Bahrain refuses to prosecute police who tortured journalist
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Version 0 of 1. Bahrain is a small oil-rich island in the Persion Gulf that regards itself as a constitutional monarchy. In fact, it has been controlled by a single family, the Al-Khalifas, since the end of the 18th century. The king, Hamad, is an Al-Khalifa. The crown prince is an Al-Khalifa. The prime minister, appointed by the king in 1971, is an Al-Khalifa (who happens to be the king’s uncle). The foreign minister is an Al-Khalifa. The Al-Khalifas are Sunnis who rule over a restless Shia majority. The judiciary is not independent. The media are anything but free. According to a BBC profile in November 2014, Bahraini journalists risk prosecution for offences which include “undermining” the government and religion. During anti-government protests in 2011, journalists were targeted by security forces and police. Among them was Nazeeha Saeed, the Bahrain correspondent of the French TV news channel France 24 and Radio Monte Carlo Doualiya. In May 2011, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) told how Nazeeha was tortured after she was summoned to a police station in the city of Rifa’a. She had done nothing more than cover the pro-democracy demonstrations. A female officer accused her of “lying” in her reports and demanded that she admit her links with the Hezbollah TV station Al-Manar and the Iranian Arabic-language TV station Al-Alam. She was slapped, seized by the hair and thrown to the ground (as the Guardian also reported at the time). Four policewomen then proceeded to slap, punch and kick her repeatedly. One forced a shoe into her mouth and said: “You are worth less than this shoe.” With the shoe still in her mouth, Nazeeha was blindfolded and forced to kneel on a chair, exposing her back and the soles of her feet, which were beaten with a piece of plastic tubing. In a second interrogation session she was blindfolded again and humiliated by being told to bray like a donkey and walk like an animal. At one point, a female officer held a plastic bottle against her mouth and told her: “Drink, it’s urine.” Nazeeha managed to knock the bottle out of the woman’s hand, but she picked it up and poured part of its contents over her face. During a third session, the soles of her feet, her back, her arms and her head were beaten once more with the plastic tube. She was released after 13 hours and flew to France to be treated for her injuries. On her return to Bahrain, she expected the police officers responsible for her torture to be prosecuted. But after a lengthy wait, she finally heard on Sunday (15 November) that the Bahraini justice ministry has decided that it will not take any action against them. It explained that there was “insufficient evidence.” Nazeeha argues that her case is well documented and that she has all the necessary proof. She said: “I am dismayed that I am unable to obtain justice in my country despite all the evidence I provided.” RWB, which has supported Nazeeha over the past four years, condemned what it called an arbitrary decision not to prosecute the perpetrators, saying it was outraged by the announcement by Bahrain’s special investigation unit, which is responsible for monitoring and investigating human rights violations by the country’s security forces. It is “unacceptable,” said Alexandra El Khazen, head of RWB’s Middle East desk. “The way this case has dragged on for years with no tangible results shows a lack of any real desire to shed light on the matter. “Those responsible for these actions should be tried, as should those in the chain of command who are implicated. We call on the authorities to take the necessary measures to bring these years of impunity to an end.” On 2 November, the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, RWB renamed the Parisian street where the Bahraini embassy is located as “Rue Nazeeha Saeed.” At present, according to RWB’s tally, eight journalists and five citizen-journalists are detained in Bahrain. They include photojournalist Ahmed Humeidan and freelance photographer Sayed Ahmed el Mousawi. After repeated postponements, Mousawi’s trial is now scheduled to begin next Friday (27 November). He has been badly tortured while in prison and is facing a possible jail sentence of five to 10 years on charges of giving SIM cards to “terrorist” protesters and taking photos of anti-government demonstrations. Bahrain is ranked 115th out of 180 countries in the 2015 RWB press freedom index. Sources: BBC/RWB/Guardian |