Attn. Cheikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain
Paris, July 30, 2007
Re: Setting up of an investigation committee on Dr. Abdullah Alajmi’s statement on health issues
Mr. Prime Minister,
The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) has been informed by its member organisation, the Bahrain Human Rights Society (BHRS), of the decision of the Bahraini Ministry of Health to set up an investigation committee in order to take possible sanctions against Dr. Abdullah Alajmi, the Chairman of the Bahrain Medical Society (BMS) and a consultant to the Ministry of Health, who pointed to the deterioration of the standard of health services in the country.
According to the information received, the decision of the Ministry follows the release, on July 13, 2007, of a written statement in the Bahraini press in which Dr. Alajmi announced that he would cooperate with a parliamentary investigation committee to assess the deterioration of the national health services. Although Dr. Alajmi signed his statement as the Chairman of the BMS, the investigation committee was formed on the consideration that Dr.Alajmi spoke as a consultant in the Ministry.
The investigation committee created by the Ministry of Health recently decided to postpone its work to Wednesday, August 1st, 2007.
FIDH expresses its concern about the decision of the Bahraini Ministry of Health as it considers that the setting up of the investigation committee directly sanctions Mr. Alajmi’s rights to freedom of expression and opinion and, in this regard, contradicts:
* the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ratified by the Kingdom of Bahrain, namely its Article 19.1 (« everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference ») and Article 19.2 (« everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice »),
* Article 6(c) of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders adopted by the General Assembly on December 9, 1998, which provides that « everyone has the right, individually and in association with others [... to] study, discuss, form and hold opinions on the observance, both in law and in practice, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and, through these and other appropriate means, to draw public attention to those matters ».
FIDH also fears that the creation of such a committee could discourage Bahraini NGOs and members of civil society to criticise the different social issues, as well as state policies and state actions in the field of the right to health or in other sectors.
Therefore, FIDH urges your Government to abolish the investigation committee and refrain from taking any action against Mr. Alajmi that would violate his freedom of expression and opinion guaranteed by international human rights standards and international instruments ratified by the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Yours sincerely,
Souhayr BELHASSEN
President