ADHRB Weekly Newsletter #403
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** Bahrain
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** Bahraini Political Prisoner Dies of Coronavirus As Fresh Outbreak Engulfs Nation
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9 June 2021 – A political prisoner has died at an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Salmaniya Hospital after contracting Covid-19 at Building 12 of Bahrain’s notorious Jau Prison, despite receiving two doses of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine, as the country struggles to contain the worst spike in Coronavirus cases since the pandemic began last year, the Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) and the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) stated today.

Husain Barakat, 48, died in the early hours of 9 June 2021 after testing positive for the coronavirus on 27 May 2021. According to family members who spoke with us yesterday, Husain had already received two doses of the Sinopharm vaccine, but his condition deteriorated following his diagnosis and he was transferred from Jau Prison to Salmaniya hospital, where he was placed on a ventilator in an ICU unit. His death was later announced on social media.


** Unfair Trial and Arbitrary Imprisonment
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Husain was among 53 individuals handed life sentences on 15 May 2018 after being convicted in a mass trial of 138 defendants for allegedly belonging to a terror cell known as the ‘Zulfiqar Brigades,’ and was also among 115 defendants stripped of his citizenship in the same case. After reviewing the case, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) declared that international standards of a fair trial were not met and that the fair trial violations were “of such gravity” that they constituted an arbitrary deprivation of liberty. Husain’s citizenship was later reinstated by Royal Decree.

Husain’s son, Ali Barakat, is also serving a 22-year-sentence at Jau Prison, after being convicted on political charges in a separate case when he was just 16, according to his mother.

Read the full article here ([link removed])


** Profile in Persecution
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** Hasan Ali Shahdad AlBalooshi
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Hasan Ali Shahdad AlBalooshi was an 18-year-old student when Bahraini authorities arrested him from his house in April 2013. Since his arrest, Hasan has suffered both physically and psychologically as a result of torture, ill-treatment and attacks on his religious beliefs. He remains in Jau Prison where he is carrying out his 15 year sentence.

On 23 April 2013, officers in civilian clothing and riot police surrounded Hasan’s family house in Isa Town, broke down the main entrance door and raided the house. Without presenting an arrest warrant nor providing a reason, they arrested Hasan as well as his cousin, Mortada Abdelhadi, who was with them at the time. Following the arrest, Hasan was forcibly disappeared for five days; his family had no information indicating his fate or location.

During those five days of disappearance, Hasan was at the CID in Adliya where criminal investigations officers interrogated him without a lawyer. Officers tortured Hasan to extract confessions from him; they severely beat and kicked him, insulted him and attacked his religious sect, hung him from his legs and pulled out a fingernail that was previously damaged and was slightly coming off. Once the interrogation was over, Hasan’s family were given the clothes that he was wearing at the time of his arrest and reported that they were covered in blood. Hasan’s family was only able to visit him 22 days after his arrest, on 15 May 2013. During their visit to Jau Prison, they noticed signs of beating and torture on his face, namely swelling near his eyes and nose.

In total, two cases were raised against Hasan: on 4 March 2014, he was convicted of arson, of a car near Roundabout 18 in Hamad Town, and was sentenced to 5 years in prison; on 25 March 2014, he was convicted of detonating a gas cylinder on Roundabout 17 and was sentenced to 10 years, leading to a total sentence of 15 years in Jau Prison. On 23 June 2014, Hasan’s judgment was upheld by the Court of Appeals.

Read the full article here ([link removed])


** GCC in the Wire
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- Death of Prisoner from covid-19 sparks protests as Bahrain battles outbreak ([link removed]) (The Washington Post)

The Persian Gulf nation of Bahrain is home to 1.6 million people and currently battling one of the world’s worst coronavirus outbreaks per capita. Its crowded prisons — where many people are incarcerated on what human rights groups say are politically motivated charges — have been hit hard by this wave of the pandemic.

- U.N. expert urges UAE to release five human rights activists ([link removed]) (EU News)
A United Nations expert on Friday urged the United Arab Emirates government to immediately release five human rights defenders who have been imprisoned in harsh conditions for eight years.

- RSF joins Middle East and North Africa coalition to combat digital surveillance ([link removed]) (RSF)
As spyware continues to be sold in the Middle East and North Africa, where it is used to identify, monitor and silence journalists, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has joined a coalition that seeks to end the sale of surveillance technology in the region and to protect journalists against it.

- Migrants found dead off Yemen's Red Sea coast after boat capsizes ([link removed]) (Al Monitor)
At least 25 migrants were found dead off Yemen’s Red Sea coast after a ship carrying some 200 people from Djibouti capsized in the turbulent waters, UN and local officials said Monday.

- Saudi Arabia drawing up plans to host 2030 World Cup: Report ([link removed]) (Middle East Eye)
Rights groups have repeatedly warned against allowing Riyadh to host major sporting events, accusing the kingdom of "sportswashing" its human rights abuses, including the persecution and jailing of dissidents and activists, as well as the killing of Middle East Eye columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

- Saudi Arabia: Halt imminent execution of young man ([link removed]) (Amnesty International)
Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Lynn Maalouf said: “Saudi Arabia’s authorities must immediately halt all plans to execute Mustafa al-Darwish who was convicted on charges of participation in anti-government riots and sentenced to death after a deeply flawed trial based on a so-called ‘confession’ obtained through torture. Time is rapidly running out to save his life.”

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Are you a victim of a human rights abuse in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, or other GCC states?

Document your case with the Special Procedures of the United Nations through
** ADHRB's UN Complaint Program ([link removed])
.

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