeb’s appeal hearing resumed on 2 April 2012. Two previous hearings had taken place on 9 January and 19 February 2012.

During the 2 April hearing, Mahdi Isa Mahdi Adu Dheeb told the court for the first time since his trial started how he had been tortured or otherwise ill-treated. Methods included beatings while he was suspended from his arms and legs, tied behind his back. He told the court that he had been tortured in different locations, including Gurein prison, during the several weeks he spent in solitary confinement. He also said he was beaten by a nurse inside the ambulance that was taking him to Salmaniya Medical complex to be treated for injuries caused by the torture that happened at the beginning of his detention last year.

In previous sessions Mahdi Isa Mahdi Adu Dheeb had been referred for examination by forensic medical staff members of Gulf University, Ministry of Health and a forensic doctor from the Public Prosecution. His lawyer challenged the impartiality of this body but the judge rejected the complaint. Mahdi Isa Mahdi Adu Dheeb’s examination has not yet taken place. His lawyer asked the judge to release him on bail but this request was rejected and the trial has now been postponed until 2 May.

Neither Mahdi Issa Mahdi Abu Dheeb nor Jalila al Salman used or advocated violence during the protests of February and March 2011 and the Bahraini authorities have presented no such evidence during the trial. Amnesty International considers Jalila al-Salman and Mahdi ‘Issa Mahdi Abu Dheeb to be prisoners of conscience held solely for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression and assembly.

The Executive is also outraged about Abdolreza Ghanbari, a school teacher and university professor of Persian literature, who has been sentenced to death without a fair trial.

Mr. Ghanbari was arrested on 27th December 2009 following demonstrations against the regime in which he did not take part. He was beaten, interrogated and forcibly made to confess to unproven charges against himself. The Iranian regime has accused Mr. Ghanbari of possessing suspicious e-mails, having had contacts with outside TV stations, and colluding with forces hostile to the regime.

His wife, daughter and witnesses have made it clear that Mr. Ghanbari was at home during the time of the demonstrations. They have been denied the chance to present their evidence, as Mr. Ghanbari was sentenced by Tehran’s revolutionary court charged with “waging war against God”. A request for pardon made to the Commission of Justice in Tehran was rejected this week.

The Executive calls on the Foreign Secretary to urge the Bahraini authorities to:

• release Mahdi ‘Issa Mahdi Abu Dheeb immediately and unconditionally, as he is a prisoner of conscience, held solely for exercising his rights to freedom of expression and assembly;

• drop all the charges against Jalila al Salman immediately, since she is on trial only for peacefully exercising her legitimate rights to freedom of expression and association;

• order an immediate independent and impartial investigation into their allegations of torture and other ill-treatment, publish the results and bring anyone found responsible to justice; and

§  instruct the UK embassy in Bahrain to be present at all hearings and trials.

The Executive also calls on the Foreign Secretary to urge the Iranian authorities to:

§  investigate the legality of the execution of Abdolreza Ghanbari, and providing clarification about why his family and witnesses were denied the chance to present their evidence;

§  ensure, in law and practice, all guarantees of due process of law established in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including the principle of presumption of innocence and elimination of torture and ill-treatment in prison;

§  respect and fully exercise the right to freedom of expression and the rights of association and assembly, as recommended by the Committee on Freedom of Association of the International Labour Organisation; and

§  immediately announce a moratorium on executions.

The Executive further calls on Education International to:

§  lodge a complaint with the ILO;

§  urge all its affiliates to put pressure on the Bahraini authorities;

§  ask the International Committee of the Red Cross to visit Mahdi ‘Issa Mahdi Abu Dheeb in prison;

§  submit allegations of torture to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture: and

§  continue its urgent action for the release of Abdolreza Ghanbari