Joint diplomatic briefing on recent developments and human rights priorities in Bahrain
Posted September 11, 2024
Scholars at Risk joins 5 civil society organizations in a diplomatic briefing calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Dr. Abduljalil Al-Singace, along with other wrongfully detained political prisoners. In 2011, a military court sentenced Dr. Al-Singace to life in prison on charges of “plotting to overthrow the government,” after he participated in a pro-democracy protest.
You can support Dr. Abduljalil Al-Singace by signing this letter.
Briefing: Recent Developments and Human Rights Priorities in Bahrain
11 September 2024
Royal Pardon Issued on 4 September 2024
On 4 September 2024, Bahrain’s King Hamad Issa Al Khalifa announced a royal pardon for 457 individuals, including at least 140 political prisoners, constituting nearly one-third of those pardoned.
This is the third mass royal pardon issued in 2024, which marks the lowest number of political prisoners imprisoned in Bahrain since the crackdown following the 2011 pro-democracy uprisings. The first, on 8 April, included an estimated 650 political prisoners, while the second, on 15 June, largely excluded political prisoners.
According to the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD):
- At least 140 political prisoners were included in the pardon, notably:
- Mohamed Al-Ramal, a 64-year-old political prisoner suffering from serious medical conditions who had spinal surgery in August and has been unable to walk since;
- Ali Sanqoor, who stood shirtless in front of the tanks in 2011.
- A total of 457 individuals convicted on political charges were excluded from the pardon, including:
- 407 political prisoners currently imprisoned in Jau Prison;
- 45 political prisoner prisoners part of open prisons in Jau Prison;
- Three individuals sentenced in military trials, held in Al-Qurain Prison;
- Hassan Mushaima and Abduljalil Al-Singace held in Kanoo Medical Centre.
- Approximately 320 political prisoners are still on strike in four buildings (7, 8, 9, 10) at Jau Prison.
The response within the broader international community and states included:
- The EU and German Embassy offered high praise for Bahrain on social media posts, while failing to mention human rights defenders and opposition leaders imprisoned in Bahrain, many of whom have been arbitrarily behind bars for over a decade.
- The OHCHR welcomed the pardon and acknowledged political detainees, calling on Bahrain to continue their approach ensuring respect for freedom of expression in a post shared on X.
On 11 July, five UN experts raised concerns about human rights defenders and opposition leaders who were excluded from the royal pardon issued earlier this April, including Dr Abduljalil Al-Singace, Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja and Hassan Mushaima. These individuals were also excluded from the September pardon.
They were also highlighted in the 2024 UN Secretary-General’s report on reprisals against individuals who cooperate with United Nations mechanisms, which will be presented at the 57th session of the Human Rights Council.
Urgent Cases of Concern
Dr Abduljalil Al-Singace is an award-winning human rights defender and scholar serving a life sentence in Bahrain. His detention was declared arbitrary in an opinion published by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) in May 2023. Since July 2021, he has been on a liquids-only hunger strike, protesting the confiscation of his handwritten research.
We urge you to call on Bahraini authorities to release Dr Al-Singace immediately and unconditionally and transfer his confiscated research to his family members. In the meantime, provide him with adequate medical care, including access to specialists, end his prolonged solitary confinement, and ensure he is given access to sunlight, fresh air, and exercise.
Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja is an award-winning human rights defender who co-founded the Gulf Centre for Human Rights and the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights. As a dual national, he is the only Danish prisoner of conscience in the world. He is serving a life sentence since 2011 for defending human rights after being convicted in a grossly unfair trial amidst severe physical, psychological and sexual torture.
We urge you to call on Bahraini authorities to release Al-Khawaja immediately and unconditionally, and, in the meantime, ensure he is provided with adequate medical care, including access to specialists.
Hassan Mushaima is Bahrain’s oldest political prisoner, at the age of 76, who is serving a life sentence in Bahrain solely for exercising his right to freedom of association and expression since 2011. His imprisonment was declared arbitrary by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in an opinion published in February 2024. Since 2021, he has been held in solitary confinement in Kanoo medical centre, where he has been denied access to adequate medical care by, sunlight and exercise
We urge you to call on Bahraini authorities to release Mushaima immediately and unconditionally and, in the meantime, provide him with adequate medical care, including access to specialists and end his prolonged solitary confinement and ensure he is given access to sunlight, fresh air, and exercise.
Sheikh Ali Salman is the leader of the dissolved opposition party Al-Wefaq, who was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in 2018 on politically motivated charges. He has been arbitrarily imprisoned since 2014 on a separate conviction related to speeches he delivered against parliamentary elections that his party boycotted.
We urge you to call on Bahraini authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Sheikh Ali Salman.
Mohamed Ramadan and Husain Moosa are death row inmates who were sentenced in an unfair trial marred by allegations of torture used to extract forced confessions. Their death sentences were confirmed by Bahrain’s highest court in July 2020, despite UN experts urging Bahrain to quash the sentence due to torture allegations, and their detention was declared arbitrary by WGAD in an opinion published in June 2021.
We urge you to call on Bahrain authorities to release Ramadan and Moosa immediately and unconditionally, commute all outstanding death sentences, and establish an official moratorium on executions.
Revocation of citizenship: Since 2012, the Bahraini government revoked the citizenship of 990 individuals. In April 2019, the government of Bahrain reinstated 551 citizenships, and in July 2019 restored 92 and 55 citizenships. However, the law permitting denaturalisation remains unchanged. One of the cases mentioned in the Secretary General report on reprisals is Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, who is one of the 292 individuals currently stripped of their citizenships.
We urge you to call on Bahraini authorities to reinstate the citizenship of individuals rendered stateless on politically motivated charges and reform their laws in line with their obligations to international law.
Updates on Jau Prison Strike
This pardon was announced amidst a mass strike, ongoing in Jau Prison since 26 March 2024, when nearly 1000 political prisoners refused to return to their buildings following the death of a political prisoner.
After the April royal pardon, in which over 650 political prisoners were released from Jau Prison, about 500 prisoners in seven buildings continued the strike. This was met with collective punishment by authorities, who cut off air-conditioning, drinking water, electricity, medicine, and reduced meals. Official communications lines in the buildings were also cut off, and prisoners were prevented from going to the prison commissary to purchase items.
On 15 August 2024, UN experts called on Bahrain to “restore rights in Jau prison amid prisoner protests,” which was covered by major international media outlets, including the Associated Press, AFP, Middle East Eye and BBC Arabic.
The statement has had a huge impact on the ground in Bahrain. Not only was the statement widely regarded by family members of the prisoners, but it also prompted extensive negotiations between prisoners and authorities—leading to significant developments within Jau Prison itself. At the time of writing, electricity and telephone calls have been restored in all the buildings except one, while air conditioning is restored in all the buildings.
The following organizations contributed to the writing of the brief:
1. Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD)
2. Scholars at Risk (SAR)
3. International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
4. Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GC4HR)
5. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Study (CIHRS)
6. Free al-Khawaja