Bahrain regime engages in intimidation of human rights lawyers

Acts of intimidation against human rights lawyers to stop exposing violations of the public prosecution

Bahrain: Lawyer interrogated for talking to the media about torture of her client
24 November, 2012 – Bahrain Center for Human Rights

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights express concern over the continued violations to freedom of expression and the acts of harassment and intimidation against human rights lawyers who raise awareness on violations against detained defendants.
On 23 Nov 2012 the public prosecution summoned lawyer Manar Maki and interrogated her on background of a statement she gave to the Satellite channel Alalam on 16 Nov 2012 about the torture of her detained client Adnan Almansi who was reportedly subjected to severe physical torture, including sexual assaults in the form of anal assault (see BCHR report on condition of Adnan bahrainrights.org/en/node/5506).

Instead of launching an investigation into the torture claims of her client, lawyer Manar Maki has been charged with insulting the judicial authority, and defamation of two members of the public prosecution, for stating that “a prosecutor tried to extract a suspect’s confession under duress”. The lawyer explained that she did not mean to offend the Public Prosecution but she was passing the same statement she received from her detained client who told her of the incident. Lawyer Mohsin Alalawi who attended with lawyer Manar has requested to address the Supreme Council to appoint an investigating judge since the prosecutor is the victim in the case, and that the case be dismissed. Maki was then released on guarantees of place of residence pending trial[1].

Mrs Manar Maki is a human rights lawyer who cooperates with the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights to defend pro-democracy detainees and to raise awareness on the human rights violations they are subjected to.

Moreover, in a statement published on 24 Nov 2012, the public prosecution threatened that “it will not hesitate to take more firm actions in the future towards whoever is tempted to falsely claim against the public prosecution, or abuse it or one of its members unlawfully”[2].

BCHR believes this is to be an act of intimidation act targeted at lawyers who expose violations of the public prosecution. It is also a continuation of the authorities’ role in protecting human rights violators and supporting the culture of impunity, a sign of lack of independency. BCHR has issued several reports on the violations of the public prosecution, please see them below[3].

BCHR believes that lawyer Manar Maki has been targeted for exercising her right to freedom of expression as granted by the universal declaration of human rights. Her summon and interrogation confirms an intensive surveillance of the speeches and statements of the human rights lawyers and activists over the media, at a time when human rights abuses and violations are not on the public prosecutions radar.

The interrogation of Lawyer Manar comes as part of a campaign targeting the human rights lawyers, which started with prominent human rights lawyer Mohammed Al-Tajer who was subject to a campaign of public humiliation as private photos and videos of him and his former wife were circulated online on a pro government website a few days after his participation in the UPR process on Bahrain[4]. On 7th Nov 2012 another lawyer Taimoor Karimi was one of 31 Bahrainis who were stripped of their nationality arbitrarily, without notice and without judicial process, contrary to customary international law[5]. He was subsequently banned with an order from the minister of justice from pleading at the court and attending as a lawyer on behalf of clients[6]. Both AlTajer and Karimi have spent several months in jail and were put on trials last year following crackdown on pro-democracy protests. Last December the Ministry of Human Rights and Social development ruled that the current elected board of directors of the Bahrain Lawyers Society will no longer be in charge as the majority of them took on political and human rights cases, and appointed the previous board of directors[7].

Based on the above, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights appeals to the US, the UK, the UN and all other allies and international institutions to put pressure on the Government of Bahrain to:

1- Immediately drop all charges against human rights lawyer Manar Maki who was targeted for merely exercising her right to freedom of expression in accordance with the universal declaration of human rights.

2- Stop all acts of intimidation directed at lawyers and activists who defend human rights and expose violations of the public prosecution or other authorities in Bahrain.

3- Take immediate action to stop torture in detention and bring those responsible for it to justice.

4- Commitment to International covenants and respect for all forms of freedom of expression and publication as provided for in the international covenants and charters, especially Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which states that: ” Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice. ”

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