Bahrain: Update – Human rights defender Nabeel Rajab remains in detention as his appeal is adjourned until 27 September
Nabeel RajabNabeel Rajab
10 September, 2012 – Frontline Defenders

On 10 September 2012, the Higher Appeal Court in Manama adjourned prominent human rights defender Mr Nabeel Rajab’s appeal of his three-year prison sentence until 27 September 2012. The human rights defender had a bail application refused during the same hearing.

This comes after his conviction on 16 August 2012 on charges of illegal assembly and disturbing public order by the Bahraini Lower Criminal Court.

Following his wife’s visit on 4 September 2012, which was cut short from one hour to 25 minutes, Sumaya Rajab confirmed that Nabeel Rajab has been subjected to ill-treatment in the form of humiliating personal inspections.

She reported that he had been repeatedly stripped down to his underwear and then forced to stand and sit 40 times. This repeated treatment exacerbated the severe back pain he suffers from due to a herniated disc. Furthermore, he has been beaten on the back on a regular basis and he has been restricted to six litres of water per week, even though he suffers from kidney problems and gallbladder stones. It was also reported that he has been denied the appropriate medical attention.

He continues to be held in solitary confinement.

Nabeel Rajab is President of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights and Director of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights. He has campaigned around the world to bring attention to human rights abuses in Bahrain, including the case of Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja.

In light of the reported ill-treatment of Nabeel Rajab, Front Line Defenders expresses serious concern for his physical and psychological integrity. Front Line Defenders reiterates its calls on the Bahraini authorities to quash the conviction of Nabeel Rajab, to drop any outstanding charges against him and to effect his immediate and unconditional release. …more

Ninth prisoner dies at Guantanamo
10 September, 2012 – By Ben Fox – Associated Press

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico: A prisoner has died at the U.S. Navy base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the U.S. military said Monday, two days after the man was apparently found unconscious in his cell at the isolated, high-security prison.

The prisoner, whose name and nationality were not released, was found by guards on Saturday and taken to a base hospital, where he was declared dead “after extensive lifesaving measures had been performed,” the U.S. military’s Southern Command said in a brief statement.

He was the ninth prisoner to die at the facility since it was opened in January 2002 to hold men suspected of terrorism or links to al-Qaida and the Taliban. The military has said two of those deaths were by natural causes and six were declared suicides.

The death occurred in Camp 5, a section of the prison used mostly to hold prisoners who have broken detention center rules, said Navy Capt. Robert Durand, a spokesman for the prison.

This prisoner had recently splashed a guard with what military officials call a “cocktail,” typically a mixture of food and bodily fluids, which is why he was on discplinary status, Durand said.

He had been on a hunger strike in the past but had gone off of it on June 1 and was at 95 percent of his ideal body weight and 14 pounds heavier than when he came to Guantanamo, the spokesman said.

The U.S. still holds nearly 170 prisoners at Guantanamo and they range from men the officials have cleared for release but can’t find a stable country to accept them to a handful who have been charged with war crimes. Durand said the man who died Saturday had not been charged and had not been designated for prosecution.

A medical examiner has been brought to the base to determine the exact cause of death and an investigation will be conducted by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, which is standard in the death of detainees at Guantanamo.

Durand said the U.S. government was working to notify the man’s family and his country before releasing further information.

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Torture and Rendition to Gaddafi’s Libya
by Human Rights Watch – TRANSCEND Media Service

New Accounts of Waterboarding, Other Water Torture, Abuses in Secret Prisons

The United States government during the Bush administration tortured opponents of Muammar Gaddafi, then transferred them to mistreatment in Libya, according to accounts by former detainees and recently uncovered CIA and UK Secret Service documents, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today [6 Sep 2012]. One former detainee alleged he was waterboarded and another described a similar form of water torture, contradicting claims by Bush administration officials that only three men in US custody had been waterboarded.

The 154-page report, “Delivered into Enemy Hands: US-Led Abuse and Rendition of Opponents to Gaddafi’s Libya,” is based on interviews conducted in Libya with 14 former detainees, most of whom belonged to an armed Islamist group that had worked to overthrow Gaddafi for 20 years. Many members of the group, the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), joined the NATO-backed anti-Gaddafi rebels in the 2011 conflict. Some of those who were rendered and allegedly tortured in US custody now hold key leadership and political positions in the country.

“Not only did the US deliver Gaddafi his enemies on a silver platter but it seems the CIA tortured many of them first,” said Laura Pitter, counterterrorism advisor at Human Rights Watch and author of the report. “The scope of Bush administration abuse appears far broader than previously acknowledged and underscores the importance of opening up a full-scale inquiry into what happened.”

The report is also based on documents – some of which are being made public for the first time – that Human Rights Watch found abandoned, on September 3, 2011, in the offices of former Libyan intelligence chief Musa Kusa after Tripoli fell to rebel forces.

The interviews and documents establish that, following the September 11, 2001 attacks, the US, with aid from the United Kingdom (UK) and countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, arrested and held without charge a number of LIFG members living outside Libya, and eventually rendered them to the Libyan government.

The report also describes serious abuses that five of the former LIFG members said they experienced at two US-run detention facilities in Afghanistan, most likely operated by the CIA. They include new allegations of waterboarding and other water torture. The details are consistent with the few other first-hand accounts about the same US-run facilities. …more

UN rights chief cites problems in Syria, Bahrain
By JOHN HEILPRIN – Associated Press – 10 Septemebr, 2012

GENEVA (AP) — The U.N.’s top rights official laid out the world’s most significant human rights issues Monday, criticizing Syria and Bahrain but also mentioning problems in Western countries such as France and Greece.

The assessment by U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay is important because it sets the tone for the U.N.’s 47-nation Human Rights Council, whose month-long session opened Monday.

The U.N. secretary-general, Ban Ki-moon, on a visit to commemorate Switzerland joining the world body a decade ago, challenged the council to focus attention on five areas, including discrimination, violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and women’s rights.

“It is an affront to our conscience that millions of people still struggle against poverty, hunger and disease. These conditions violate their fundamental human rights,” he said.

Pillay argued that respect for human rights is key to peace, development and humanitarian efforts, and she began by citing Syria’s civil war as an area of grave concern with devastating consequences for civilians.

Activists say up to 26,000 people have been killed in Syria since an uprising began in March 2011 against President Bashar Assad’s regime.

Next on Pillay’s list was Bahrain for handing down what she called harsh prison sentences against 20 prominent rights activists and opposition figures, including seven who face life in prison. Bahrain’s U.N. Ambassador Yusuf Abdulkarim Bucheeri defended his nation, saying its judiciary held a fair trial attended by diplomats, human rights representatives and news media.

Pillay spoke of human rights problems in Colombia, Ivory Coast and Congo, then mentioned France and Greece. She also noted issues in Kenya, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mexico, Myanmar and many other countries.

“I am also worried by the recent forced closure of Roma camps in France, which have affected hundreds of people, making them even more vulnerable and exposed to a whole range of human rights concerns,” Pillay told the packed chamber.

“I acknowledge a number of steps that have been taken by the government, but further efforts must be made to address this situation” and integrate Roma, or Gypsies, into society, she said.

In August, police raids in Paris and other French cities dismantled camps used by Roma from Eastern Europe and left hundreds without shelter. It echoed a crackdown on the Roma two years ago under conservative then-President Nicolas Sarkozy that drew criticism.

But the French government has since made it easier for Roma, who mostly originate from Romania and Bulgaria, to get jobs and stay in France by expanding the number of sectors where residents of those nations can seek work. The government also abolished a tax paid by employers to hire people from the two countries.

Pillay also noted problems in Greece, where there has been a surge in racist attacks against immigrants with dark skin.

“Equally troubling are violent xenophobic attacks against migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in recent months, for example, in Greece,” Pillay said. “I am also concerned about reports that the police appeared to have been unable to respond effectively to protect victims of xenophobic crimes. ”

Greece launched a campaign in August to try to seal its northeastern border with Turkey in the face of a crippling financial crisis that has caused joblessness to soar. …more

Bahrain court adjourns case of prominent rights activist Nabeel Rajab
10 September, 2012 – BLOTTR

The case of leading rights activist Nabeel Rajab was adjourned until September 27th on Monday, his lawyer Mohammed al-Jishi reported. The head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights was in court this morning to appeal the three-year sentence he received last month for “involvement in illegal practices and calling for unauthorised marches through social networking sites”.

Rajab, arguably the most prominent rights activist in Bahrain, was arrested on July 10 by masked men in balaclavas and plain clothes following his conviction for sending defamatory and libellous tweets. He was later acquitted.

The case of Zainab Al-Kawaja, daughter of opposition activist Abduladi Al-Khawaja, was also adjourned on Monday. She is expected to appear in court on September 11.

Sister and fellow activist Maryam Al-Khawaja said Zainab’s lawyer tried to use excerpts of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) report, but the judge refused to hear the lawyer’s arguments saying that the BICI report was a thing of the past.

The Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI), established in June 2011 by King Hamad, was tasked with looking into human rights abuses during the period of unrest in Bahrain between February and March 2011.

As pointed out by EA Worldview, Katherine Gallagher, Vice President of FIDH, was present in court to monitor the hearing. She tweeted: “At Nabeel Rajab’s hearing. His family all in court, international observers and US, French and German Embassy [representatives present]. Nabeel looks strong.”

“Nabeel in prison grey clothes. Gave statement. Zainab with AbdulHahi [AlKhawaja]’s pricture on front of shirt and pearl roundabout on back,” she also wrote on the micro-blogging site.

In another development, a Bahraini activist sustained severe injuries on Sunday night after being hit by dozens of birdshot pellets fired by police forces in the village of Sitra during an opposition protest. Reports say he is now in stable condition.
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