NGOs call for Alsingace release, Saudis accused of escalating repression

4 August، 2021

As the prominent political and human rights activist, Dr Abdul Jalil Al Singace continues his hunger strike for the fourth week running, concerns have been raised by doctors and human rights activists for his health. The level of sugar in his blood is dropping, his heart beats have become weak and irregular and his overall health is deteriorating rapidly. The US-based Tom Lantos Committee for Human Rights has tweeted a call for the immediate and unconditional release of Dr Al Singace. The committee also tweeted a Reuters report about him.

This week 16 leading human rights groups including Amnesty International, Scholars at Risk and the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy have issued a statement calling for the release of jailed Bahraini academic, blogger and human rights defender Dr AbduljalilAlSingace, who has been on hunger strike since 8 July 2021 to protest ill-treatment and demand the return of a book he wrote in prison which was confiscated by prison authorities. The letter states that the confiscation of Dr AlSingace’s book, for which he dedicated at least four years of research, “is an unjust punishment” adding that “authorities must ensure the protection of his rights, including the return of his intellectual property.” The signatories called “for Dr AlSingace’s immediate and unconditional release and for his work to be immediately given to his family.” Dr ASingace’s book, a study of Bahraini Arabic dialects, contains no political content but authorities have refused to return it.

Yesterday the brother of Bahraini native footballer, Hakeem al-Oraibi, died after catching Covid-19. Emad Ali Mohamed Al-Oraibi became known to the world when his brother was wrongfully detained in a Thai prison in 2019 at the request of the regime in Manama. The khalifis have adopted deficient policies to combat the pandemic as they continue their hostile relations with native medical staff including doctors and nurses. The family of the two brothers is said to be devastated for the loss of Emad and the predicament of Hakim.

On 1st August young Bahraini youth, political prisoner Sayed Reda Sayed Baqir from Duraz town was ferociously attacked by one of the khalifitorturers. He was then transferred to solitary confinement.

As part of the religious intolerance and insitutionalised discrimination against the Shia majority population, khalifi torturers have summoned scores of native Bahrainis and warned them against exercising their religious rituals. Among them were two brothers; Jaffar and Ahmed Al Sabe’, and Ahmad Al Rayes. They were asked to report at Roundabout 17 police station at Hamad town where they were detained.

In a statement issued yesterday (3rd August) Amnesty International said that Saudi Arabian authorities have brazenly intensified the persecution of human rights defenders and dissidents and stepped up executions over the past six months, following a lull in prosecutions of activists and a sharp decline in use of the death penalty during Saudi Arabia’s G20 presidency last year. Saudi Arabia’s post-G20 crackdown on expression documents how since Saudi Arabia handed over the G20 presidency, authorities have prosecuted, sentenced or ratified sentences of at least 13 people, following grossly unfair trials before the Specialized Criminal Court (SCC). After an 85% fall in recorded executions in 2020 at least 40 people were put to death between January and July 2021 – more than during the whole of 2020. “As soon as the G20 spotlight on Saudi Arabia faded the authorities resumed their ruthless pursuit of people who dare to express their opinions freely or criticize the government. In one case, the Specialized Criminal Court sentenced a humanitarian worker to an outrageous 20 years in prison for a simple tweet in which he expressed criticism of economic policies,” said Lynn Maalouf, Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International. “The brief respite in repression coinciding with Saudi Arabia’s hosting of the G20 summit last November indicates that any illusion of reform was simply a PR drive.” It said at least 39 individuals are behind bars for activism, human rights work or expression of dissent.

Sources confirmed that Sheikh Amer Al-Muhalhal, Imam of the Umm Al-Muminin Khadija mosque, as been in jail at Dhaiban prison for more than a year in Jeddah. The reason for the arrest was his management of the social media platforms of Sheikh Abdullah Basfar. A large security force raided the house of Dr. Muhammad Al-Hazmi in Abha, and snatched the cleric to an unknown location. He has been caring for the family of the detained religious scholar Sheikh Musa Al-Qarni.