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Bahrain
 Front Line is deeply concerned following reports received of a statement by the Bahraini Interior Minister, Shaikh Rashid Bin Abdalla Al-Khalifa, published in the local Arabic press on 6 November 2008, calling for the enforcement of Article 134 of the Bahraini Penal Code against any citizen who attends meetings, conferences or seminars abroad or meets with representative of foreign countries, organisations or bodies to discuss the internal affairs of Bahrain, without government authorization. 
Update
The trial of Bahraini human rights defender Mohamed Abdul Nabi Al-Maskati for “running an unlicenced association” has been adjourned until 15 January 2009. Mohamed Abdul Nabi Al-Maskati is the founder of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR), which organises training workshops, monitors and documents human rights violations and participates in forming a regional network for young human rights activists in eight Arab countries. Front Line previously wrote to you on in relation with this case.
Front Line is deeply concerned following reports received concerning the ongoing media harassment of human rights defenders Nabeel Ahmed Rajab, Abduljalil Alsingace and Maryam Alkhawaja, since 16 October 2008. Nabeel Ahmed Rajab is the founder and acting chairperson of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), Abduljalil Alsingace is the head of Human Rights Unit of the Haq Movement of Liberties and Democracy in Bahrain, and Maryam Alkhawaja is a youth activist and former leader of the student organisation AIESEC-Bahrain.
Front Line is deeply concerned following the sentencing of detained human rights defenders Hassan Abdelnabi Hassan, Maytham Badar Jassim Al-Sheikh, Naji Ali Fateel, Mohammed Abdallah Al Singais and Ahmad Jaffar Mohammed Ali to between one and seven years' imprisonment. Hassan Abdelnabi Hassan, Maytham Badar Jassim Am-Sheikh, Ahmad Jaffar Mohammed Ali, members of the Unemployment Committee; Naji Ali Fateel, member of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR), and Mohammed Abdullah Al Sengais, head of the Committee to Combat High Prices, were arrested between 21 and 28 December 2007 on charges of participation in an ‘illegal gathering and rioting’ and of ‘theft of a weapon and ammunition and possession of a weapon and ammunition without permission’.
Front Line is deeply concerned following reports of the detention and torture of Shaker Mohammed Abdul-Hussein Abdul-Aal, Sadeq Jawad Ahmed Al-Fardan and Hasan Kathom Ebrahim Ahmed of the Unemployment Committee; Ali Mohamed Habib Ashoor and Habib Mohamed Habib Ashoor of the Committee for Detainees; Fadhel Abbas Mohamed Ashoor of the Committee Against High Prices; and Sayed Omran Hameed Adnan of the Committee Against One Percent. These human rights defenders are active defenders of labour rights in Bahrain.
Front Line is deeply concerned following reports of the continued ill-treatment and torture of human rights defenders Mohammed Abdullah Al Sengais, head of the Committee to Combat High Prices; Hassan Abdulnabi Hassan and Maytham Bader Jassim Al-Sheikh, members of the Unemployment Committee; and Naji Ali Fateel, member of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR). They were arrested between 21 December and 28 December 2007 and are being detained in the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB).
Front Line is concerned following reports of the postponement of the court hearing of the seven human rights defenders: Maytham Badar Jassim Am-Sheikh, Hassan Abdelnabi Hassan, Abdullah Mohsen Abdulah Saleh, Ahmad Jaffar Mohammed Ali, members of the Unemployment Committee, Naji Ali Fateel, member of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR), Mohammed Abdullah Al Sengais, head of the Committee to Combat High Prices, and Ebrahim Mohamed Amin-Al-Arab, founding member of the Martyrs and Victims Committee.
Front Line is deeply concerned following reports received concerning the alleged torture and ill-treatment of a number of human rights defenders who are presently in detention or who have just been released. From reports received, Abdullah Mohsen Abdulah Saleh, Naji Ali Fateel, Mohammed Abdullah Al Sengais, Maytham Bader Jassim Al-Sheikh, Ahmad Jaffar Mohammed Ali, Hassan Abdulnabi, Hassan Abdelnabi Hassan and Ebrahim Mohamed Amin-Al-Arab have all been victim of either ill-treatment or torture while being detained in the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB).
Front Line welcomes the release of three human rights defenders: Shaker Mohammed Abdul- Hussein Abdul-Aal, Majid Salman Ibrahim Al-Haddad, and Nader Ali Ahmad Al-Salatna. The three men are members of the Unemployment Committee. They were among eleven human rights defenders arrested between 21 and 28 December 2007 by the Special Security Forces (SFF) following demonstrations which were held on 17 December 2007, in Manama and other regions in Bahrain, in which a protester, Ali Jessam Mekki, was killed. Eight other human rights defenders remain in detention.
Front Line is deeply concerned following the arrest of eleven human rights defenders and the alleged torture and ill-treatment of a number of those arrested. The arrests took place in the days following demonstrations on 17 December 2007 in Manama and other regions of Bahrain, in which a protester, Ali Jessam Mekki, was killed. The demonstrations were organised by members of the National Committee of Martyrs and Victims of Torture to mark the 13th anniversary of the death of two young Shiite men killed by security forces while participating in a demonstration calling for the restoration of democracy. From the 21st to the 28th December 2007, members of the Special Security Forces (SSF) arrested approximately 50 people including at least 11 human rights defenders.
Front Line is concerned following reports of the recent judicial proceedings against Mohamed Abdul Nabi Al-Maskati, Director of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR), an organisation that organises training workshops and monitors human rights violations.
Front Line is concerned following reports that Ghada Jamsheer, woman human rights defender and President of the Women's Petition Committee (WPC), is effectively banned from the national Bahrain media. The WPC is a network of Bahraini women human rights defenders who campaign for the codification of Bahrain’s family laws and the reform of Shari’a Family Courts.
Since 1 July 2007, human rights defender and Vice-President of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), Nabeel Ahmed Rajab has faced ongoing harassment and has been followed by civilian vehicles on a daily basis to and from his home. Urge the authorities in Bahrain to conduct an inquiry into the source of the intimidation with a view to identifying those responsible and bringing them to justice.
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