Biden administration says Bahrain is committing serious rights abuses, Action must follow

On 12 April 2022, the U.S. State Department released its 2021 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) acknowledges that the country report for Bahrain is an improvement on both the breadth and probity of previous publications and finds the recent report to be largely accurate in its recognition of serious human rights flaws in the country that are instigated by the Bahraini monarchy and its government. While ADHRB finds the report to be semi-comprehensive and mostly in keeping with ADHRB’s reporting and documentation and that of other credible human rights organizations, we urge the State Department to remain cognizant of the systemic nature of Bahrain’s human rights abuses and remind this administration that rhetoric is no substitute for policy.

In the report, the State Department called attention to numerous human rights violations and restrictions on fundamental freedoms, including “torture and cases of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by government; harsh and life threatening prison conditions; arbitrary detention; political prisoners; [and] arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy”. The report addresses the ongoing attempts of the Bahraini government to silence voices of dissent and notes with concern the “serious restrictions on free expression and media, including censorship, and the existence of criminal libel laws; serious restrictions on internet freedom; substantial interference with the freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association, including overly restrictive laws on the organization, funding, or operation of nongovernmental organizations”. Additionally, the report highlights Bahrain’s intensification of restrictions on freedom of movement, including revocation of citizenship. Of particular importance, given the upcoming parliamentary elections in November, the report emphasizes that the Government of Bahrain continues its efforts to dismantle civil society and suppress democratic reforms through “serious and unreasonable restrictions on political participation”.

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The Interparliamentary Union is granting a dictatorship an opportunity to whitewash its human rights violations.

The recent announcement of Bahrain as the host of the 146^th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), scheduled for March 2023, represents yet another exemplification of a grim geopolitical truth: the international community is content to excuse egregious behaviors and overlook the abuses of an authoritarian regime that continues to engage in a campaigns of persecution and terror provided that the perpetrating government is a strategic ally and is perceived, however minimally, as committed to progress. Certainly, the strategic importance of Bahrain to influential Western states is well established, as is Bahrain’s adeptness at whitewashing its record of violence and oppression by way of implementing cosmetic reforms and offering empty rhetoric; that the Bahraini government is proudly vocal about reforms which still fail to meet its obligations under international law is perhaps indicative of its own recognition that its efforts to silence dissent are an illegitimate use of power and exist in direct contravention of international human rights standards. However, these circumstances should not, and certainly do not for the victims of Bahrain’s abuse, negate the reality that torture is endemic, arbitrary arrests continue to be commonplace, and civic freedoms remain almost non-existent.

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AbdulHadi Al-Khawaja

AbdulHadi Al-Khawaja, a prominent Danish-Bahraini human rights activist, has been serving his life sentence at Jau Prison since 2011. AbdulHadi, who was 50 years old at the time of his arrest, was tortured and then tried in relation to his human rights activism and criticism of the government. During his imprisonment, he has been facing unfair prison regulations and different forms of reprisal.

AbdulHadi was arrested on 8 April 2011, in light of his participation in the pro-democracy demonstrations which erupted in February of that year. Around 20 police officers and masked officers in civilian clothing attacked Abdulhadi and beat him after breaking into his daughter’s house. They dragged him by his neck and inflicted many injuries, leaving a trail of blood behind. The arresting forces also attacked other members of the family.

After the arrest, Abdulhadi received a hard blow to the face, which broke his jaw. As a result, he was taken to the Bahrain Defence Force (BDF) Hospital where he underwent major jaw surgery for four broken bones. Abdulhadi spent a week at the hospital, during which security personnel threatened him with sexual assault and execution, also making threats toward his wife and daughters. During the entire period, Abdulhadi was handcuffed and blindfolded.

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