Authorities subject Ebtisam Al-Saegh to further judicial harassment
On 20 March 2017, human rights defender Ebtisam Al-Saegh was detained for seven hours at Bahrain International Airport upon her return from the 34th session of the UN Human Rights Council. The human rights defender was thoroughly searched, interrogated for five hours and her passport was confiscated.
Ebtisam Al-Saegh is a Bahraini human rights defender who works for the organisation SALAM for Democracy and Human Rights. SALAM for Democracy and Human Rights (SALAM DHR) is an NGO that works to preserve universal principles of dignity and respect by advocating for democracy and human rights.
On 20 March 2017, human rights defender Ebtisam Al-Saegh was detained for seven hours at Bahrain International Airport upon her return from the 34th session of the UN Human Rights Council. The human rights defender was thoroughly searched, interrogated for five hours and her passport was confiscated.
Ebtisam Al-Saegh is a Bahraini human rights defender who works for the organisation SALAM for Democracy and Human Rights (SALAM DHR) which is an NGO that works for democracy and human rights.
On 20 March 2017 Ebtisam Al-Saegh arrived in Bahrain International Airport at 6.00pm on a flight from Switzerland and was sent for interrogation by officials at passport control. According to Ebtisam Al-Saegh, the personnel in passport control appeared to have read her name off a blacklist. While in the interrogation room, the human rights defender was asked to surrender her mobile phones and was not allowed to contact her legal counsel or family who were unaware of her whereabouts at the time. After an hour and a half of waiting, Ebtisam Al-Saegh was informed that the interrogation would be conducted by the National Security Agency (NSA). An interrogator from the Bahrain NSA entered the room and immediately accused her of delivering false statements about Bahraini human rights violations while in Geneva. The same interrogator had also questioned her prior to leaving Bahrain on 22 January 2017 regarding a statement she had previously delivered against the use of the death penalty by Bahraini authorities. During that investigation, the interrogator had warned Ebtisam Al-Saegh not to “cross red lines”.
According to Ebtisam Al-Saegh, on 20 March 2017, the interrogator questioned her about her work at the UN and about her previous trip to Lebanon to attend a conference. She was asked about her meeting with the High Commissioner for Human Rights and whether he would be visiting Bahrain and, if so, who would be part of the team that he would bring with him. She was questioned further about other human rights defenders who were also present at the the Human Rights Council. After the questioning, the interrogator seized her passport and warned her that in the future there could be a possibility that she would be taken away from her children and that her children could also face prosecution. Following the interrogation, each of Ebtisam Al-Saegh’s bags were searched and all material concerning the human rights situation in Bahrain was confiscated except for a Universal Periodic Review report prepared by the Bahrain government. The human rights defender was then subjected to a thorough body search where she was asked to remove her hijab. Her passport was not returned to her before she was released.
Ebtisam Al-Saegh has previously been harassed by Bahrain authorities. In addition to her interrogation on 22 January 2017, the human rights defender was questioned by the Public Prosecution office on 23 November 2016 in relation to content she posted on Twitter and was accused of inciting hatred against the Bahraini regime and threatening public safety and security. She was then banned from international travel for a period of time and permitted to travel once again after her interrogation on 22 January 2017.
Front Line Defenders expresses its concern over the continued judicial harassment against Ebtisam Al-Saegh and strongly condemns the confiscation of her passport as well as threats made against her and her family as it believes they are directly related to her legitimate work in exposing human rights abuses in Bahrain.
On 22 January, human rights defender Ms Ebtisam Al-Saegh was held and questioned for around four hours regarding statements she delivered against the death penalty following the arbitrary executions of Abbas al-Samea, Ali al-Singace and Sami Mushaima by firing squad on 15 January.
Ebtisam Al-Saegh is a Bahraini human rights defender who works for the organisation SALAM for Democracy and Human Rights. SALAM for Democracy and Human Rights (SALAM DHR) is an NGO that works to preserve universal principles of dignity and respect by advocating for democracy and human rights.
On 22 January at 8.00 am, Ebtisam Al-Saegh arrived at the Bahrain Department of Criminal Investigations after authorities summoned her for questioning one day earlier by phone. The human rights defender was held for three hours in a dark room after being thoroughly searched and having her phone confiscated. She was then questioned for an hour during which time she was warned by the investigator not to “cross red lines” in her statements against the Bahraini authorities regarding the recent executions in the country. The investigator called out the human rights defender’s daughter and sons’ names as he told her that she and her family members could be prosecuted if red lines were crossed but never explained what constituted “crossing red lines”.
The investigator also threatened Ebtisam Al-Saegh with citizenship revocation and arrest if she published “false news” about the Bahrain government. The investigator further questioned Ebtisam Al-Saegh if her recent appearance on national news was also connected to her human rights work. Earlier this month she appeared on television condemning the executions of three men who were charged with “organising, running and financing a terrorist group [al-Ashtar Brigade] with the aim of carrying out terrorist attacks”, and of “possession and planting of explosives with the intention to kill”. In her public statements, Ebtisam Al-Saegh stated that the three men were coerced into confessing through torture and ill-treatment and that the death penalty was in blatant violation of international law.
On 23 November 2016, Ebtisam Al-Saegh was questioned by the Public Prosecution office in Bahrain about twitter posts she made and was then accused of inciting hatred against the Bahraini regime and threatening public safety and security. The human rights defender is currently banned from international travel.
Front Line Defenders expresses its concern over the continued judicial harassment against Ebtisam Al-Saegh and strongly condemns threats made against her and her family as it believes them to be directly related to her legitimate work in exposing human rights abuses in Bahrain.
