EI and Amnesty International are calling for the release of Jalila al-Salman and Mahdi Issa Mahdi Abu Dheeb, two members of the Bahrain Teachers' Association (BTA) who were arrested during the unrest in March and April 2011. They remain incarcerated awaiting trial in a civilian court, which has been postponed until further notice.
Re-elected EI General Secretary, Fred van Leeuwen, has continued to express concern over their detention for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly and has urged the Government to immediately release them and to hold to account those responsible for their arrest and possible abuse.
Mr van Leeuwen, said: “Jalila and Mahdi were arrested after calling on teachers and employees of the Ministry of Education to go on strike. Amnesty International has concluded that 'they are likely to be prisoners of conscience, detained solely for exercising their legitimate rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly as leading members of the BTA'. I urge the government to release both teacher unionists immediately and unconditionally. I also urge the authorities to protect them from torture and other ill-treatment and immediately set up an impartial and public investigation that brings to justice those found responsible for what has happened to them.”
Jalila al-Salman and Mahdi Issa Mahdi Abu Dheeb, together with several other board members of the BTA, were arrested in March and April 2011. While their colleagues were released, they were brought to trial before the National Safety Court of First Instance (a military court) on 15 June on charges which include 'inciting hatred towards the regime', 'calling to overthrow and change the regime by force', 'calling on parents not to send their children to school' and 'calling on teachers to stop working and participate in strikes and demonstrations'. After further hearings on 22 and 29 June - their trial was transferred to a civilian court and postponed until further notice.
Jalila al-Salman's house in Manama was raided on 29 March by more than 40 security officers. She was reportedly taken to the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) in Manama where she remained for about a week during which she was reportedly beaten, including with objects, and held in solitary confinement. She is believed to have been transferred to the custody of the military and held there for around two months, before being transferred again to a detention centre in Issa Town in Bahrain, where she is currently held. Jalila al-Salman's family were not aware of her whereabouts until soon after her transfer to the detention centre in 'Issa Town and have only been allowed to see her there on two occasions. The second of these visits was on 16 July, and was under very strict surveillance.
Amnesty International has reviewed statements issued by the BTA. One of them, published on 13 March, called on teachers and employees of the Ministry of Education to go on strike, and on parents not to take their children to school during large-scale demonstrations in Bahrain.
Amnesty International has also listened to speeches delivered by Mahdi Issa Mahdi Abu Dheeb that made similar appeals. It has, however, seen no evidence that either of them advocated violence of any kind in these or other activities. Consequently, although the organization does not have the full details of the evidence presented so far in the trial, it believes that they are likely to be prisoners of conscience detained solely for exercising their legitimate rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly as leading members of the BTA.