Human Rights Groups Comment on Bahrain Arrests……….
“18 August 2010. Amnesty International calls on the Bahraini authorities to reveal the whereabouts of eight human rights defenders, political activists and Shia clerics arrested in a clampdown by the authorities amid fears that they could be prisoners of conscience. Muhammad Saeed, a board member of the banned Bahrain Centre for Human Rights was arrested at his home in Sehla, northern Bahrain, in the early hours of yesterday morning by security forces. Two others, Abdulhadi al-Mokhoder and Mirza al-Mahrus, both clerics, were also arrested yesterday at their homes in Sanabis, and Manama, respectively. “The Bahraini authorities must make it clear why these eight men have been arrested, and either release them or charge them with recognizable criminal offences. It is unacceptable for them to be held merely because of their human rights activism, non-violent political activities or criticism of the government,”……” Amnesty International
“The Bahraini government should immediately release four opposition activists detained in recent days or bring formal charges against them, Human Rights Watch said today. The men's whereabouts are unknown, and they have not been allowed to contact their families or lawyer……. Bahraini media cited unnamed security officials as saying they had arrested al-Singace for "inciting violence and terrorist acts." On Friday evening, according to Bahraini media, King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa told other high officials that security forces would take "necessary measures" against "those who defame the country," although he apparently did not mention al-Singace by name. "If the government of Bahrain can show these activists are engaged in criminal behavior, why is it resorting to vague and anonymous allegations?" said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "A country that respects human rights, as Bahrain claims to do, does not arrest people just because they harshly criticize the government." …….” Human Rights Watch
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