Bahrain: Nabeel Rajab released!

IMPACT

Bahrain: Liberation of Nabeel Rajab

Nabeel Rajab, president of the Bahraini Center for Human Rights (BCHR) and FIDH Deputy Secretary General, was released on bail on May 28th 2012.

Arrested on May 5th at the Manama airport, Nabeel Rajab was kept in detention for three weeks on various charges amongst which "slandering the Minister of Interior" and "participation and call to participate in "illegal" rallies".

His release does not put an end to the three legal proceedings against him. The mobilisation of FIDH and of human rights organisations for the liberation of this figure of the Bahraini human rights movement was intense, contributing greatly to his release.

On May 25th, the Observatory for the protection of human rights defenders (joint FIDH-OMCT programme) had seized the United Nations Working Group on arbitrary detention on Nabeel Rajab’s case.

In April 2012, an FIDH delegation had gone to Bahrain to assess the level of implementation of the Bahraini Independant Commission of Inquiry’s recommendations on the violations perpetrated during the protest movement: the situation gives serious cause for concern. See the preliminary conclusions of the FIDH mission to Bahrain.

In December 2011, Nabeel Rajab testified for our cameras on the violence towards the protesters.

YET THE REPRESSION OF DEFENDERS CONTINUES...

The release of Nabeel Rajab does not end the harrassment, the threats and the repression against these human rights defenders and political activists. Many of them are still being prosecuted or threatened with proceedings. Many have already been sentenced or are awaiting verdict in jail. This judicial harassment is part of a generalised repression affecting whole sections of the population.