At least three family members of UK-based Bahraini activists have been summoned by Bahraini security forces yesterday morning (13th of May).
The detention of these activists’ families coincides with the attendance of Bahrain’s King Hamad at the Royal Windsor Horse Show yesterday.
The sister of Sayed Ahmed Al-Wadaei, who is the Director of Advocacy at the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, received a call from Muharraq Police Station demanding that she come for interrogation and refusing to give the reason for this request.
Isa Alaali received a call from his father informing him that he too had been detained at Muharraq Police Station, while Saber Alsalatna, who took part in a protest against the King of Bahrain last October, was also informed that his sister had been called in for interrogation. At the time of writing, Al-Wadaei’s sister and her husband are still detained, along with Isa’s father.
Similarly, Yousif Alhoori, another Bahraini activist who is based in Berlin, received a call from his father during which a member of the Bahraini intelligence services asked him to remove a post on Twitter that encourages people to protest against the King of Bahrain and his son, Prince Nasser, who has been accused of torture. Later, Yousif received another call from his father’s mobile phone, during which a purported member of the Bahraini security forces asked him post an apology to the King.
Commenting, Sayed Ahmed Al-Wadaei said: “This morning my sister is being interrogated in a move to prevent me from protesting against the monarch of Bahrain and his son Nasser, accused of torture, who are participating in the Royal Windsor Horse Show. My family members, along with family members of other activists in London, are being held, as if they are hostages, by the monarch’s officers, to force us to call off the protest at the Royal Windsor.
“This is a new low by the Bahraini authorities: blackmailing activists by detaining their family members in Bahrain. I hold the Monarch of Bahrain directly responsible for the targeting of my family in this cowardly attempt to silence me.”
Andrew Smith of Campaign Against Arms Trade said: “There is no low that the despicable Bahraini dictatorship won’t sink to in order to intimidate those who speak out against it. This shows what an appalling contempt it holds for for human rights and democracy.
“The UK should be confronting it over its abuses, not hosting it and legitimising it at prestigious and high profile Royal events. If the government cares for the human rights of Bahraini people then it must call for the release of those that have been detained and end its political and military support for the regime.”
Since the crackdown began following the uprising in February 2011, the UK has licensed over £52 million worth of arms to the regime including:
- £27 million worth of ML1 licences (small arms)
- £5.7 million worth of ML3 licences (ammunition)
The UK also provides military training for Bahraini forces. Bahrain is listed by the government as a ‘priority market‘ for UK arms exports.
