Bahrain: Questioning and Detention of Human Rights Defender Mr Mohammed Al-Maskati

(SALEM) - Just two days ago, Mohammed Al-Maskati, who is a prominent human rights defender in Bahrain, was taken into custody where he remains now.

From what we are told, Mohammed Al-Maskati was summoned to Hoora Police Station for interrogation on accusations of 'rioting' and 'participating in illegal gathering'.

These are typical charges often leveled at human rights defenders who are able to organize in opposition to governments in places like Bahrain.

Not only was he held in custody; Mr. Al-Maskati was told he would be taken to the office of the Prosecutor General on the morning of 17 October 2012.

As the founder and the president of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR), Mohammed Al-Maskati deserves to be able to speak out against the practices of his government and it is pitiful that Bahrain is allowed to avoid scrutiny in U.S. media because of its connections to the U.S. as an ally and financial partner.

Among other demands listed, Mr. Gomes asks Shaikh Hamad bin ‘Issa Al Khalifa to immediately release Mr. Mohammed Al-Maskati as it is believed that his arrest and detention are solely motivated by his legitimate and peaceful human rights work;

and also calls on the King to ensure that the treatment of Mr. Mohammed Al-Maskati, while in detention, adheres to all those conditions set out in the Basic Principles for Treatment of Prisoners, adopted by General Assembly resolution 45/111 of 14 December 1990...

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Shaikh Hamad bin ‘Issa Al Khalifa
Office of His Majesty the King
P.O. Box 555
Rifa’a Palace, al-Manama,
Bahrain

Your Excellency,

I am William Nicholas Gomes, Human Rights Ambassador for Salem-News.com.

I came to know about the situation from Front Line Defenders.

On 16 October 2012, prominent human rights defender Mr Mohammed Al-Maskati was summoned to Hoora Police Station for interrogation on accusations of rioting and participating in illegal gathering. He is currently being detained overnight and he was informed that he will be taken to the office of the Prosecutor General on the morning of 17 October 2012. Mohammed Al-Maskati is the founder and the president of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR).

Mohammed Al-Maskati was summoned to Hoora Police Station by phone in the early morning of 16 October 2012. He subsequently went to the police station with his lawyer. However, it is reported that his lawyer was refused access to the police station, while Mohammed Al-Maskati was held for questioning. Later in the day, the human rights defender was informed that he would be held overnight and taken to the office of the Prosecutor General the following morning. As yet it remains unclear to which specific events the charges of rioting and participating in illegal gathering refer.

In September 2012, during his participation in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) session on Bahrain in Geneva, he informed the UN Human Rights Council that he was receiving numerous anonymous calls which threatened his and his family’s life, in connection to his participation to the Council’s session.

I condemn the arrest and detention of Mr. Mohammed Al-Maskati and am deeply concerned about his physical and psychological integrity, especially in the light of previous threats to his life. I believe that Mohammed Al-Maskati’s arrest and detention are solely motivated by his peaceful advocacy in defence of the human rights of others in Bahrain.

I urge the authorities in the Bahrain to:

1. Immediately release Mr. Mohammed Al-Maskati, as it is believed that his arrest and detention are solely motivated by his legitimate and peaceful human rights work;

2. Ensure that the treatment of Mr. Mohammed Al-Maskati, while in detention, adheres to all those conditions set out in the Basic Principles for Treatment of Prisoners, adopted by General Assembly resolution 45/111 of 14 December 1990;

3. Guarantee under all circumstances that all human rights defenders in the Bahrain are able to carry out their legitimate human rights activities without fear of reprisals and free of all restrictions including arbitrary arrest.

Yours sincerely,

William Nicholas Gomes

Human Rights Ambassador for Salem-News.com

wwww.williamnicholasgomes.com

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Salem-News.com Human Rights Ambassador William Nicholas Gomes is a Bangladeshi journalist, human rights activist and author was born on 25 December, 1985 in Dhaka. As an investigative journalist he wrote widely for leading European and Asian media outlets.

He is also active in advocating for free and independent media and journalists’ rights, and is part of the free media movement, Global Independent Media Center – an activist media network for the creation of radical, accurate, and passionate telling of the truth. He worked for Italian news agency Asianews.it from year 2009 to 2011, on that time he was accredited as a free lance journalist by the press information department of Bangladesh. During this time he has reported a notable numbers of reports for the news agency which were translated into Chinese and Italian and quoted by notable number of new outlets all over the world.He, ideologically, identifies himself deeply attached with anarchism. His political views are often characterized as “leftist” or “left-wing,” and he has described himself as an individualist anarchist.