[The following report was issued by the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders on 14 February 2013.]
International Judicial Observation Mission Report on the Trial against Human Rights Defender Nabeel Rajab
Introduction
Between September and December 2012, the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a joint programme of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), carried out four missions to Manama (Bahrain) to monitor the hearings of the trial of Mr. Nabeel Rajab, FIDH Deputy Secretary General, President of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), Director of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR), a member of the Advisory Committee of Human Rights Watch’s Middle East Division, a member of the Advisory Board of the Bahrain Rehabilitation and Anti-Violence Organization (BRAVO), and former Chairman of CARAM Asia.
Mr. Rajab is a prominent human rights activist, well-known at national and international levels. His human rights work has been recognized internationally, but within Bahraini society he remains a figure of controversy. A “hero to protesters” of the Bahraini Spring for his endless monitoring and denunciation of human rights violations and his peaceful participation to the demonstrations, he has been described as a “villain” by the authorities and pro-government groups.
Thanks to his international aura, until May 2012, Mr. Rajab had remained one of the few pro-democracy activists in Bahrain not to have been detained. His subsequent arrest and detention therefore constituted a worrying message that even high-profile and internationally recognized human rights defenders are not immune from detention and repression in Bahrain. His detention had a direct impact on the human rights organisation he chairs in Bahrain, which is one of the most active in documenting and denouncing human rights violations in Bahrain and providing support to victims of such violations, as well as on the functioning of national, regional and international human rights organisations with which he collaborates. The BCHR was one of the three short-listed nominees for the 2012 Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders.
Mr. Nabeel Rajab has been targeted for his tireless efforts at highlighting gross human rights violations against ordinary citizens, human rights defenders, and actual or perceived political opponents in Bahrain, in particular since the beginning of the popular uprising in the country in February 2011 through the use of Twitter, Facebook, and other social network tools and media outlets as well as his participation in public gatherings.
The missions’ delegations sought meetings with Government officials, representatives of the judiciary and the legal profession, academics, lawyers, and other members of civil society in order to undertake a full evaluation of the fairness of the trial. Over the course of these missions, the Observatory’s observers met on various occasions with:
- Mr. Khalid bin Ali Al Khalifa, Minister of Justice and Islamic Affairs;
- Ms. Sameera Rajab, Minister of State for Information;
- Mr. Khalifa bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, Director of Human Rights Organisations, Ministry of State for Human Rights;
- a number of other representatives of the Bahraini legal and judicial systems, including Mr. Naif Yousef, Public Prosecutor, and a judge detached at the Ministry of State for Human Rights;
- as well as several lawyers, including Mr. Nabeel Rajab’s lawyers and Mr. Mohamed Issa Al Tajer, a prominent human rights lawyer.
The report demonstrates that the trial in appeal against Mr. Nabeel Rajab failed to comply with international standards of fair trial. The entire procedure was fraught with serious human rights violations from the time of arrest through detention, trial, and conviction.
[Click here to download the full report.]