Bahrain : Torture and incommunicado detention of Mr Mohamed Hassan and detention of his lawyer Mr Abdul Aziz Moussa
Mohamed HassanMohamed Hassan
9 August, 2013- Front Line Defenders

On 7 August 2013, human rights defender and blogger Mr Mohamed Hassan was led before the General Prosecutor in Manama following more than a week of incommunicado detention. Subsequently, his lawyer Mr Abdul Aziz Moussa was detained on 8 August 2013 after he reported on Twitter the visible signs of torture he had seen on Mohamed Hassan.

Before his arbitrary arrest on 31 July 2013, Mohamed Hassan acted as a media contact point for various foreign news stories, which included coverage of anti-government protests and police crackdowns in Bahrain.

On 31 July 2013, Mohamed Hassan was taken from his home by masked men, associated with the Ministry of Interior, and detained incommunicado at the Criminal Investigation Department. He was brought to a meeting with the General Prosecutor on 3 August for which he was denied legal counsel, and charged with “calling for gatherings”.

On 7 August, for the first time, he was able to access legal representation, and was further charged with “operating accounts that call for changing the regime”, “inciting hatred of the regime” and “calling to disobey the law”. Mohamed Hassan remains in detention at El-Hod El-Gaf prison for a period of 45 days pending an investigation.

After the meeting of 7 August, Mohamed Hassan’s lawyer, Abdul Aziz Moussa, reported visible signs of torture on his client’s arms on his Twitter account, confirming the human rights defender’s reports that he had been subjected to torture while in custody at the Criminal Investigation Department. Subsequently, the human rights lawyer was summoned for an interrogation on 8 August. The authorities claimed that Abdul Aziz Moussa had “disclosed confidential information about the investigation”, and decided to keep the lawyer in detention for a week pending investigation.

The support Mohamed Hassan provided to international media, such as The Sunday Telegraph, has previously made him a target for the Bahraini authorities. In June 2012, he was summoned for interrogation and accused of “writing for a website without a license” – an act that does not in fact require a license in Bahrain. He was also arrested on two consecutive days, 21 and 22 April 2012, while accompanying press groups. On the former occasion, he reported being beaten on the leg with a gun barrel. On both days he was released without charges.

The current detention of Mohamed Hassan is part of an alarming wave of suppressive actions targeting human rights defenders and peaceful protesters. The clampdown has intensified in recent days, particularly targeting individuals perceived as sympathetic to the “tamarrod” movement, which calls for a nation-wide protest on 14 August 2013.

On 28 July 2013, the Bahraini National Assembly made a series of alarming recommendations in an extraordinary session, such as “banning sit-ins, rallies and gatherings in the capital Manama”, which, in addition to constituting a violating of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly, could potentially sanction in advance repressive actions against peaceful human rights activities, and exclude them from appeal or Royal pardon.

Front Line Defenders considers that the arrest and detention of Mohamed Hassan and Abdul Aziz Moussa to be directly related to their activities in defence of human rights. In the light of the credible reports that Mohamed Hassan was tortured while in custody, Front Line Defenders fears that the safety and the physical and psychological integrity of Mohamed Hassan and Abdul Aziz Moussa are at serious risk. …more

Bahrain: Urgent appeal in relation to the arrest and detention of Mr Mohammed Hassan, Mr Hussain Hubail and Mr Qassim Zain Aldeen
ARTICLE 19 – 08 Aug 2013

To the Special Rapporteur:

We respectfully request that you consider this urgent appeal in relation to the arrest and arbitrary detention by the Government of Bahrain of blogger Mohammed Hassan, freelance photographer Hussain Hubail and freelance cameraman Qassim Zain Aldeen. We request that you urgently intervene to secure their immediate release and declare their arrest and continuing incommunicado detention a gross violation of their human rights, including the right not to be arbitrarily detained as protected by Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the right to freedom of expression as protected by Article 19 ICCPR. In addition, Mr Hassan was reported to show signs of torture, which is a violation of his rights under Article 7 ICCPR and Bahrain’s obligations under the Convention Against Torture.

Arrest and detention of Mr Mohammed Hassan

Mr Mohammed Hassan is a 28-year old independent blogger who has been publishing on human rights and politics in Bahrain since 2007. He was arrested and taken from his house by masked security agents at 2:00 in the morning on 31 August 2013.[1] Mr Hassan was not presented with an arrest warrant and his computer and phone were confiscated. He was taken away from his home without any indication as to where he would be taken. Later reports said that Mr Hassan was transferred to Dry Dock Prison, the Ministry of Interior’s short-term detention unit where the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights recently reported an escalation of the harassment of detainees,[2] and that he showed signs of torture. He has not had access to legal counsel and his family has not been notified of his whereabouts.

Allegedly, Mr Hassan is being accused of being a member of the 14 February media group.[3] He has been harassed and detained because of his work several times since the beginning of 2012. In June 2012, he was summoned for questioning about his writing as well as his alleged involvement in the Bahraini opposition. In addition to writing his blog,[4] which he stopped doing on 29 April 2013, Mr Hassan worked as a fixer for several news organisations.

Arrest and detention of Mr Hussain Hubail

Mr Hussain Hubail is a 20-year old a freelance photographer of opposition protests in Bahrain. He was also arrested on 31 August 2013, upon which he disappeared at Bahrain airport.[5] The only sign from him since has been a 36 seconds call to his family, which took place several days after his arrest. His family has not been informed of Mr Hubail’s whereabouts and is concerned he might be exposed to torture. Mr Hubail has also not had access to legal counsel.

Allegedly, Mr Hubail also faces accusations of being a member of the 14 February media group. His work has been published by Agence France-Presse, Voice of America[6] and various other news outlets. Earlier this year, Mr Hubail was awarded a photography prize by independent newspaper Al-Wasat for his photo capturing protesters amidst teargas at a demonstration.[7]

Arrest and detention of Mr Qassim Aldeen

Mr Qassim Zain Aldeen is a 25-year old freelance cameraman who films opposition protests in Bahrain. He was arrested on Friday 2 August and taken to an unknown location. Until this moment, his family has been unable to obtain any information on his whereabouts from the authorities. It is also not known on grounds of which alleged criminal offence Mr Aldeen was arrested.

Mr Aldeen’s work is published by local websites and blogs. He was previously arrested and detained for over 6 months in 2012.

Request for urgent action

Mr Hassan, Mr Hubail and Mr Aldeen were arrested without being shown an arrest warrant and without any indication as to what they were being arrested for. They are being held at undisclosed locations, without access to legal counsel or their relatives. When Mr Hassan was last seen, he showed signs of torture. Whatever the formal charges may be that they face, there are strong suspicions that their arrest and detention is in fact related to their work as independent journalists; Mr Hassan, Mr Hubail and Mr Aldeen all published on matters unfavourable to the Bahraini government and were previously harassed and even arrested because of their work. …more