Minister of Interior
Shaikh Rashid bin ‘Abdullah Al Khalifa
Ministry of Interior
P.O. Box 13
al-Manama
BAHRAIN
Your Excellency,
I am writing to express Amnesty International’s extreme concern at the Bahraini authorities’ intensified crackdown on human rights defenders and other peaceful critics of the government. We urge your government to allow peaceful Bahrainis to voice their opinions, to protect human rights defenders and release all prisoners of conscience. We also call on your government to immediately end the torture and other ill-treatment of human rights defenders and other peaceful critics and promptly and independently investigate all allegations of torture and other ill-treatment, bringing those responsible to justice through fair trials without recourse to the death penalty.
Nabeel Rajab is one of those brave people speaking up. He's been in detention for over one year and been kept for nine and a half months in solitary confinement, which amounts to torture. He was sentenced to two years in prison for giving TV interviews on 10 July. He's also on trial right now for tweeting about alleged torture in a Bahraini prison and for criticizing the killing of civilians in the Yemen conflict. He further faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Ebtisam al-Saegh, a woman human rights defender who was monitoring, documenting and giving interviews to TV channels about the recent violent crackdown on the village of Duraz which resulted in the death of four men and a child and the wounding of hundreds, including 19 security officers, was summoned for interrogation at the National Security Agency (NSA) on 26 May. Her interrogation lasted seven hours during which she was subjected to torture including sexual assault. She was also told to stop all her human rights activities or she would be further targeted.
We therefore call on your government to:
- Immediately and unconditionally release Nabeel Rajab and drop all charges against him as he is a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression
- Promptly and independently investigate Ebtisam al-Saegh’s allegations of torture and other ill-treatment, including sexual assault and bring those responsible to justice through fair trials
- Immediately end torture and other ill-treatment of detainees including human rights defenders and other critics
- Launch a prompt, independent investigation into the violent crackdown that took place last month in Duraz and led to the death of 5 people and injury of hundreds others
Yours sincerely,
Minister of Justice
Shaikh Khalid bin Ali bin Abdullah Al Khalifa
Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs
P. O. Box 450, al-Manama
BAHRAIN
Your Excellency,
I am writing to express Amnesty International’s extreme concern at the Bahraini authorities’ intensified crackdown on human rights defenders and other peaceful critics of the government. We urge your government to allow peaceful Bahrainis to voice their opinions, to protect human rights defenders and release all prisoners of conscience. We also call on your government to immediately end the torture and other ill-treatment of human rights defenders and other peaceful critics and promptly and independently investigate all allegations of torture and other ill-treatment, bringing those responsible to justice through fair trials without recourse to the death penalty.
Nabeel Rajab is one of those brave people speaking up. He's been in detention for over one year and been kept for nine and a half months in solitary confinement, which amounts to torture. He was sentenced to two years in prison for giving TV interviews on 10 July. He's also on trial right now for tweeting about alleged torture in a Bahraini prison and for criticizing the killing of civilians in the Yemen conflict. He further faces up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Ebtisam al-Saegh, a woman human rights defender who was monitoring, documenting and giving interviews to TV channels about the recent violent crackdown on the village of Duraz which resulted in the death of four men and a child and the wounding of hundreds, including 19 security officers, was summoned for interrogation at the National Security Agency (NSA) on 26 May. Her interrogation lasted seven hours during which she was subjected to torture including sexual assault. She was also told to stop all her human rights activities or she would be further targeted.
We therefore call on your government to:
- Immediately and unconditionally release Nabeel Rajab and drop all charges against him as he is a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression
- Promptly and independently investigate Ebtisam al-Saegh’s allegations of torture and other ill-treatment, including sexual assault and bring those responsible to justice through fair trials
- Immediately end torture and other ill-treatment of detainees including human rights defenders and other critics
- Launch a prompt, independent investigation into the violent crackdown that took place last month in Duraz and led to the death of 5 people and injury of hundreds others
Yours sincerely,