December 6, 2005
H.M. Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa
Office of H.M. the King
Rifa’a Palace
Kingdom of Bahrain
Your Excellency,
We are contacting you with regard to the case of Musa `Abid `Ali. According to Mr. `Abid `Ali, a 24-year-old activist with the Committee of the Unemployed, plainclothes persons affiliated with or acting on behalf of Bahraini security forces abducted him on the night of November 27. His abductors released him the same night. On November 30 he filed complaints with the police at `Isa Town and with the Public Prosecutor’s office in Manama alleging that his abductors beat him severely, assaulted him sexually, and threatened him with further harm unless he ceased his activities on behalf of the Committee of the Unemployed.
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights provided Human Rights Watch with copies of medical examinations on Mr. `Abid `Ali, one dated November 28, from the International Hospital of Bahrain, and the other dated November 29, from the Accident and Emergency Department of Salmaniyya Medical Center, a facility of the Ministry of Health. The International Hospital report noted contusions on both his legs and his upper back consistent with his allegation that he was beaten. The Salmaniyya Medical Center report also noted contusions on Mr. `Abid `Ali’s legs, and that the alleged sexual assault did not involve penetration, according to Mr. `Abid `Ali. The Salmaniyya Medical Center report also contained a notation, “Police to be informed.”
We are encouraged to learn that yesterday, December 4, Lt. Gen. Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah al-Khalifa, the Minister of Interior, met with Mr. `Abid `Ali, his father, and Nabil Rajab, vice-president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights, to discuss the attack against Mr. `Abid `Ali. This meeting followed several days of disturbances in Manama in which police clashed with demonstrators protesting Mr. `Abid `Ali’s treatment. We understand that at this meeting yesterday Shaikh Rashid affirmed that the security services under his authority would fully cooperate with an investigation that the Public Prosecutor is conducting into the matter.
We strongly urge the government to conduct a thorough, impartial, and speedy investigation into Mr. `Abid `Ali’s allegations, to make the results public, and to hold accountable any security officials or other persons found to be responsible for this attack. We also hope that the government will as a matter of course conduct serious and thorough investigations into all credible allegations of serious human rights violations of this nature.
Thank you in advance for your government’s attention to this important matter.
Sincerely,
Sarah Leah Whitson
Executive Director, Middle East and North Africa Division
