Pro-Palestine Bahrainis jailed, UAE detains activist during COP28
On Thursday 30th November One of the courts run by the khalifi regime in Bahrain passed a prison sentence of six months on native youth Mohammed Yousuf (from Sanad town). He has been moved to the notorious Jau Prison to serve the sentence. He was charged with taking part in a pro-Palestinian protest. He was detained on 27th October when the protest that was taking place in the town of Daih was attacked. On 4th December the courts also extended the detention of Ali Hussain Abdulla Ahmed, 15, for 30 days for protesting in support of Palestine. On the same day, six other native Bahraini youths had their detention extended by 30 days: Hussain Rabi’ (from Sitra), Abbas Aqeel Hani (Duraz), Mohammed Hussain Ahmed (Sanabis), Sayed Hussain Abbas Al Alawi (Karbabad), Ali Hassan El Ekri (Al Daih) and Abdul Rahman Al Hussaini (Manama).
Since the flare-up of the Gaza crisis the khalifi regime in Bahrain detained 57 natives for supporting Palestine. 36 of them remain behind bars. Protests have continued to support the Palestinians, call for an immediate ceasefire and urge the khalifi regime to end its links with the Israelis.
Bahraini authorities have arrested another young man for taking part in the peaceful protests. Mahdi Maitham has been detained for at least seven days ‘pending an investigation.’ This is the second time this year that Maitham has been arbitrarily jailed. Last week, political prisoner, Murtada Al Samahiji from Malikiya who was detained on 22nd November has had his detention extended by 15 more days for supporting the Palestinians.
The family of political prisoner, Sayed Abbas Sayed Mahdi have asked the prison officials to explain why their son had been moved to medical isolation. He does not suffer any ailment and they see this step as a way to break his will. Another political prisoner has also been isolated. Ali Hassan Hammad (from Al Dair town) has been held in solitary confinement since 30th November for no real reason. He is serving a 15-year prison sentence. Also on 1st December Ahmed Al Qattan (from Shakhoura town) was moved to an isolation cell. He has been in jail since 14th September 2020.
Bahraini political prisoner Ahmed Jaafar Ali is suing Interpol over his 2022 arrest and deportation from Serbia. Ali was deported back to his native Bahrain where he was tortured and sentenced to life in prison over trumped-up terrorism charges. Ali’s lawyers filed a civil suit in a French court against Interpol arguing that the red notice issued for his arrest violated the policing organization’s own constitution. Interpol red notices are used by member states to request the arrest of ‘wanted’ individuals by law enforcement agencies in other countries. Interpol has been criticized in the past for helping the Manama regime go after dissidents abroad for their political activities.
The Bahraini society has almost unanimously called on the khalifi rulers to cut the links with the Zionist regime and expel its ambassador. Sixty NGOs have signed a petition calling for ending all agreements linked to normalization of relations between the khalifis and the Israelis. Also 426 religious scholars, Shia and Sunni, have signed separate statements calling for the expulsion of the Israeli envoy from Bahrain and the abrogation of the normalization agreement.
Bahraini activists and religious leaders visited Hasan Mushaima’s family home in a show of solidarity with the most senior political prisoner who has been held in isolation at a local hospital for years. On Friday the 75-year-old suspended a brief hunger strike following promises from authorities that his complaints about ill-treatment would be addressed. Mushaima is a cancer survivor who suffers from diabetes and other health complications.
The UAE government confirmed that Khalaf al-Romaithi is detained in Abu Dhabi, without providing further details. In 2013, al-Rumaithi was sentenced to 15 years in jail by the UAE’s Federal Supreme Court for “establishing a secret organisation affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood”. Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Jordan had detained al-Rumaithi, 58, at Amman’s international airport on May 7 when he arrived from Turkey, where he had been living in exile. Jordanian authorities temporarily detained him before releasing him on bail, HRW said. They detained him again on May 8 before he was extradited to the UAE. It was hoped that hosting the COP28 conference in Dubai would lead to the release of political prisoners, but that has not happened.
On Tuesday, Abdullah al-Qahtani re-delivered a letter to Saudi Embassy in London and wanted to discuss his father’s situation. The letter also included a petition signed by many people demanding the release of his father. The signatories are urging the authorities to free the father, Mohammed al-Qahtani.
Bahrain Freedom Movement
6th December 2023
