Ahlul Bayt News Agency - Al Wefaq National Islamic Society said the re-arrest of opposition figure Ebrahim Shareef just 22 days after his release reflects the size of the rampant political crisis in Bahrain.
Shareef was released after spending nearly five years in prison for expressing his political opinion. His arrest on Sunday highlighted the suffocating security environment in Bahrain as the regime continues to lock up opposition leaders for similar charges all related to freedom of opinion and peaceful political activism.
Al Wefaq said the Bahraini Authority is refusing to implement the recommendations of the United Nations, leaving no chance for reconciliation. Ebrahim Shareef and other opposition figures practiced their right to peacefully raise legitimate demands for reform, Al Wefaq added, this is something that should be encouraged and praised for the good of Bahrain.
The re-arrest of Shareef, together with the arrest of Majeed Milad, former president of the Capital’s municipal council and member of Secretariat in Al Wefaq, and the imprisonment of the opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman, Al Wefaq’s president of consultative council Jameel Kadhim and prominent human rights defender Nabeel Rajab gives a clear image on the true situation in Bahrain where the regime is silencing each and every voice demanding reform through arrest and trial.
Al Wefaq stressed that the arrest of Shareef does not serve national unity, adding, there is no space to talk about reforms or a real implementation of the BICI or UPR recommendations as the truth is revealed more and more.
On Sunday 12 July 2015 at dawn, police forces arrested opposition leader Ebrahim Sharif following a political speech that he had delivered at a peaceful gathering.
Just last month, Ebrahim Sharif was released on 19 June 2015 after completing over four years in prison. On 10 July 2015, he delivered a speech at a gathering in which he criticized the violence of the authorities and called for real political reforms. Less than 48 hours after the speech, Bahrain authorities responded by arresting Sharif at dawn. He was taken to the Muharraq police station and he was interrogated without his lawyer on charges of “inciting to hatred of the regime.” The public prosecution decided to keep him in detention for 48 hours pending investigation.
The arrest of Sharif is in violation of the conventions to which Bahrain is a signatory, including Article 19 of the Universal declaration of Human Rights which states that: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” This act comes as part of a systematic approach to punish those who stand against the authorities and adopt opposition opinions, as they regularly get accused of incitement to hatred of the regime, as illustrated in several previous well-known cases.
Based on the above, the Bahrain Center for Human Rights calls on the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Nations and all other close allies and concerned international institutions to exercise real pressure on the government of Bahrain to:
- Immediately and unconditionally release opposition leader Ebrahim Sharif and all prisoners of conscience;
- Halt further harassment of opposition members and those who seek to express opposition opinions; and
- Protect all human rights in Bahrain, including the right to freedom of expression.
source : abna
