Introduction
Bahrain’s signing of the 2020 Abraham Accords was only one of many attempts by the Bahraini monarchy to maintain its status quo through foreign validation. For decades, Bahrain has reached out to foreign actors in order to directly and indirectly solidify its own freedom from accountability as it continues to commit gross human rights violations, eliminate basic freedoms, and use disproportionate force against its citizens.
Indeed, the political backing that the Bahraini government has received from its neighbors and Western powers has often sidelined issues related to human rights, including the constant abuses committed against political activists. In 2011, Bahrain requested direct military support from Saudi Arabia and the UAE to exterminate the peaceful protests that is was not strong enough to remove on its own. During this military attack on peaceful civilians, the Saudi and Emirati soldiers and officers committed horrible abuses against the protestors without consequence. Moreover, Bahrain has often used international events and official state visits as a means to divert attention from the extreme abuses it intentionally inflicts on its political prisoners and ordinary citizens. The country’s leaders have embarked on international visits to other countries in order to generate good will as a means to shield themselves from criticism and accountability and ultimately to solidify their rule. This effort has also expanded to other areas including professional sports. For instance, Bahrain has used Formula one events that are hosted in the country as a tool to distract the world from its human rights abuses and white wash its image. The result has been what the monarchy intended – the perpetuation of its rule at the expense of its citizens’ human rights without international consequences. Simultaneously, the government has been attacking activists who criticized the races for disregarding these abuses. For example, in 2017, Najah Yusuf was arrested for publically criticizing this event in Bahrain.
The Bahraini monarchy has used international agreements and multilateral relations to sustain itself against any possible repercussions for its human rights violations. The most recent use of an international agreement for this purpose has been its participation in the 2020 Abraham Accords. The Abraham Accords have allowed Bahrain to officially establish bi-lateral relations with Israel – something that on its own is not a bad thing – in areas of political, security, and economic development. This agreement has strengthened the royal family and facilitated the continuation of its repressive activities against civil society in general and, against activists who are still brave enough to encourage the world to hold their government accountable for its violence and abuses.
Political and economic consequences
Politically, the decision to sign the agreement, which was supported by the US and Saudi Arabia, strengthened the ruling family’s position and consolidated the status quo of repressed opposition in Bahrain. Economically, after Bahrain hosted a 2018 conference on Trump’s economic plans in the Middle East, over 10 billion dollars in aid were pledged to Bahrain by its neighbors. Israel and Bahrain have agreed on a framework for economic cooperation which deals with developing economic relations and encouraging free movement of goods and services between the two, leveraging perceived economic benefit over the popular opposition to the Accords for the benefit it confers to the monarchy at the expense of human rights and a free country.
Strengthening the Security State
As the monarchy has been tightening its grip over the country, it has resorted to extreme forms of monitoring and crackdown against activists. For this purpose, they have used various technologies and methods to maintain a thorough surveillance over any possible dissent. The Abraham Accords has benefited Bahrain with access to Israeli military and security technologies. These intelligence software and advanced technologies have led to further securitization of Bahrain, and subsequently, more violations. Bahrain is considered among the most heavily policed countries in the world and has recorded the highest rate of mass incarceration in the Middle East. The government uses these technologies and the intelligence it gathers to make sure that any opposition or dissent is eliminated.
Various reports have demonstrated that Bahrain has used these new technologies, mainly the Israeli spying software Pegasus, to monitor Bahraini activists, journalists, and politicians. To this date, it has been reported that the phones of nine activists have been monitored by authorities using Pegasus. Among the targeted individuals was the lawyer Mohamad Al-Tajer, according to Amnesty International. Al-Tajer has been critical of the government and represented the families of two victims who died after being tortured by security forces. Moreover, the Bahraini government has not only targeted activists and journalists, but also officials close to the government. This is a clear statement of the extreme securitization that the government has resorted to since 2011. In addition, following the Accords, direct relations have formed between different governmental agencies of the countries. For instance, the ministries of interior have been discussing security cooperation and exchanging expertise. This collaboration is demonstrated by the direct cooperation established by the Strategic Security Bureau and Israeli intelligence. This cooperation was formed in order to limit the effectiveness of the opposition. Often, these threats have been labelled under “terrorism” with the Bahraini state using its Counter-Terrorism laws against activists to hand down long sentences. Individuals tried under these laws are often subjected to severe due process and fair trial rights as well as torture in order to produce confessions.
Popular response and the government’s backlash
The signing of the Abraham Accords were met with heavy resistance by Bahraini citizens. 17 political and civil society groups representing both Sunni and Shia Islamists, leftists, and nationalists, as well as professional and labor organizations signed a statement denouncing the agreement. In 2020, after some government officials and parliamentarians criticized the government for its decision, the government issued a decree putting limits on how much criticism elected officials can direct toward government policy. The decree banned lawmakers from giving speeches in the Bahraini parliament which contain “criticism, blame, or accusation, or include statements that violate the constitution or the law, violate the dignity of persons or institutions, or harm the supreme interest of the country.” Moreover, Bahraini authorities shut down the livestream of a webinar organized by the Bahraini Democratic Youth Society in May 2020 for criticizing the prospects of Gulf normalization with Israel, only minutes after it had begun.
Bahraini elites, religious scholars, political associations and civil society organizations all mobilized against the move. Some used the internet and launched an online campaign that was trending widely in the country. Others took to the street, and demonstrations across the country took place after the deal was publicized. The government, once again, reacted violently to these protests. They used tear gas against peaceful protests and arrested some of the participants. In December 2021, Bahrain Forum for Human Rights recorded human rights violations committed by the government against Bahrainis who opposed the Abraham Accords, with 13 people being arbitrarily detained and six others summoned in October 2021. Ali Muhana, for instance, was forced to sign a pledge not to take part in any future protests, but he remained steadfast in his opposition to the agreement, leading to a recurrent wave of summons and arrests.
The government violence against the peaceful protestors continued and between 13 and 16 June 2022, Bahraini authorities arrested 6 youths from AlA’ali, three of whom are minors. After protests emerged in the city opposing the Accords, authorities arrested these 6 individuals, which included Yusuf Ahmed Kadhem, Jaafar Habib Kadhem, Sayed Ali Hasan, and Husain Arafat Naiser. They were arbitrarily arrested just for the expression of their opinion in a peaceful protest. They were also accused of manufacturing and possessing flammable canisters, alongside participating in an illegal assembly. The First High Criminal Court found them guilty and sentenced them in absentia on 31 May 2022, for 1 year in prison along with fines. However, many violations occurred during the process as they were denied their right of appointing a legal counsel, being sentenced in absentia, and the minors were interrogated without the presence of a lawyer or a guardian. The violations committed by Bahrain in the aforementioned case represent the extent of the constant abuse activists endure.
A prominent protester, 68-year-old AbdulMajeed Mohsen, is also being tried in connection to his participation in these demonstrations, after repeated summons for interrogation. The government has legitimized this crackdown by categorizing any kind of opposition as being Iran-backed, allowing for the criminalization of Bahrainis’ rights to freedom of expression and assembly. This is the type of rhetoric that could, as it has in the past, lead to trying activists under the Counter-Terrorism Law.
The Abraham Accords, while viewed by the Bahraini government as an opportunity for political empowerment and security advancement has alternately made the Bahraini political sphere even less representative of its people. Citizens now face bigger risks of state persecution and should they express themselves freely in their opposition to the Accords or any political agreement favorable to repressive monarchical rule, are gambling with their lives. This demonstrates how Bahrain has over and over again used international treaties and its relations to perpetuate its repressive and authoritarian rule. The Bahraini government has taken advantage of these accords to continue its policy of crackdown against activists. It has retaliated against the peaceful protests, through committing various violent actions and abuses. This conduct, which violates fundamental human rights and international law, should be condemned and raised as a source of concern to all stakeholders.
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