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The trial has begun in Bahrain’s capital, Manama, of five police officers implicated in the death in custody of a blogger last year.
Front Line is concerned about the bringing to trial before a military court of a prominent Bahraini lawyer and human rights defender. On 12 June Mohammed Al-Tajir was brought before the Bahraini Lower National Safety Court in Manama to face a number of charges including publicly inciting hatred of the system of government in Bahrain; spreading malicious news and propaganda; and publicly inciting the abduction and harming of security men. The sudden appearance of Mohammed Al-Tajir before the military court came after more than five weeks of incommunicado detention in an unknown location. During this period Mohammed Al -Tajir had been held without access to his lawyers and family and it is feared that the charges brought against him may have been based on confessions extracted under duress. There are also fears that he may have been forced to incriminate himself. The military prosecution told the court that it had concluded that the statements obtained from the accused during the interrogations are sufficient as evidence to indict him, and that the prosecution shall reserve the right to present its closing remarks on the case. Mohammed Al -Tajir who was not allowed access to legal counsel during the interrogation denied all charges brought against him. The trial was adjourned until 16 June 2011. There have been credible reports of torture and ill-treatment of human rights defenders and other prisoners currently being tried by the military court. The court has so far failed to investigate claims of torture and ill-treatment brought before it by the accused. Mohammed Al-Tajir was the subject of a Front Line urgent appeal dated 18 April 2011. Front Line reiterates its calls on the Bahraini authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Mohammed Al-Tajir and to immediately and unconditionally drop all charges against him as it is believed that his arrest, detention and the charges brought against him are solely related to his legitimate and peaceful work in defence of human rights and his lawful pursuit of his profession as a lawyer.Further Information
Source: frontlinedefenders.org
BAGHDAD — Bahrain’s military court Monday pressed the government’s case against 47 doctors and nurses, ordering the medics to plead guilty or not guilty to felony or lesser charges but prohibiting any mention of mistreatment while in detention.
The hearing, which was attended by Stephanie Williams, the top U.S. diplomat in Bahrain, was the latest sign of the continuing crackdown against mainly Shiite protesters who in February started an “Arab Spring” uprising against the minority Sunni government in the small Gulf kingdom.
Apparently emboldened by the presence of a top U.S. representative, Dr. Ali al Ekri, an orthopedic surgeon, and Rula al Saffar, the head of the nursing society, said their confessions were extracted after they’d been tortured. They said they had to sign the papers while blindfolded.
But the military judge said the only response permitted was “guilty” or “not guilty,” according to family members who witnessed the hearing.
When Dr. Zahra al Sammak, an anesthesiologist, insisted in describing the torture to which she’d been subjected, she was ordered escorted from the hearing. Dentist Nada Dhaif tried in vain for permission to have her lawyer speak to the judge on her behalf.
The trial of the medics, which major international human rights groups have condemned, stems from the protests in February and March when protesters wounded while demonstrating thronged the hospitals for treatment. Some of the doctors who took care of them are charged with killing and mistreating non-Shiite patients, while others have been accused of taking part in illegal demonstrations.
Those accused of felonies were told to return to court on June 20. Those facing misdemeanors said their cases would be heard on June 27.
The court hearing came one day after the government leveled new charges against two leading opposition politicians who’ve been in custody since May 2 and sentenced a 20-year-old female poet to a year in prison for reciting anti-government verse during the demonstrations.
The government charged the two moderate politicians, Jawad Fairooz and Mattar Ebrahim Mattar, Shiites who quit their seats in parliament to protest the government crackdown, with inciting hatred against the regime and speaking to the news media. But the case may be shaky because the alleged crimes occurred before their resignations were accepted by the Sunni parliament, so they would have had parliamentary immunity.
Both men went before the military judge on short notice Sunday morning - so quickly that family members were unable to be in the court for the arraignment. The order seems to have come so fast that the judge forgot one charge. Members of the two politicians’ families noted that the official Bahrain News Agency added a third charge: participating in an illegal gathering.
Their trials are to begin on June 21.
The sentencing of poet Ayat AlQurmezi came after allegations that her verse had incited anti-government demonstrators at the Pearl Roundabout.
The Bahrain government also dismissed at least 30 students from the polytechnic institute, an action that often precedes the announcement of formal charges.
Meanwhile, human rights advocates denounced the selection of the speaker of Bahrain’s lower house, Khalifa bin Ahmed al Dharani, to lead reconciliation talks that are scheduled to begin July 1. They said Dharani’s selection hadn’t been discussed with the opposition and that Dharani’s “every word” would be under the command of the royal court.
A leading Bahrain human rights advocate who’s operating outside the island, Maryam al Khawaja, whose father is among the human rights champions behind bars, said in an email newsletter that the charges against Mattar and Farooz may be related to the harsh reaction to Dharani’s appointment from al Wefaq, a leading Shiite political group. Mattar is a leading member of al Wefaq.
A second possible reason for the rushed hearing was the arrival of Michael Posner, the U.S. assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor issues.
A Sunni pro-government group, called the “National Unity Gathering,” said in a statement Monday night that Posner’s presence at military tribunals was a “direct interference in Bahrain’s internal affairs” and “infringes the country’s sovereignty.” The group didn’t say which of the many tribunals over the past two days Posner had attended.
Source: miamiherald.com
Bahraini authorities should immediately halt all proceedings before the special military court and free everyone held solely for exercising their rights to free speech and peaceful assembly, Human Rights Watch said today. Civilians charged with genuine criminal offenses should be tried in an independent civilian court that meets international fair trial standards, Human Rights Watch said.
The special military court, the Court of National Safety, on June 12, 2011, held initial sessions in politically motivated cases against opposition members of parliament and a prominent defense lawyer without notifying lawyers or family, and sentenced a young writer to a year in prison. These developments came several days after the Crown Prince, Shaikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, met with US President Barack Obama in Washington, DC, to solicit support for a “national dialogue” with opposition forces. King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa recently announced that the national assembly speaker, Khalifa al-Dhahrani, who has strongly supported the government crackdown on the largely peaceful street protests, and not the Crown Prince, would lead the dialogue.
“Most defendants hauled before Bahrain’s special military court are facing blatantly political charges, and trials are unfair,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “The Crown Prince may be sincere in his efforts to promote dialogue, but what good is that while back home the government is crushing peaceful dissent and locking up people who should be part of the dialogue.”
On June 12, the special military court began hearings against Matar Ibrahim Matar and Jawad Fairouz, former opposition members of parliament, without notifying their lawyers or families. On the evening of May 2, masked plainclothes security officers had arrested the two men, who have since been held incommunicado without access to lawyers or relatives. The two pled not guilty to charges of providing false news to the media and participating in illegal gatherings.
The official Bahrain News Agency reported that the special military court sentenced Ayat Qurmuzi Muhammad, 20, to one year in prison on June 12 for participating in the Pearl Roundabout protests and “inciting hatred of the ruling system” by reading poems criticizing the king and prime minister.
A person familiar with the case of the parliamentarians said that Matar told a family member that he had been kept in solitary confinement for most of his more than 40 days in detention. He and Fairouz were among 18 candidates from the Wifaq National Islamic Society, Bahrain’s largest opposition party, elected to the 40-member National Assembly. Matar, 35, had played a key role in compiling information about arrests and disappearances during the crackdown, which began on March 16. All elected Wifaq members of parliament resigned in February to protest the use of lethal force to suppress peaceful street demonstrations.
Mohamed al-Tajer, a prominent defense attorney who was taken from his home on April 15, was also brought before the special military court on June 12. As with Matar and Fairouz, and most of the hundreds of people arbitrarily arrested since mid-March, the government has refused to provide information about al-Tajer’s whereabouts and his well-being. Al-Tajer’s attorneys, who have repeatedly sought access to him without success, were given no notice of the hearing and so were unable to attend. According to the official news agency, al-Tajer is being charged with “inciting hatred for the regime,” engaging in illegal protests, and inciting people to harm police, although Human Rights Watch understands that his attorneys have never been notified of any charges or that al-Tajer would be prosecuted in the special military court.
Human Rights Watch knows of 82 people for whom verdicts had been delivered in the special military court as of June 13, and of several dozen more whose cases are pending. Of the 82, 77 were convicted on some charge; only five were fully acquitted. Convictions for felony charges resulted in sentences ranging from five years to life, as well as two death sentences. Most convictions were for patently political charges such as participating in unauthorized demonstrations and “incitement of hatred against the regime,” and resulted in prison sentences ranging from one to five years.
International human rights bodies have determined that trials of civilians before military tribunals violate the right to be tried by a competent, independent, and impartial tribunal. The Human Rights Committee, the international expert body authorized to monitor compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Bahrain ratified in 2006, has stated that civilians should be tried by military courts only under exceptional circumstances and only under conditions that genuinely afford full due process.
Source: hrw.org
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But the trials were held behind closed doors, and the men all pled not guilty. The men were held in undisclosed locations in the weeks leading up to the trials, and were denied communications with family, friends, and attorneys.
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