![]() ![]() ![]() People held as administrative detainees under a lawful state of emergency should enjoy, at a minimum, the right to be brought before a judicial authority promptly after arrest, be informed of the reasons for detention, and have immediate access to legal counsel and family. Under international law, states may not invoke a public emergency to permit arbitrary deprivations of liberty or unacknowledged detentions, nor may they deviate from fundamental principles of fair trial, including the presumption of innocence. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Bahrain ratified in 2006, permits some restrictions on certain rights during an officially proclaimed public emergency that "threatens the life of the nation." According to the Human Rights Committee, the international body of experts that monitors compliance with the treaty, any derogation of rights during a public emergency must be of an exceptional and temporary nature, and must be "limited to the extent strictly required by the exigencies of the situation." Certain fundamental rights - such as the right to life, the right to be secure from torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment - must always be respected, even during a public emergency. But on March 11 and 13, security forces used teargas, rubber bullets, and batons against peaceful protesters, injuring hundreds. ![]() ![]() After protesters reoccupied Manama's Pearl Roundabout, the center of anti-government protests, on February 19, the government withdrew its security forces. The authorities initially responded to the protests with unlawful lethal force, killing seven protesters between February 14 and 18. The king's decree follows more than three weeks of sustained and large anti-government demonstrations, almost all of which have been peaceful. Officials said that the military judiciary director of the Bahrain Defense Force would announce specific restrictions that will apply to all citizens. Under what the authorities called the state of "national safety," the government can also ban newspapers, make arrests, and engage in surveillance and monitoring of correspondence and telephone conversations. The Bahrain Defense Force later stated that the king's decree, apparently issued under article 36(b) of the Bahrain constitution, permits the government to control movement and transportation, conduct inspections, ban gatherings, and ban the operation of nongovernmental organizations, political societies, and trade unions. The BNA announcement said that the king had delegated implementation powers to the commander-in-chief of the Bahrain Defense Force, Marshal Shaikh Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa. "The world is watching to see whether Bahrain will respect the basic rights of all its citizens."Īccording to the official Bahrain News Agency (BNA), the decision to declare martial law "was taken in light of the latest security escalations that affected national security and posed a serious threat" to the lives of Bahraini citizens. "King Hamad's decree does not give the authorities a blank check to commit abuses," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. Early on March 15, prior to the king's decree, riot police were involved in violence in several Shia villages, which left at least two people dead and hundreds injured, some seriously. King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa decreed a three-month state of emergency on March 15, 2011, a day after military convoys from its Gulf Cooperation Council allies Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates entered Bahrain following that country's request for military assistance amidst continuing anti-government protests. (Manama) - Bahrain's declaration of martial law and deployment of armed forces from Saudi Arabia does not override its obligations to respect fundamental human rights under international law, Human Rights Watch said today. ![]()
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