Category: Convention on the Rights of the Child

  • Sayed Osama Ali Husain was a 16-year-old student when Bahraini authorities arbitrarily arrested him from the street without presenting an arrest warrant. During detention, he endured torture, denial of access to legal counsel, and an unfair trial based on confessions extracted under torture. He is currently serving a 22-year and 6-month sentence in Jau Prison on politically motivated charges.

     

    On 5 March 2017, officers from the Ministry of Interior (MOI), riot police officers, security police officers, and Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) officers arrested Sayed Osama on Al-Maared Street where he was going with his friend to have dinner at a restaurant located in a commercial area in the Bahraini capital, Manama. Subsequently, the officers transported Sayed Osama, simultaneously beating and torturing him, and raided the apartment where he had been hiding. They transferred him to the CID building afterward. Moreover, the parents were not aware that Sayed Osama was arrested at the time, whereas they found out the next day at dawn when they woke up to the news of the raid on the apartment. Approximately six hours after the arrest, they received a call from Sayed Osama stating that he was at the CID building, where he was detained for almost four days.

     

    Before his arrest, Sayed Osama was being pursued on a daily basis for two years. Consequently, he was compelled to hide in an apartment and lived in difficult conditions, experiencing instability and insecurity. Furthermore, two years before his arrest, at the age of 14, Sayed Osama had been sentenced to two years in prison on charges of riots, illegal assembly, and the manufacture of usable and explosive devices. On the other hand, the family’s house received multiple summonses at different times without mentioning the charges or providing any reason.

    At the CID building, officers repeatedly tortured Sayed Osama by beating him on various parts of his body during the entire interrogation period. They stripped him of his clothes and placed him in a very cold room for an extended period of time. He endured various other forms of torture but didn’t disclose all of them out of fear for the feelings of his parents. Due to the torture he endured, Sayed Osama has been suffering from various injuries. The interrogation lasted for about a week and was conducted without the presence of a lawyer. As a result of the threats and torture, he confessed before the Public Prosecution Office (PPO) to some of the charges against him.

    On 19 March 2017, two weeks after his arrest, Sayed Osama was transferred to the Dry Dock Detention Center, where he was able to meet his family for the first time since his arrest. On 11 May 2017, he was transferred to the New Dry Dock Prison, designed for convicts under the age of 21.

     

    Sayed Osama was not brought before a judge within 48 hours of his arrest, was not given adequate time and facilities to prepare for his trial, and wasn’t able to present evidence and challenge evidence presented against him. Furthermore, there was no lawyer present as neither the parents hired a lawyer nor did the court provide one.

    The court convicted Sayed Osama between 27 March 2016 and 28 February 2019, in cases related to 1) illegal assembly and rioting, 2) manufacturing usable or explosive devices, 3) intentional damage to buildings or public property, 4) placing structures simulating forms of explosives, 5) manufacturing or trading in explosives or importing weapons, 6) importing or possessing explosives or rifles or pistols, 7) explosion or attempted explosion, 8) arson, 9) violation of the terms of the license to import explosives or their quantity, and 10) negligent destruction. He was sentenced to a total of 22 years and 6 months in prison. Sayed Osama appealed some of the rulings, but the court of appeal rejected all the appeals and upheld the verdicts.

    Sayed Osama is still suffering from injuries resulting from the torture he was subjected to by the officers during his arrest and interrogation in 2017, and he is still being denied treatment and health care.

    Sayed Osama’s warrantless arrest, torture, denial of attorney access, unfair trial, and medical negligence constitute violations of the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), to which Bahrain is a party. Furthermore, the violations he endured as a minor contravene the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), to which Bahrain is also a party.

     

    As such, Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) calls on the Bahraini authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Sayed Osama. ADHRB also urges the Bahraini government to investigate allegations of arbitrary arrest, torture, denial of legal counsel, and medical negligence, and to hold the perpetrators accountable. ADHRB further advocates for the Bahraini government to provide compensation for the injuries he suffered due to torture and hold the perpetrators accountable. At the very least, ADHRB advocates for a fair retrial for Sayed Osama under the Restorative Justice Law for Children, leading to his release. Additionally, it urges the Jau Prison administration to immediately provide Sayed Osama with the necessary health care to address the injuries resulting from torture, holding it responsible for any additional deterioration in his health condition.

    The post Profile in Persecution: Sayed Osama Ali Husain appeared first on Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain.

    This post was originally published on Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain.

  • On 17 September 2023, approximately 28 young Bahraini detainees in the Dry Dock Detention Center began a new hunger strike in protest against the continued violations committed against them by the prison administration, and the neglect of the relevant state institutions to carry out their duties, notably the National Institution for Human Rights, and the Ombudsman.

    The rights of children detained in the Dry Dock Detention Center are subject to serious violations, as most of the arrests are based on political backgrounds, and the victims are subjected to unfair trials. In 2011, the state security institutions launched a series of arbitrary arrest campaigns that affected various Bahraini regions and towns and included citizens of different age groups, including children who were not over the legal age at the time of their arrest, for participating in peaceful demonstrations in the movement demanding reform and democracy. Since that date, the scene has been repeated as part of the policies of suppressing freedom and encouraging impunity in Bahrain.

    Due to the lack of transparency in the Ministry of Interior’s data, there are no accurate statistics on the number of detained children. However, investigative reports have previously revealed that Bahrain detains about 150 children, 10 of whom are in Jau Prison – which is designated for adults – while the remaining 140 are divided into two wards. One ward is designated for children aged between 15 and 18 years old, and the other is designated for solitary confinement. Despite these reports, the Bahraini government claims that it has no children in detention, stating instead that those arrested from the age group of 15 to 18 years are serving their sentence in a private reform center.

    Young convicts in the Dry Dock Detention Center are exposed to many human rights violations, including fundamental rights guaranteed by international laws and conventions. Their most prominent demands relate to the following:

    – The right to education;

    – The right to medical treatment;

    – The right to obtain diverse and healthy diets;

    – The right to communicate with the outside world;

    – The right to family visits;

    – The right to have appropriate clothing; and

    – The right to benefit from the Law on Restorative Justice and the Protection of Children from Mistreatment.

    The Law on Restorative Justice for Children and their Protection from Mistreatment was approved on 15 February 2021 and came into effect on 18 August 2021. However, its effects were not reflected on the conditions of young convicts in the Dry Dock Detention Center, nor on those who were arrested after the enactment of this law. These include:

    •       notifying the child’s guardian or person responsible for him – as the case may be – in the legally prescribed ways of every decision or action taken against the child;
    •       ensuring that detained children are treated without discrimination and with an equal degree of decent and humane treatment and ensuring that all necessary rights and needs are met, and that there is no criminal liability on the child who was not more than fifteen full calendar years of age at the time of committing the crime;
    •       that the child victim or witness, in all stages of investigation and trial, must have the right to be heard, his demands must be understood, and he must be treated in a way that preserves his dignity and guarantees his physical, psychological, and moral integrity;
    •       that there be no discrimination between child prisoners on the basis of gender, origin, language, religion, or belief;
    •       The periodic medical examination of all children;
    •       The provision of academic and practical study curricula helping develop their intellectual abilities;
    •       the observation of the child’s right to freedom of practice of religion; and
    •       that, in the event that a child was subjected to physical or sexual mistreatment by the person responsible for him, the specialized prosecution should appoint someone to legally represent the child to carry out all the procedures stipulated in the law, including submitting a complaint, objection, grievance, and appeal against all procedures taken regarding the child.

    Since its passage, this law has been subjected to numerous criticisms, as the government of Bahrain exploits its promulgation to promote the reforms that it has carried out. Unfortunately, its application is still limited to a very small number of young convicts in the Dry Dock Detention Center, despite the fact that many of them meet the conditions of the law and almost all of them demand the right to benefit from it.

    As well, the law fails to guarantee children’s fundamental rights to due process. The law does not prohibit questioning or interrogating children without the presence of a lawyer or their guardians. Article 66 states that “health, social, legal and rehabilitative services must be provided to accused children” at “all stages”, including during “arrest and investigation.” However, Article 67 stipulates that a child has no right to a lawyer until after the child’s case reaches trial. The law also fails to clearly stipulate the child’s right to appeal his deprivation of liberty, while Article 37 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child states that every child in conflict with the law has the right to “immediate access to legal assistance.”

    International human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch, have previously condemned the failure of this law to protect the fundamental rights stipulated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as it legitimizes arbitrary detention on charges of exercising the right to peaceful assembly, and allows the interrogation and investigation of children without the presence of their parents or attorney.

    The prison for young convicts fails to uphold the most fundamental rights, and detainees on charges related to the right to expression are subjected to ill-treatment, torture, and reprisal. They are deprived of healthy meals and clothing, are denied family visits, and are denied means of entertainment, which exposes them to psychological and health risks and harms, and which is inconsistent with human and moral principles and values.

    As a result of all of this mistreatment, many of the children have undertaken repeated hunger strikes, despite the dangers that such actions pose to their health. Recently, they announced their hunger strike on 17 September 2023, in protest against the Public Prosecution’s neglect of their right to benefit from the Law on Restorative Justice as a means that may help them get escape these violations. Among them is Hussein Ahmed Habib, who was sentenced to 22 years in prison; he was less than 16 years old at the time his alleged offense was committed. He submitted more than five requests to more than one public prosecutor representative, demanding his retrial before the Children’s Court, but to no avail. Also, Mujtaba Abdul Hussein Abdulla, who was sentenced to 22 years in prison when he was 17 years old, is demanding his retrial before the Children’s Court, but the public prosecution rejects his repeated requests.

    Instead of children being behind their school desks, they are deprived of the right to education. This violation does not stop there – it destroys their future even after the end of their sentence, as they are deprived of job opportunities due to the denial of “good conduct” certificates for political prisoners.

    Among them is Ali Isa Jasim, one of the young convicts who was deprived of his fundamental rights, after he was arrested when he was fifteen years old. He went on two hunger strikes in one month, protesting the denial of his right to education. Despite the promises he has received from the prison administration to provide him with an education, he has yet to be given access to learning resources. His suffering is shared by Khalil Ebrahim Sabah, who resorted to a hunger strike to protest the deprivation of his fundamental rights, including education, for two years. They are therefore waiting to be transferred to Jau Prison to obtain this right.

    In addition to the torture, forced disappearance, solitary confinement, and psychological threats they endure, many child detainees also face deprivation of the necessary treatment and medical care. They are denied medical visits, and the prison administration ignores the conditions of those suffering from illnesses and in need of constant follow-up. On 17 June 2023, six young convicts, including Khalil Sabah and Fares Salman, declared a hunger strike to protest against their deprivation of health care for their scabies disease, which they contracted while in prison due to squalid conditions. Further, Haidar Ebrahim Mulla Hasan, who was arrested at the age of 16 and sentenced to 23 years in prison in three different cases, did not suffer from any health problems before his arrest, but as a result of torture and the dire conditions in prison, including medical neglect, he began to suffer from severe stomach pains to the point of vomiting and defecating blood. He continues to suffer from severe headaches, difficulty breathing, and a dental problem. Despite this, the prison administration refuses to refer him to a doctor for a diagnosis of his condition, and he has not received any treatment yet. In fact, the last time he was presented to a doctor was over a year ago.

    Following the crackdown on popular protests that the country witnessed in 2011, criticism prompted Bahrain to establish three bodies affiliated with the Ministry of Interior: the Prisoners and Detainees Rights Commission (PDRC), the Ombudsman, and the Special Investigation Unit in the Public Prosecution, but the lack of independence of these bodies and their political affiliations has rendered them unfit for purpose. Since their establishment, complaints raised by detainees, especially young convicts, have not been investigated, and the security forces responsible for torturing political prisoners have not been held accountable.

    By exposing young convicts to violations, including forced detention, torture, denial of medical care, and of the right to education, Bahrain is violating the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Nelson Mandela Rules, which stress the rights of Prisoners, including:

    •       Treat all prisoners with respect because of their inherent dignity and value as human beings.
    •       The prohibition of subjecting any prisoner to torture or to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, and all prisoners should be protected from this.
    •       The right to obtain legal representation and to investigate all cases of death in custody, disciplinary action, and punishment.
    •       The prison system should strive to minimize the differences between prison life and free life.

    Hence, Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) calls on the Bahraini authorities to:

    •       Stop exposing young convicts to ongoing violations, including forced detention and torture.
    •       Grant young convicts their right to education, medical care, and other fundamental human rights.
    •       Protect minors from ill-treatment, investigate allegations of torture, and stop the policy of impunity that has been practiced until now.
    •       Respond to the demands of young people, and not renounce the promises made to them.
    •       Held them a retrial in accordance with the fair trial procedures that apply to children in order to obtain their immediate and unconditional release, guarantee all their civil rights, and compensate them. 

    The post Young convicts in the Dry Dock: ongoing violations and delayed justice appeared first on Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain.

    This post was originally published on Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain.

  • Updated: Mahmood AbdulJabbar Nooh was a 17-year-old minor when Bahraini authorities arrested him on 13 November 2019, after chasing him in the streets of AlKarranah Town without presenting any arrest warrant. During his detention, he was subjected to torture, electric shocks, and burning. He was interrogated without the presence of his lawyer and faced an unfair trial based on confessions extracted under torture. Additionally, he suffered from medical neglect. He is currently serving his sentence of 10 years in prison on politically motivated charges. He was transferred from the new Dry Dock Prison, designed for inmates under the age of 21, to Jau Prison after turning 21 years old.  

     

    On 13 November 2019, Mahmood was arrested by plainclothes officers who pursued him in civilian vehicles. They approached him in the street without presenting an arrest warrant or notifying him of the reason for his arrest. Although he was allowed to contact his family the same night of his arrest, any sort of contact was cut off from 8:30 P.M. onward. Throughout this period, his family continued to search for him in various centers and hospitals, only discovering later that he was being held at the Criminal Investigation Directorate (CID) building.

     

    At the CID, Mahmood was interrogated for around seven to nine days without the presence of a lawyer. Throughout the interrogation period, CID officers subjected Mahmood to torture in the form of electric shocks and burning, aiming to extract a confession from him. Despite having sustained injuries during the interrogation, Mahmood was denied treatment. The examining doctor asserted that the burn, located in a private area, was not a result of torture but rather occurred at the “crime scene” during Mahmood’s arrest. This explanation seems unrealistic, considering the absence of marks on any other part of his body. Mahmood’s coerced confession was subsequently used against him in court.

     

    Following his interrogation, Mahmood was brought before the Public Prosecution Office (PPO), which subsequently ordered his detention for two months. He was then transferred to the Dry Dock Detention Center. It wasn’t until a week after he arrived at the detention center that he was finally permitted to meet his family for the first time since his arrest. Throughout the initial months of Mahmood’s detention, his parents were kept uninformed of the charges of which he was accused.

     

    On 30 November 2020, the First High Criminal Court sentenced Mahmood to 10 years in prison, charging him with joining a terrorist cell. Despite the presentation of evidence in Mahmood’s defense, the court did not consider it.  Following unsuccessful appeals, both the Court of Appeal and the Court of Cassation upheld the judgment. Mahmood was then transferred to the New Dry Dock Prison to serve his sentence. Upon reaching the age of 21, he was later transferred to Jau Prison. 

     

    Mahmood suffers from sickle cell anemia and G6PD deficiency, and experiences pain in his feet and bones. The intensity of the pain increases in cold and wet climates. On 15 May 2022, he initiated a hunger strike in protest against the medical negligence practiced by the prison administration. He has consistently been denied treatment and is only taken to the clinic to take painkillers to stop the strong pain without being offered further treatment. Although the prison authorities have scheduled appointments for Mahmood at Salmaniya Hospital to receive proper medical attention, he was not taken to these appointments. On 18 May 2022, the public prosecutor met with Mahmood and promised to respect his right to treatment and transfer him to the hospital. Based on those promises, he decided to end his hunger strike. On 9 June 2022, the Ministry of Health website revealed Mahmood’s infection with COVID-19 while incarcerated in Dry Dock Prison among other prisoners.

     

    Mahmood is still suffering from severe pain and serious health complications since his arrest in 2019, as a result of the severe torture and brutal beatings he endured during ten days of interrogation. He was subjected to kicking, punching, and electric shocks all over his body, particularly in sensitive areas. These actions caused him intense pain, leaving him unable to urinate normally and experiencing blood in his stool. After enduring prolonged suffering and making repeated demands during his time in the Dry Dock Prison, Mahmood was taken to the prison clinic on several occasions. At one point, he was transferred to the AlQalaa clinic, where a forensic pathologist examined him. Despite informing the doctor of his suffering, Mahmood did not receive proper treatment or any medication. Mahmood’s suffering persists even after his transfer to Jau Prison, where he continues to experience medical neglect and a lack of proper diagnosis for his health condition.

     

    On 19 January 2024, Mahmood experienced a health setback due to the policy of medical neglect. Consequently, he was transferred to the Jau Prison clinic. Facing challenges with the responsiveness of the clinic’s physician, Mahmood was urgently transferred to Salmaniya Medical Complex due to his deteriorating condition. X-ray images revealed that he had testicular torsion, requiring immediate surgery. The doctor asked him to inform his father due to his young age as he was only 21 years old, given the impact of this process on his life. Mahmood requested the police officers accompanying him to make a phone call to his father to obtain his opinion, because he was unaware of the seriousness of the surgery and its consequences and whether it would be beneficial for him or not. Also, he had no experience with surgeries and the healthcare system. However, Mahmood’s request was forcefully rejected by the police, compelling him to make the decision alone despite his young age and the impact of this surgery on his future life. Mahmood informed the doctor of his consent to undergo the surgery. Initially, the doctor hesitated to perform it because Mahmood was alone and needed his family’s presence during this period. However, due to the seriousness of his condition and the inability to delay the procedure, the surgery proceeded. As a result, Mahmood experienced psychological pressure during the surgery and his time at Salmaniya Medical Complex, as his family was unaware of his condition and the authorities refused to allow them to be informed about his deteriorating health.

     

    Despite the necessity for accurate follow-up regarding his health condition, Mahmood continues to suffer from medical neglect. He remains unaware of any updates regarding his health status post-surgery and has not been provided with the necessary medications. Instead of providing a wheelchair to assist him in walking, considering his inability to move long distances, he was sometimes forced to move through either a food distribution cart or on a makeshift bed for sleeping.

     

    Mahmood’s warrantless arrest on politically motivated charges, torture, and unfair trial constitute clear violations of the Convention against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), to which Bahrain is a party. Furthermore, the violations he endured as a minor contravene the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), to which Bahrain is also a party. 

     

    As such, Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) calls on the Bahraini authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Mahmood. ADHRB also urges the Bahraini government to investigate the allegations of arbitrary arrest, torture, denial of access to legal counsel during the interrogation phase when he was a minor and medical neglect. ADHRB further advocates for the Bahraini government to provide compensation for the injuries he suffered due to torture and hold the perpetrators accountable. At the very least, ADHRB advocates for a fair retrial for him under the Restorative Justice Law for Children, leading to his release. Additionally, ADHRB urges the Jau Prison administration to immediately provide Mahmood with the necessary health care to address the injuries resulting from torture, holding it responsible for any additional deterioration in his health condition.

    The post Profile in Persecution: Mahmood AbdulJabbar Nooh appeared first on Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain.

    This post was originally published on Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain.

  • By Charlie Dreaver, RNZ News political reporter

    The New Zealand Children’s Commissioner is even more concerned about the deportation of a 15-year-old from Australia, now that he has had a briefing.

    Judge Andrew Becroft sought information about the case after the deportation of the minor was made public earlier this week.

    Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta was notified last week of the boy’s imminent deportation.

    The boy has family in New Zealand, but little information has been made public about the teen to protect his privacy.

    The minister said the circumstances of the case were very complex, but signalled he was not a 501 deportee.

    When asked yesterday, Mahuta said New Zealand had had no advice suggesting Australia had breached any international law.

    However, Children’s Commissioner Andrew Becroft did not believe Australia had stuck to its international obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

    ‘We can’t play fast and loose’
    “It is the most signed convention in history, we can’t play fast and loose with it.

    “I think there is every reason to conclude, on what I know at the moment, that while two countries have signed that convention only one is really applying it and abiding by it,” he said.

    Judge Becroft said the briefing he had received had left him even more concerned than he already was.

    “Why put him on a plane by himself, without support to a country that I understand, we need to check this out, he has never been to before,” he said.

    “By any analysis it seems to me to be outrageous on what we know so far and it needs to be taken up by the highest authorities and I understand it is being.”

    Those concerns were echoed by Australian Lawyers Alliance’s Greg Barns.

    Australian authorities have indicated that the minor may have voluntarily been deported from Australian shores.

    But Barns has vetoed that as a possibility.

    ‘Inequality of power here’
    “To deport a child of 15 years of age is always involuntary, whatever the child may say.

    “There is a total inequality of power here, you’ve got the frightening force of the Australian border force and a young child and to say the child has consented to the action I find just extraordinary,” he said.

    He said the convention clearly indicated the best interest of the child needed to be put first.

    The convention also stated no child should be subjected to cruelty.

    Barns said he could not see how Australia was acting in the child’s best interests.

    “Children are put in immigration detention and whilst they might be separated from adults they’re in a facility that is completely inappropriate for children. It has none of the rehabilitative mechanisms or the care that is required,” he said.

    “To then be shunted on a plane with border force security would be a frightening experience for the child.”

    NZ needs to take a stand
    He said New Zealand needed to take a stand.

    “It is getting to the point where the contempt with which Australia treats New Zealand in relation to this issue both with adults and now with of course children are at such a level that New Zealand needs to be taking strong action against Australia, including making complaints on the global stage,” he said.

    A spokesperson at the Minister for Children Kelvin Davis’ office said any questions about Australia’s decisions were a matter for the Australian government.

    In the meantime, they said Oranga Tamariki had been working extensively with authorities both in Australia and New Zealand to “support this young person’s arrival”.

    This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.

    This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.