Bahrain: Two resigned members of the Parliament arrested and tortured by the military forces

In follow up to Alkarama's initial press release of 23 May 2011, Alkarama can now confirm that former Bahraini members of Parliament Mr Matar Matar and Mr Jawad Fairuz Ghuloom are being detained by the Bahraini authorities, and are currently undergoing an unfair trial. In light of this information, and the lack of response to Alkarama's letter to the authorities, Alkarama submitted their case to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention today.

To recall: in the evening of 2 May 2011, both Mr Matar Matar and Mr Jawad Fairuz were arrested in separate incidents, but in surprisingly similar circumstances: both were arrested without being presented a warrant by agents from the Bahraini security forces, who were masked and dressed in black civilian clothing.

It is believe their arrests was planned: Mr Matar and his wife had driven to the place in his home village where he was arrested after receiving initial requests for meetings from anonymous callers, allegedly a woman wanting to hand a letter over to him, and who insisted on meeting him in person. Mr Matar agreed, but was met by a group of masked men who chased after him in their unlicenced cars. They soon caught up with the car and arrested Mr Matar at gunpoint. He was then taken to an unknown destination. Following his abduction, Mr Matar's family tried to report the incident to the police, but the police refused to take note of what had happened or register a complaint, claiming that there was no proof he had been kidnapped.

Mr Ghuloom, currently aged 48, was arrested from his home the same date and time Mr Matar was, on 2 May 2011 around 8pm. Approximately 30 security agents, masked and in civilian clothes, surrounded and entered Mr. Ghuloom's home with weapons drawn. He was arrested after the military forces threatened his wife and daughter if he did not give himself up.

We are now informed that Mr Matar and Mr Ghuloom were then both transferred to the army barracks in Al Rifaa town, where they were detained in solitary confinement. According to a source close to the family, the two men were subjected to abuse and ill-treatment while being interrogated.

Alkarama has learned that the two men have now been presented to a military court, with their first hearing on 12 June 2011. They are accused in different cases but with the same allegations, namely for "public incitement for regime change and deliberately spreading biased rumors, in addition to taking part in public gatherings". Neither their lawyers nor their family were notified of the court cases and hearings before they were held. In addition, their trial does not respect very basic fair trial norms, including, amongst others, the right communicate with their legal counsel. In fact, the entire trial is contrary to fair trial norms, as the two MPs are being accused of acts which are protected under international human rights law, namely the right to freedom of opinion and expression.