pro-democracy

• CIVICUS calls for the release of Eswatini MPs before the anniversary of their detention
  • Calls for the release of Eswatini MPs Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube
  • 25 July marks their one-year anniversary in detention 
  • MPs feature in  #StandAsMyWitness global human rights campaign
  • Regional SADC conference to address political unrest postponed

  Global civil society alliance CIVICUS calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Eswatini members of parliament Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube ahead of their one-year anniversary in detention.

  Bacede and Mthandeni were detained on 25 July 2021 following protests demanding political reforms and charged under the Suppression of Terrorism Act and for flouting Covid-19 regulations. They feature in CIVICUS’s global #StandAsMyWitness campaign, calling for the release of activists in prison or facing pre-trial detention after protecting and promoting human rights. 

  “CIVICUS calls for the immediate release of Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube, and all charges against them dropped. As MPs, it is their duty to peacefully demand democratic reform and speak out against repression - freedom of speech is not a crime. Their detention has been politically motivated, fuelled by a crisis sweeping Eswatini - they should not spend another night behind bars,” said David Kode, CIVICUS Advocacy and Campaigns Lead.

  Pro-democracy and anti-police protests swept Eswatini in June 2021 after the unexplained death of 25-year-old law student, Thabani Nkomonye, allegedly at the hands of the police. Over 1,000 people were arrested and the security forces called in to stamp out dissent. Political unrest followed and in recent months the landlocked Southern African country has experienced a so-called ‘winter revolution’ - journalists have been targeted and there have been clashes between the authorities and protesters calling for government and monarchical reforms.                                                                      

  A Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit to discuss political unrest sweeping the country was due to take place on 21 July but cancelled when Eswatini’s King Mswati III failed to appear in person. Campaigners believe King Mswati, Africa’s last absolute monarch, has thwarted calls for reform and suppressed political activism for years. His failure to attend the recent SADC conference was seen as a further blow to democracy.

  “We urge King Mswati to come to the table and start a national political dialogue with members of the opposition and civil society leaders as soon as possible; we call on Eswatini to stop suppressing dissent and silencing protesters and urge the government to overhaul rights and democracy in the country, starting with the release of all activists and human rights defenders currently behind bars,” said Kode.

  Human rights defenders across the world are risking their lives for social, political, economic, gender and environmental justice. There are currently 21 human rights defenders in CIVICUS’s #StandAsMyWitnesscampaign - collectively, they have been in prison for half a century. 

  Aswell as Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube, they include Bahrainian political activist Abdul-Hadi al-Khawaja, sentenced after pro-democracy protests in 2011; Mexican Kenia Hernandez, an Indigenous land rights campaigner sentenced to a decade of imprisonment in 2022; and human rights lawyer Buzurgmehr Yorov from Tajikistan, sentenced to 28 years in 2015.

  “CIVICUS renews our calls to governments to release activists and human rights defenders. We urge people around the world to join the #StandAsMyWitness campaign and fight for their freedom - sign a petition, post on social media or lobby your government. Activists behind bars are asking you to #StandAsMyWitness.” 

  So far, #StandAsMyWitness has teamed up with activists and civil society organisations across the world and successfully seen the release of 20 human rights defenders.

  Those released include Loujain al-Hathloul from Saudi Arabia, a women’s rights activist convicted for driving a car; celebrated Indian human rights lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj; and Kazakhstan’s Asya Tulesova, arrested for knocking off a police officer's hat.

  To find out more about the #StandAsMyWitness campaign, visit CIVICUS’s campaign webpage: Stand As My Witness.

• Hong Kong: Chronology of harassment against human rights defender Chow Hang-tung

  Chow Hang-Tung is a human rights lawyer, pro-democracy activist and was one of the four vice-chairs of the now-defunct Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Patriotic Democratic Movement of China (HKA). The HKA was the main organiser of the annual Tiananmen vigils – an event of remembrance of the Tiananmen Massacre in 1989. She had also been proactively campaigning to release political prisoners and safeguard democracy in Hong Kong.

  On 13 December 2021, the courts convicted her and sentenced her to 12 months imprisonment for participating in an unauthorised assembly and inciting others to do the same concerning the Tiananmen vigil in June 2020. On 4 January 2022, she wassentenced to an additional 15 months in jail, with five to be served concurrently, for inciting others to participate in the 2021 Tiananmen vigil by publishing two pieces calling on Hong Kong residents to mark the day by lighting candles. She won her appeal against her 15 month conviction in December 2022.

  She was also charged of "inciting subversion of state power and "not complying with the requirement to provide information" under Article 43 of Hong Kong's National Security Law and sentenced to 4.5 months prison in March 2023

  Updated April 2024

  2021

  4 June 2021: Chow Hang-tung was arrested by Hong Kong police on the 32nd anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown for inciting an unauthorised assembly after she urged people to mark the Tiananmen Massacre by lighting candles and said she would do so in a public space.

  5 June 2021: Chow was released on bail.

  30 June 2021: Police re-arrested Chow and her bail was revoked for allegedly encouraging others to join a banned rally for the anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover to China that was to be celebrated on 1 July 2021. No charges were brought against her in connection with the banned event.

  2 July 2021: Chow appeared before the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts, which refused to grant her bail. She was detained at the New South Territories police station.

  5 August 2021: Chow was granted bail by a Hong Kong court after being remanded in custody for over a month. Chow had to pay a cash bail of HK$50,000, offer a surety of HK$50,000, hand over all travel documents, and submit a declaration that she does not hold a BNO passport.

  25 August 2021: The standing committee members of the Hong Kong Alliance including Chow received letters from the police national security unit. The letters required them to provide information under paragraph 5 of Article 43 of the National Security Law.  Police officers visited the homes of the organisation’s committee members to serve the letters.

  8 September 2021:Chow and several members of The Hong Kong Alliance were arrested after the group was accused of working as a "foreign agent". The arrests were made under the national security law

  10 September 2021:  Chow and two others were charged with subversion. A Hong Kong court denied her bail.

  24 September 2021: Chow appeared before the West Kowloon Magistrates Court for her second bail review hearing. The judge denied her bail on the same basis as the last review, that he has "insufficient ground for believing she would not continue to commit acts endangering national security."

  25 September 2021: The Hong Kong Alliance announced it was disbanding. Authorities froze 2.2 million Hong Kong dollars (USD 283,000) of the group’s assets this month after it was charged 

  29 September 2021:  The National Security Department informed the Hong Kong Alliance that its assets, including bank accounts and a property, were frozen under the Implementing Rules of Article 43 of national security law. 

  30 September 2021: The West Kowloon Magistrates' Court denied bail for the third time

  11 October 2021: the West Kowloon Magistrates' Court denied bail for the fourth time.

  12 October 2021: Four UN experts, namely the UN Special Rapporteurs on Human Rights and Counter-terrorism, the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association, the Rights to Freedom of Expression, and on Human Rights Defenders raised concerns over the arrest of Chow and highlighted the urgent need for the Hong Kong government to review the draconian National Security Law.

  22 October 2021: The presiding judge granted bail, for the first time, to Chow and four other human rights defenders. However, Chow Hang-tung remained in remand on a separate charge of "inciting subversion of State power

  26 October 2021: The Chief Executive ordered the Hong Kong Alliance be removed from Companies Register because the Alliance’s work, including organizing peaceful assemblies, undermines the Central governments’ “ability to safeguard national security and to maintain public safety and order”

  1 November 2021: Chow pleaded not guilty to the charges levelled against her for their role in the Tiananmen vigil

  6 December 2021: Chow's application for bail, the sixth since her arrest in September 2021, was denied by a Hong Kong court 

  9 December 2021: A Hong Kong court found Chow and two other prominent pro-democracy activists guilty over an unauthorised assembly on 4 June 2020 to mark Beijing's 1989 crackdown on protesters in and around Tiananmen Square.

  13 December 2021: Chow received a 12 month sentence. 

  2022

  4 January 2022: Chow was sentenced to 15 months in prison for incitement of a banned vigil to commemorate those who died in Beijing’s crackdown in Tiananmen Square in 1989. During Chow’s trial, prosecutors said the activist had incited others to take part in the vigil through articles published on her Facebook account and in the Ming Pao newspaper. The judge said five months of the sentence will run concurrently, meaning Chow will serve 10 months in addition to her current sentence.

  14 February 2022: Chow made an application to the magistrate asking that the court reporting restrictions about her case under s87A(2) of the Magistrates Ordinance be lifted.

  25 April 2022: The application asking that the court reporting restrictions to be lifted was refused by Principal Magistrate Peter Law Tak-chuen. 

  31 May 2022: Chow launched a legal bid against a magistrate’s decision not to lift reporting restrictions for a national security case. The application was made against the decision of Principal Magistrate Peter Law, who is also a hand-picked national security judge, not to lift reporting restrictions on committal proceedings for the Alliance’s national security case. Reporting restrictions surrounding committal proceedings – whereby a magistrate determines whether there is enough evidence for case to be transferred to the Court of First Instance of the High Court for trial or sentence – mean that written and broadcast reports are limited to including only the name of the defendants, magistrates, and lawyers, the alleged offence, the court’s decision, whether legal aid was granted, and future court dates.

  17 June 2022:  Chow has sought to appeal her conviction and sentence linked to last year’s June 4 assembly, which was banned by police for public health concerns. Judge Judianna Barnes of the High Court will hear Chow’s argument on 11 October 2022.

  29 June 2022: It was reported that Chow had been denied access to some details of the prosecution’s case against her, two weeks ahead of the national security case going to trial. Chow made the request on for the particulars of the prosecution’s case accusing the group acting as a foreign agent in front of Principal Magistrate Peter Law at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts. She told the court that it would be “impossible” for her to prepare her case without knowing on what basis the prosecution was accusing the Alliance functioning as a foreign agent.

  12 July 2022: Chow asked Hong Kong’s High Court to open committal proceedings in her case to the media, but a government lawyer objected on the grounds that this may jeopardise a fair trial. 

  13 July 2022: A Hong Kong court was asked to determine if Chow and two former members of the Hong Kong Alliance can challenge the legality of a national security data probe. The trio were accused of “failing to comply with [a] notice to provide information” from the national security police. 

  27 July 2022: The UN Human Rights Committee urged Hong Kong to repeal the national security law and, in the meantime, refrain from applying it. They also called on Hong Kong authorities to “refrain and reconsider” security law charges against human rights barrister Chow Hang-tung

  2 August 2022: The High Court quashed the court reporting restriction. The High Court Judge Alex Lee Wan-teng ruled in favour of Chow’s application and overturned Law’s decision, asking him to grant an order that Law shall lift the reporting restrictions when handling Chow’s next application, which will allow open reporting of pre-trial proceedings – known as committal hearings - in a Hong Kong national security case for the first time.   In the judgement, Lee mentioned the magistrate had no discretion but to lift the reporting restrictions when the applicant made a request under s87A(2), and Law’s denial would impede a fair trial and that the application was ultra vires.  Lee also said the court “rejects” a contention by Hong Kong’s Secretary for Justice that lifting the reporting restrictions “would frustrate the ultimate aim of doing justice.”  

  17 August 2022: Principal Magistrate Peter Law lifted the court reporting restriction for the upcoming preliminary inquiry of Chow Hang-tung’s NSL case, following the decision from the High Court. The preliminary hearing, a process for Magistrates to determine whether the prosecution has enough evidence to make a case against the defendant, would be conducted in an open court. 

  2 September 2022: Preliminary inquiry for Chow Hang-tung was conducted, with Veronica Heung as the Acting Principal Magistrate. The process was conducted as an open court. 

  9 September 2022:The National Security case against Chow Hang-tung was moved to the Court of First Instance, after Acting Principal Magistrate Veronica Heung ruled in the preliminary inquiry that the prosecution had sufficient evidence against her. The highest penalty for incitement to subversion is ten years imprisonment.

  11 October 2022:Chow Hang-tung appeared before Judge Judianna Barnes of the High Court seeking an appeal against her conviction and 15-months sentence over the 2021 banned commemoration. The Judge will hand down the judgement at the end of December. 

  26 October 2022: In a trial held at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court against her and two other former standing committee members of the Hong Kong Alliance, Tang Ngok-kwan and Tsui Hon-kwong, who stand accused of not complying with national security police’ request for information on the investigation under the National Security Law, Principal Magistrate Peter Law barred Chow Hang-tung from using the phrase “Tiananmen massacre” during the national security trial, with a magistrate instead urging her to use “proper terminology.”

  14 December 2022: Chow won an appeal against the conviction and 15-month prison term over the banned 4 June vigil in 2021. In a written judgement, Court of First Instance judge Judianna Barnes said police did not exercise their responsibility in allowing and facilitating a peaceful public assembly wherever feasible, as stated in the Public Order Ordinance. The judge added that while Chow had called for people to gather at Victoria Park, her action was not a crime as the ban was not legally sound. While her 15-month sentence, which was meant to end in January 2023, has been repealed, Chow will remain in detention over her two national security cases.

  2023

  4 March 2023: Three former leaders of the disbanded Hong Kong Alliance which organised Hong Kong’s annual Tiananmen vigil, including Chow Hang-Tung were convicted under the Beijing-imposed national security law for failing to give police information on members and other data. The other two were Tang Ngok-kwan and Tsui Hon-kwong.

  11 March 2023: The three were sentenced to four and a half months in jail. Chow was defiant, while criticising what she described as the “political” nature of the case, and the decision of the court to withhold key facts. She said: “We will continue doing what we have always done, that is to fight falsehood with truth, indignity with dignity, secrecy with openness, madness with reason, division with solidarity. We will fight these injustices wherever we must, be it on the streets, in the courtroom, or from a prison cell.”

  3 May 2023:  Chow was chosen as the winner of this year's Gwangju Prize for Human Rights. Moon Hee-sang, head of the judging panel said "Chow Hang-tung's struggle against the Hong Kong government's undemocratic, inhumane treatment has become the source of courage and hope for human rights advocates and those longing for democracy around the world, even when she is in custody."

  23 June 2023:  The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention published their decision (dated 1 May 2023) on Chow Hang-Tung and found that her deprivation of liberty as arbitrary within categories I ( No legal basis justifying the deprivation of liberty), II (deprivation of liberty is a result from the peaceful exercise of freedoms of expression, assembly and association.), III (there were severe violations of the fair trial right) sand V (she has been specifically targeted by the authorities for her political opinion).

  11 October 2023: It was reported that Chow had been sent into solitary confinement again. She was sent to solitary once in June, twice in July, once in August and once in September, for anything from seven to 14 days at a time.

  13 December 2023: Chow Hang-tung was awarded the Franco-German Prize for Human Rights and the Rule of Law. The award honours “civil society’s commitment to human dignity and the inalienable human rights of all people.”

  21 December 2023: A Hong Kong court rejected a fresh bail application for Chow Hang-tung, whose subversion trial under a China-imposed national security law is expected to open in late 2024. High Court judge Andrew Chan said he couldn't grant bail because Chow might carry out acts that endanger national security.

  2024

  25 January 2024: The High Court overturned Chow Hang-tung’s acquittal of the 15-month jail sentence for ‘inciting others to take part in an unauthorised assembly’ relating to a Tiananmen vigil in 2021

  14 March 2024: The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal of Hang-Tung and two other activists to overturn their conviction over their refusal to provide authorities with information on the group under a national security law.

  17 April 2024: The High Court has refused the applications of Hang-Tung and two other activists to challenge their convictions in the Court of Final Appeal (CFA) over refusing to comply with a data request from national security police 

• Hong Kong: Crackdown on democratic freedoms continues with mass arrests

  Global civil society alliance CIVICUS condemns the mass arbitrary arrests in Hong Kong this week in an unprecedented crackdown on democratic freedoms and calls for the immediate release of all those detained. The arrests are the clearest sign yet that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) under President Xi Jinping is determined to stamp out political opposition in the region.

  53 people, including pro-democracy activists, opposition candidates and former lawmakers, and lawyers, were arrested and detained under the draconian National Security Law (NSL). The 53 have been accused of ‘subverting state power’ by holding and participating in primary elections held by Hong Kong’s pro-democratic party in July 2020. At the time, China declared the primaries ‘illegal’. 

  Among those arrested is  Benny Tai, an activist and legal scholar. Former legislators James To, Lam Cheuk-ting, Claudia Mo and Leung Kwok-hung and Eddie Chu Hoi-dick were also arrested. Others include young pro-democracy campaigners Lester Shum, Gwyneth Ho, Tiffany Yuen and Jeffrey Andrews. Police also searched the home of already-detained activist Joshua Wong, as well as three news outlets.

  The arrests took place in early-morning raids on 6 January, compounding a climate of fear pervasive in Hong Kong since the NSL was adopted in June 2020. The NSL has been heavily criticized by human rights groups for undermining fair trial rights, providing sweeping new powers to the police, increasing restrictions on civil society and the media and weakening judicial oversight. Protests against the law were some of the biggest in Hong Kong’s history.

  Following its adoption, the law was immediately used to prosecute activists and critics, prompting a statement in July 2020 from the UN Human Rights Office that ‘such laws should never be used to criminalize conduct and expression that is protected under international human rights law.’ The repression enabled by the law, of which this week’s mass arrests are just the latest example, clearly shows once again that the concerns raised by the law and protests against it were entirely justified.

  More than 10,000 people have been arrested overall in connection with the 2019 protests against the NSL, and more than 2,000 have faced prosecution on charges such as “rioting”, “illegal assembly” and “possession of weapons”. In December 2020, prominent pro-democracy activists Joshua Wong, Agnes Chow and Ivan Lam were convicted on charges relating to peaceful protests in 2019 and handed jail sentences. Wong was sentenced to 13.5 months in jail, Chow to 10 months and Lam to seven months. 

  In September 2020, CIVICUS joined over 300 organisations in endorsing a call by UN experts for a Special Session of the Human Rights Council to evaluate the range of violations by China’s government, including those in Hong Kong, and to establish an impartial and independent UN mechanism to closely monitor, analyze, and report annually on that topic.  Organizations also urged the UN Secretary-General to appoint a Special Envoy, consistent with his Call to Action on Human Rights, and called call on the High Commissioner for Human Rights to monitor and publicly report on China’s sweeping rights violations. 

  As the Council prepares to sit again in February for its 46th Session, CIVICUS reiterates these calls. China became a member of the Council in October 2020 – taking action to address its human rights violations is not only crucial to support those on the ground, including activists in Hong Kong who face persecution and incarceration, but it would also send a strong message that no country is above scrutiny. At the moment, the international community is falling far short on both counts.

• Joint Letter: Restore democratic rule in Thailand

  5 June 2018

  Prime Minister
  General Prayut Chan-o-cha
  Government House
  Pitsanulok Road, Dusit
  Bangkok 10300, Thailand

   

  Re: Concerns regarding arrest and prosecution of peaceful protesters

  Dear Prime Minister,

  We are writing to you with regards to the recent arrest and charging of pro-democracy activists for their participation in a peaceful protest in Bangkok on 22 May 2018, the fourth anniversary of the military coup in Thailand. These individuals were part of a group of hundreds of protesters who were calling for an end to military rule and for elections to be held by November 2018, in line with commitments previously made by your government.

  Joint open letter from @article19asia @adn2013seoul and @CIVICUSalliance calling on the #Thailand PM to drop all the charges against the pro-democracy activists involved in the 22 May protests, repeal restrictive laws and take steps to restore democratic rule pic.twitter.com/igDMyLGSZz

  — Josef Benedict (@josefroy2) June 5, 2018

  15 individuals were arrested on the day of the protest and subsequently charged with various offences including violations of Penal Code Sections 116 (sedition), 215 (assemblies leading to “breach of the peace”) and 216 (refusal to disperse). They are also facing charges under Article 12 of the Head of the NCPO Order No. 3/2558, which prohibits “political gatherings of five or more persons”, the Road Traffic Act, and the Public Assembly Act.

  On 24 May, after being detained for two nights, the 15 activists were brought to the Bangkok Criminal Court and granted bail of 100,000 Thai Baht per person (approximately USD 3,100). The court also imposed restrictions prohibiting the activists from organising or participating in further protests.

  On 29 May, authorities issued summons to at least 47 additional individuals present during the protest, including a staff member from Thai Lawyers for Human Rights who was on hand to monitor the event. This group of individuals will learn the nature of the charges they face when they report to a Bangkok police station on 7 June.

  The arrest and charging of the protesters clearly contravene Thailand’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), as do the restrictions placed on the future activities of these individuals.

  After four years of military rule in Thailand, government authorities continue to arbitrarily arrest, detain and prosecute peaceful protesters and government critics under an array of laws including those used to charge the 22 May protesters as well as the Computer Crimes Act and Penal Code provisions relating to defamation and offenses against the monarchy. Many pro-democracy activists are subject to charges in multiple criminal cases concerning their protest activities and could face decades of imprisonment, if convicted.

  By limiting political activities, curbing public gatherings, monitoring private communications, and stifling public discourse on matters of national interest, authorities are unjustifiably restricting the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly. Moreover, these actions have created a fearful environment in which people cannot freely express their opinions, criticize public authorities, or peacefully assemble without risking arrest and prosecution. These human rights violations are taking place in the context of the Thai government’s repeated failure to fulfil promises to hold elections and restore democratic norms.

  Therefore, we urge Thai authorities to take the following steps as a matter of priority:

  • Immediately and unconditionally drop all charges against the 22 May pro-democracy protesters and lift all restrictions on the exercise of their human rights;
  • Quash convictions and drop charges against anyone prosecuted or convicted for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association or peaceful assembly;
  • Amend or repeal laws and orders that restrict or provide criminal penalties for the peaceful exercise of human rights or allow for arbitrary detention, including Penal Code provisions relating to sedition, defamation and insults to the monarchy; the Computer Crimes Act; the Public Assembly Act; and NCPO Order No. 3/2558;
  • Create a safe and enabling environment for activists, human rights defenders and other members of Thailand’s civil society to peacefully exercise their rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly without intimidation, harassment, arrest or prosecution; and
  • Lift all restrictions on political activities and take steps to restore democratic rule in Thailand as soon as possible.

  We express our sincere hope that you will consider and support these recommendations. We would be happy to discuss these matters with you or other appropriate officials at any time and offer our support in reforming laws and policies to ensure compliance with international human rights law and standards.

  Sincerely,                      

  David E. Kode                                  Soo Yon Suh                                    Matthew Bugher

  Advocacy & Campaigns Lead          Program Manager                            Head of Asia Programme

  CIVICUS                                          Asia Democracy Network                ARTICLE 19

• Rights Groups Urge Bahrain to Release Dr Abduljalil AlSingace, Jailed Academic on Hunger Strike

  Dr Abduljalil AlSingace, an imprisoned opposition activist and human rights defender, has been on hunger strike since 8 July 2021. He is protesting against persistent ill-treatment at the hands of Jau Prison authorities, the main prison in Bahrain, restrictions imposed during COVID19 limiting prisoners contact to only five numbers, and to demand that a book he wrote in prison that was confiscated be immediately handed to his family, a coalition of 16 rights groups stated today.

  A respected academic and blogger, Dr AlSingace has spent the last decade in prison serving a life imprisonment sentence. He was amongst 13 opposition activists arrested between 17 March and 9 April 2011, including high-profile political opposition leaders, activists and human rights defenders, who were then convicted by a military tribunal for their roles in the 2011 pro-democracy protest movement.

  According to the 2011 Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, Bahraini authorities placed Dr AlSingace in solitary confinement for two months and subjected him to torture following his arrest, including being repeatedly beaten and “sexually molested”.

  Dr AlSingace launched a hunger strike on 8 July 2021 in response to degrading treatment he was subjected to by a prison officer, to protest the restriction of being permitted to call only five numbers during the ongoing COVID19 pandemic, and to demand the return of his book, confiscated by prison guards on 9 April 2021, and on which he worked for at least four years. We understand the book to be a study of linguistic diversity among Bahraini Arabic dialects, without any political content, yet the book has not been returned despite repeated promises by prison authorities.

  On 19 July, the Office of the Public Prosecution referred AlSingace’s case to the Ombudsman of the Ministry of Interior (the Ombudsman). The statement from the Public Prosecution incorrectly provided that AlSingace’s hunger strike was also related to “the refusal of the [Jau’s Reformation and Rehabilitation] centre’s administration to allow him to contact his relatives”.

  According to the Ombudsman, who cleared the prison officials from any wrongdoing and accused Dr AlSingace for alleged “smuggling” of his own work, Dr Al Singace “was not subjected to mistreatment”. This conclusion was reached without Dr AlSingace’s testimony as he refused to be interviewed. Human Rights Watch has found that the Ombudsman has repeatedly failed to investigate credible allegations of prison abuse or to hold officials accountable. The UN Committee against Torture has also raised concerns that these bodies were neither independent nor effective.

  Although the Ombudsman states that prison authorities “did not intend to confiscate the papers”, it confirms “that the reason for [Dr AlSingace’s] hunger strike was the confiscation of the papers he wrote” and that his work cannot be returned until a “legal decision” is taken.

  Many imprisoned political leaders in Bahrain are older and suffer from pre-existing health conditions and consequences of their torture in 2011, which today make them particularly vulnerable to diseases like COVID-19. Dr AlSingace has several chronic illnesses, suffering from post-polio syndrome, vertigo, causing him to lose his balance and fall, a slipped disk in his back and neck, causing chronic pain, and paresthesia in his muscles and limbs. Consequently, AlSingace requires the use of crutches or a wheelchair and is among those most at risk. Dr AlSingace has faced sustained medical negligence by prison authorities throughout his 10-year imprisonment, namely the prison’s regular refusal to take him to appointments with medical specialists over the past four years.

  We are thus deeply disturbed receive reports from family members that on 18 July 2021 Dr AlSingace was transferred to the Ministry of Interior medical facility in al-Qalaa for monitoring and to be given intravenous fluids; by 29 July AlSingace had reportedly already lost 10kg. Recent outbreaks of COVID-19 reported at Jau Prison create an additional threat to Dr AlSingace’s health.

  Since his imprisonment, the international community has made consistent calls for his immediate and unconditional release, including the United Nations Special Rapporteurs on Human Rights Defenders, leading international human rights organisations, and American, British and European legislators.

  The confiscation of Dr AlSingace’s book is an unjust punishment and the authorities must ensure the protection of his rights, including the return of his intellectual property. We call for Dr AlSingace’s immediate and unconditional release and for his work to be immediately given to his family.

  Signatories

  1. Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB)
  2. Amnesty International
  3. Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR)
  4. Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD)
  5. CIVICUS
  6. Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
  7. English PEN
  8. European Centre for Democracy and Human Rights (ECDHR)
  9. Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR)
  10. Human Rights First
  11. IFEX
  12. International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
  13. PEN International
  14. Scholars at Risk
  15. REDRESS
  16. World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)

  Civic space in Bahrain is rated as Closed by the CIVICUS Monitor

• Thailand: Government must respect and protect the rights of demonstrators

  

  We, the undersigned organizations, condemn the Thai police’s unnecessary and excessive use of force against peaceful protesters marching to the national parliament in Bangkok on November 17, 2020. We are concerned that authorities could employ similar measures when facing protesters who have declared they will march to the Siam Commercial Bank headquarters on November 25.