Stand up for the Tibet Pledge #mustread #mustshare

 

15 August 2012

Dear Friends,

This is a crucial moment. Please help us to double support for Stand Up for Tibet.

One year ago 29-year old monk Tsewang Norbu set light to himself and died in Tawu, eastern Tibet. Although not the first self-immolation in Tibet – Tapey, in February 2009 was followed two years later by Phuntsok in March 2011 –this was our first realization that those fiery protests were not isolated incidents, and that what we were witnessing unfold in Tibet was a tragedy of enormous proportions.

Unbelievably, there have now been almost 50 confirmed self-immolations in Tibet; a staggering 36 since 1 January 2012 and five in the past 10 days alone. At least 39 of all these protestors have died from their burns.

Something different is happening in Tibet. Over 60 years of occupation, periods of Tibetan resistance have been crushed by China’s military forces. But trying to stop individuals who are determined to set light to themselves must be akin to trying to stop grains of sand running through their fingers. And more than that, China is also now discovering that its military might is unable to prevent mass gatherings of Tibetans, whether they are praying for those self-immolating or engaging in more challenging acts of protest.

On Monday several Tibetans were brutally beaten, one possibly fatally, after a protest erupted in the immediate aftermath of the twin self-immolations by Tashi and Lungtok in Ngaba, Amdo. And as I write this message, a mass demonstration is taking place in Rebkong, Amdo, with several hundred Tibetans gathered outside the police station to protest against the unprovoked beating of four Tibetans by drunken police.

 

I’m writing to ask that you continue to stand with Tibet. Although we feel heartbroken by the news of each passing self-immolation, the Tibetan people need our support now more than ever. We mustn’t lose focus. Now is the time to double our efforts, in raising awareness and pressing for political action, because we’re making an impact. 
Tibetans in Tibet are not alone. They have your support and your pledge to Stand Up for Tibet. And the Tibet movement has made important progress towards our main objectives.

* Tibet Groups around the world have delivered your pledge and worked hard to press governments to publicly express concern. Many of the world’s most influential governments have spoken out, including at sessions of the United Nations Human Rights Council. In early September, as the United Nations General Assembly and Human Rights Council prepare to meet, we’ll be calling for an International Advocacy Day and will send you more details soon.

 

* Our demand for governments to act together for Tibet is gradually gaining traction. We were delighted to see that US Congressmen Frank Wolf and James McGovern wrote to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this week, calling for “stronger, more coordinated, visible international diplomatic steps with regard to the People’s Republic of China’s policies and practices towards Tibetans.” Read the full letter here.

* A number of key governments have strongly pressed China allow access to the region, including the European Union and Australia. China has agreed that the UN Human Rights Commissioner can visit Tibet as part of a wider visit to China, but no dates have been agreed. Online advocacy group Avaaz joined this campaign and nearly 700,000 people signed an appeal for governments to demand urgent access to Tibet.

* Tibet Groups have generated significant media coverage of the self-immolations, and made a huge effort to raise public awareness, staging coordinated actions and protests around the globe on a regular basis over the last 12 months.

On this anniversary of Tsewang Norbu’s self-immolation, I am writing to ask each and every one of you to undertake to get one more person to sign the Stand Up for Tibet pledge, and help us to double the support for Tibetans in Tibet to more than 100,000 people. Let’s respond to this rapid increase in self-immolations in Tibet with a huge increase in those pledging to take action, to help Tibetans realise their dreams for freedom and for the return of His Holiness to Tibet.

Many, many thanks for your support,

Alison Reynolds
Executive Director, International Tibet Network Secretariat

The second image shows protests in Rebkong, Tibet on 14 August 2012. The banner reads “The atrocity committed by the Administration’s People’s Armed Police to the masses”

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Delhi High Court tells MCI to Fix rural health care course syllabus in six weeks #goodnews

 

English: National Rural Health Mission of India (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

 

R. RAMACHANDRAN

 

 

 

In High Court, Health Ministry puts the blame on Council for delay

The Delhi High Court has given the Medical Council of India (MCI) six weeks to finalise the curriculum for the new 3-1/2 year course, ‘Bachelor of Rural Health Care (BRHC)’. The course was proposed by the Health Ministry to meet the acute shortage of (MBBS) qualified doctors in rural areas due to which rural population was being deprived of basic, primary health care.

The court issued the order on Thursday while hearing a contempt case filed by public health specialist Meenakshi Gautham. In her plea filed on February 27, she sought contempt proceedings against the Union Health Secretary and the MCI Chairperson for not having complied with the court’s November 10, 2010 order, wherein they had been asked to initiate measures to introduce the BRHC course by March 2011.

The court had served contempt notices on the Health Secretary and the MCI and had given four weeks’ time to file their responses (see The Hindu, February 28). The contemnors had filed their affidavits in March/April and Thursday’s hearing was following their submissions.

The November 2010 order was issued following several hearings on a 2009 writ petition by Ms. Gautham and the Garhwal Community and Development Society (GCDS). The plea sought speedy introduction of the short-term course for rural health care as per the resolution of the 9th Conference of the Central Council of Health and Family Welfare in November 2007 and the recommendation of the 2007 Task Force on Medical Education Reforms for National Rural Health Mission. The order had directed the MCI to finalise the syllabus by January 2011 and the Ministry to begin the course by March 2011. Their failure to comply with the order had prompted Ms. Gautham to file the contempt petition.

DRAFT CURRICULUM READY

In its affidavit, the Ministry has stated that it was ready with a draft curriculum in October 2010 itself and this had been sent to the MCI on October 28, 2010, for its comments and final approval. But the MCI has not been able to give it a final shape even now.

Prashant Bhushan, counsel for the petitioner, said the MCI had stated in its affidavit that it would finalise the course by April 2012 but it was yet to do so even four months after that. In fact, counsel for the Centre also stated that the Ministry was still waiting for the MCI to finalise the syllabus.

REASON FOR DELAY

At Thursday’s hearing, the MCI said the delay was due to the matter being considered by yet another committee of the Council. The Bench, led by Justice Rajiv Shakdher, rejected this argument and ordered the MCI to finalise the curriculum within six weeks, failing which the MCI Secretary should be personally present. The next hearing is slated for October 18.

Keywords: Delhi High Court, Medical Council of India, Bachelo

 

Madras High Court frowns on Ministers over Kudankulam nuclear power plant launch date #goodnews

 

Chennai, Aug 16 (IANS) With the protest against Kudankulam nuclear power plant entering its second year, the Madras High Court hearing two petitions against the project Thursday came down on union ministers, the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) and the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB).

“Hearing the two petitions, the Madras High Court came down heavily on the union ministers, saying that they respect only the Supreme Court and not the other courts. The court also asked how central ministers can announce KNPP (Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project) commissioning date when a case is being heard,” P. Sundararajan, a lawyer, told IANS.

P.Sundararajan is junior to advocate M. Radhakrishnan representing G. Sundarrajan who has filed two petitions in the court challenging the consent given by the AERB and the TNPCB to the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL) that is building the plant at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli district, around 650 km from here.

According to Sundararajan, the court also wondered why the AERB was in a hurry to clear fuel loading.

“The AERB gave its nod to NPCIL to load the fuel in the first reactor last week without ensuring the implementation of safety measures in the KNPP as recommended by an expert committee set up to review the safety aspects of Indian nuclear power plants in the wake of nuclear accident at Fukushima in Japan,” Sundarrajan told IANS about his petitions.

He said the AERB had earlier submitted to the court in another case that it would issue clearances only after completion of review and resolution of reactor commissioning reports and issues relating to the KNPP, including the implementation of safety measures after the Fukushima accident.

Sundarrajan contends that the AERB has not applied its mind on the consent order issued by the TNPCB on the tolerance temperature limits for the KNPP effluent before giving its clearance for loading of the fuel in the plant’s first unit.

According to him, the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986, state that thermal power plants using sea water should adopt systems to reduce water temperature at the final discharge point so that the resultant rise in the temperature of receiving water does not exceed seven degrees Celsius over and above the ambient temperature.

The TNPCB, in its consent order, allows the tolerance temperature limit of trade effluent of the KNPP at 45 degrees Celsius while the Comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment for the KNPP units 1 and 2 and additional units 3 to 6 has limited the tolerance temperature to 37 degree Celsius, he said.

Interestingly, the central government-appointed expert committee in its report last December said that the seasonal variation in surface water temperature of Kudankulam Marine Environment ranged from 23 degrees Celsius during monsoon and winter to 29 degrees Celsius during summer, with an annual average of 26.6 degrees Celsius.

Meanwhile, the protest against the two 1,000-MW atomic power plant entered its second year Thursday with anti-nuclear activists stating that their fight was now two pronged — on the streets and within the portals of the Madras High Court.

“Our fight is on two flanks — civil/democratic and legal. We have been protesting against the project in a non-violent manner for the past one year. Now public interest petitions (PIL) have been filed in the Madras High Court. The court has reserved its decision on one, and two more cases have been filed,” said M. Pushparayan, a leader of People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy (PMAN), said.

He said fishermen in Tirunelveli, Tuticorin and Kanyakumari districts did not go into the sea Thursday to express solidarity with PMANE and a huge crowd had gathered in Idinthakarai to attend an anti-nuclear power conference.

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• PUCL Report: Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project misleading (kractivist.wordpress.com)
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Fake enrolments in Aadhaar Phase-I spark security fear #NandanNilekani #UID

 

200 px (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

 

Express news service : New Delhi, Tue Aug 14 2012,

Delhi government officials have detected a large number of fraudulent enrolments in the first phase of Aadhaar that ended in February after registering 1.3 crore people in the city.

Officials in the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) said on Monday many people got themselves enrolled without providing their biometric identification. The “biometric exception” clause is essentially meant for rarest-of-the-rare cases, say, for people with high degree of physical disabilities, they said.

“We are going to take this up with the UIDAI. It is a major security threat. A rigorous protocol needs to be followed for enrolling individuals under this clause,” Principal Secretary (Revenue) Vijay Dev said.

Another security threat, which even the Union Home Ministry is concerned about, has been non-verification of the residential and other addresses provided by those who got enrolled in the first phase, Dev said.

“To complete the enrolment process for the remaining population, verification of address has been made mandatory. We have learnt that the UIDAI would make alternative arrangements to deliver the UID cards and letters. Several letters have returned undelivered in Phase-I. There have been cases of letters being found in dustbins,” he said.

The UIDAI has asked the Postal department to redirect letters to a changed address if the person has formally informed the post office about it.

Deputy Director General of UIDAI’s Delhi zone Sujata Chaturvedi admitted that the irregularities in the biometric clause have been detected and “the guilty officials were penalised”.

“For Phase-II, we will deploy retired government officials as verification agents to look at the documents at all centres. We didn’t do that in Phase-I. We are streamlining this process across all the states and Union Territories to be covered over the next 18 months in Phase-II. There is no security threat,” Chaturvedi said.

Officials said they would try to prevent fraudulent enrolments when Phase-II of Aadhaar is launched this week to register 40 lakh people in the city.

In the National Capital Territory of Delhi, a total of 1,30,60,329 enrolments were done till February against a targeted population of 1,67,53,235.

UIDAI officials said 1,14,18,763 letters have been generated, of which 1,03,12,792 were delivered.

 

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Independence Day, Gram Sabha Meeting, Goons & Chemplast Sanmar #blackday15august

 

Piyush Manush, in Salem , 15/8/2012

Chemplast Sanmar has dumped huge quantities of Chemicals & Heavy Metals which is constantly polluting our drinking water source the Kaveri and has killed 500 odd wells by turning the water toxic. It has made lives difficult people in its vicinity by severe air, water & soil pollution it has caused.
Sreela, a campaigner from Chennai working on the Mettur issue has been mobilizing people to attend the Gram Sabha meeting slated to be held on the Independence day. Sreela along with Madesh & Ganesh anna from GWADU, Gonur West Agriculturists Union were having tea before proceeding to the Gram Sabha meeting, were intercepted by 15 goons led by kalai kovan,a ruling party functionary. They used very slang & filthy language against Sreela outraging all modesty and went on to threaten her with murder if they found her working on pollution in mettur.

The activists were stopped from going to the Gram Sabha Meeting and were warned of severe consequences if they went on to attend the meeting. For two days notices were printed on behalf of the union and were distributed in the villages asking them to attend the Gram Sabha Meeting. The people gathered in quite sizeable numbers for the meet. Madesh & Ganesh anna refused to be intimidated by the threats and went ahead to attend the meeting and also presented demands on behalf of the union and the pollution affected communities.The Company goons had threatened about any campaign against the PVC manufacturer Chemplast Sanmar. The company has been using all tactics to quite any murmur of protest. Sreela has launched a complaint against Kalai Kovan and his goons. A CSR has been issued by the karmalaikoodal police station. It is proposed to be present in large numbers tomorrow to force the SP to act against the Goons and to get to the people who had planned the attack.

I will seek an appointment with the SP tomorrow and would request all those who have read this to be present. The Pollution & loot needs to be tackled as it is our & our children lives which are at stake.

Related articles

• Gram sabha meeting held (thehindu.com)

 

SONGS OF FREEDOM!

A get-together of activist singers took place in Bangalore on Aug.14, 2012 at UTC, Bangalore.Adivasis from Coorg, Chickamanglore, Budakkattu Krishikara Sangh Nagarhole, Adivasi Aikya Samithi Wayanad, fisherwomen from Theeradesa Mahilavedi (Women’s Wing of KSMTF), activists from anti-nuclear movement of Koodankulam, Students from Salsabeel Green School -Thrissur, Activists from VIBGYOR, Meghnath and Madhu Mansoori from Jharkhand, Bhoomi Thaye Balage, Karnataka Vidhyarthi Sanga (KVS), Sammanita, Tribal Joint Action Forum (Siddi Group) participated and sang songs related to the contemporary concept of freedom.

Social action all over the world has been shaped and inspired by songs. Through songs activists informed, inspired, motivated and touched the hearts of people on various aspects of social reality all over the world, using minimum words. And in reality, these minimum words could achieve what large essays and long speeches could not achieve.

During the last few decades in India, a large number of songs have emerged in the dalit movement, anti-nuclear movement, anti-dam movement, farmers’ struggles, fisher-folk’s movement, adivasi movement, women’s movement, movement for the rights over natural resources, child rights movement, sexuality movement, anti-communal movement, human rights movement, environment movement , anti-displacement movement and the struggle against destructive development in general.

 

One thing is clear from this: Songs unite people.
Through songs, the activists of today are expressing a different notion of freedom – much different from the earlier notions of freedom struggle. The activists today recognize the existence of a neo-colonial exploitation even today but the struggle which unites them is through multiple resistance movements on diverse issues. We feel the need to strengthen such songs and popularize them.

The event was organized by:Pedestrian Pictures, Department of Women’s Studies (UTC), Visual Search, Solidarity Youth Movement, Karnataka Janashakthi, ALF, Moving Republic, Karnataka Komu Souharda Vedike, PDF, Vishtar, INSAF, Sichrem, National Adivasi Alliance, New Socialist Alternative, Lesbit and Other

Source- post by K P SASI

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Bahrain jails prominent activist Nabeel Rajab for 3 years #WTFnews

 

Published: 16 August, 2012, 13:23

Prominent Bahraini human rights activist Nabeel Rajab attends an anti-regime demonstration in the village of Muqsha, Bahrain, December 9, 2011.

TRENDS:Arab world protests

TAGS: Conflict, Middle East, Protest, Politics,Human rights, Opposition, Police

Bahraini Human rights activist Nabeel Rajab has been sentenced to three years in jail for “participation in an illegal assembly” and “calling for a march without prior notification.”

Rajab has been held in police custody since June 6th, apparently over comments made on twitter critical of the Prime Minister in Bahrain, and calling for him to step down. Rajab was sentenced on July 9th to three months for his remarks, raising eyebrows and concerns around the world among free-speech activists.

But on Thursday, the lower Bahraini court sentenced the human rights activist to another three years for “involvement in illegal practices and inciting gatherings and calling for unauthorised marches through social networking sites”, for his “participation in an illegal assembly” and for his “participation in an illegal gathering and calling for a march without prior notification.”

Rajab himself is a prominent human rights activist, and has played a significant role in anti-regime demonstrations in recent months. Rajab is also affiliated with international groups such as Human Rights Watch.

Human Rights Watch censured the July 9 court ruling and said, “If anyone is guilty of insult today, it is the Bahraini government, which has reminded citizens they’re not free to express political views.” On July 5, Rajab called on the international community to stop the Manama regime’s violent crackdown on protesters in Bahrain.He said the silence of the European community and the United States is a green light for the Al Khalifa forces to continue their violation of human rights in Bahrain.

Amnesty International claimed Bahrain had done little to improve its human rights record following its bloody crackdown on Arab Spring protesters last year.

“Nabeel Rajab’s imprisonment is the latest example of how, despite government promises to introduce reforms following its violent crackdown on protesters in 2011, few improvements have been seen on the ground,” the group said in a statement at the time.

“He should be released immediately and all other charges or convictions against him dropped or overturned,” it added.

Separately, Bahraini lawyers said on August 14 that the appeals court postponed its verdict in the case of 13 detained opposition figures, including senior activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, until September 4.

Bahraini protesters have been holding demonstrations against the ruling Al Khalifa family since February 2011 and they hold King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa responsible for the deaths of demonstrators during the uprising.

 

Coalgate caused a loss of Rs 1.86 lakh crore: CAG Report

 

Coalgate caused a loss of Rs 1.86 lakh crore: CAG

 

 

The CAG’s final report on the coal block allocations will be tabled in the Parliament today The report is not naming the Prime Minsiter’s Office (PMO) PMO or the states and the blame is put solely on the steering committee, reports CNBC-TV18’s Pallavi Ghosh quoting sources.

 

 $33 billion-Coal scam”report by CAG tabled today in the parliament that lists Tata group, Naveen Jindal group, Essar group, Abhijeet group, Laxmi Mittal‘s Arcelor and Vedanta among the beneficiaries.

 

The report on coal blocks allocation suggests that it could be an even bigger embarrassment than the 2G spectrum allocation scam with top private companies making a windfall of Rs 1.86 lakh crore due to lack of bidding.
The final draft of the CAG report on the coal blocks allocation, says that the allocation of captive coal mines from 2004 to 2006 was not transparent. Notably, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held the Coal Ministry portfolio from 2006 to 2009.
It further said that a six-year delay in moving to competitive bidding led to huge losses to the state.
The CAG report lists Tata group, Naveen Jindal group, Essar group, Abhijeet group, Laxmi Mittal’s Arcelor and Vedanta among the beneficiaries.
However, CAG does not mention the role of the PMO and state governments in the coal blocks allocation.
The auditing watchdog has blamed the steering committee recommendations that gave away captive coal mines without bidding.
The CAG report has said that the delay in introducing competitive bidding, first suggested in 2004, led to major benefits to the private sector, but the rules for auction only got finalised six years later in 2012 after a series of controversies.
Till 2004 June, only 39 blocks were allotted, but in order to improve the production, 142 allotments were made between July 2004 and 2006 to private and government companies.
The CAG says the allocation made by the steering committee was not transparent and helped many private players. As many as 15 blocks given to private players did not even start production till March 2011.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is also investigating the coal scam. Initial reports of the investigating agency suggest they are looking at the role of state governments in allocating without bidding.
(With inputs from Ibnlive.com)

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Prominent Bahraini human rights activist Said Yousif arrested

 

Published: 15 August, 2012, 22:32,  RT News

Image from twitter.com by user @SAIDYOUSIF

TAGS: Middle East, Human rights

 

Human rights activist Said Yousif tweeted that he was arrested at a checkpoint in A’ali, a major Bahraini town. Yousif has spoken out in support of Nabeel Rajab, another activist recently jailed over comments he made on Twitter.

Yousif says security forces manning the checkpoint had contacted his wife so that she could pick up his “two little kids,” but no more information was forthcoming.

The activist, who heads the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), has become a target for security forces in the country as he regularly speaks out against the Bahraini authorities’ crackdown on anti-regime protesters.

The ongoing uprising by the country’s Shiite majority, which claims systematic discrimination by the Sunni monarchy, has begun to lose steam following a series of mass arrests.

At least 80 people have reportedly died and thousands have been put behind bars since the uprising first began 18 months ago.
Among those arrested for criticizing the country’s leadership was Nabeel Rajab.

Nineteen members of the US Congress recently wrote to Bahrain’s king, calling for the release of Rajab, who is serving a three-month sentence for comments made on Twitter, Al Jazeera reported Sunday.

Rajab appeared in court on Sunday in a separate case connected with his participation in an “illegal gathering.”Yousif told Al Jazeera that a verdict on the latest case against Rajab was expected this Thursday.

Rajab was originally imprisoned for “insulting the Muharraq [an area near the capital Manama] people on his Twitter account,” according to state-run Bahrain News Agency.

“The offended accused Rajab of tarnishing their reputation and casting doubt on their patriotism,” Chief Prosecutor Nayef Yusuf Mahmoud was quoted as saying.

The 19 US lawmakers calling for Rajab’s release lauded the monarchy for the “positive reforms” it had initiated in the wake of the uprising, but claimed the case against Rajab ran “counter to the government’s assurances that individuals will not be prosecuted for peaceful political speech.”

The United States has often been accused of turning a blind eye to human rights violations in the kingdom, as Bahrain remains a vital regional partner. Bahrain currently hosts the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet, which is responsible for maritime forces in the Persian Gulf, Arabian Sea and beyond.
In a separate case, 13 imprisoned Bahraini opposition activists who had been swept up in late-night raids last year will have to wait until September 4 to hear the verdict in their appeal.

Those activists received sentences ranging from two years to life imprisonment by a military court on charges that included “protesting” and “setting up terror groups to topple the royal regime and change the constitution.” One activist was subsequently released after serving six months in prison.

After their sentences were upheld following the military appellate process, the authorities finally allowed them to appear before a civilian court this May.

Related articles

• US politicians urge Bahrain to free activist (aljazeera.com)
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Bahrain: An open letter from the family of Human Rights Defender Nabeel Rajab

 

To the governments of the USA, the UK and all governments who have influence on Bahrain And to the UN and all Regional and International Human Rights Organisations

 

 (Ahlul Bayt News Agency) – My name is Sumaya Rajab, the wife of the prominent Bahraini human rights defender,Nabeel Rajab, who is currently detained in Bahrain. I write this letter in my name, and the names of our son Adam and our daughter Malak to urge you to use your influence and act quickly to guarantee my husband’s release immediately and unconditionally.

The Bahraini government fabricated a number of cases against Nabeel to take revenge because of his human rights activities. He was recently convicted as a result of his tweets in which he criticized the Prime Minister who has been in his post for 42 years. It is well-known that Nabeel exercised his right to freedom of expression in his tweets, which was guaranteed by all international conventions for human rights. Other cases taken against Nabeel related to his criticism of the security forces and the use of excessive force and torture and also his calls for peaceful protests through social networks. The right to assembly to demand civil rights is guaranteed by Bahraini laws.

My husband Nabeel is a prominent Bahraini rights activist and he is the head of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, director of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights, and a member of Human Rights Watch’s MENA Advisory Board. He is also the Vice-President of the International Federation for Human Rights. Nabeel has worked in human rights for 20 years and he has held important positions in several countries.

With the beginning of what is known as the Arab Spring, Nabeel initiated many peaceful activities to support the right of all peoples to decide their destinies. This came at the same time as the Bahraini revolution in February 2011 which demanded the Bahraini people’s legitimate rights to democracy, social justice and the end of corruption. Nabeel initiated a campaign on social networks to support Bahraini people’s rights, erase corruption and uncover violations of human rights. He also tried to uncover the role of the ruling regime in Bahrain in these violations. Nabeel has become one the most prominent activists on social networks, especially Twitter. He has at present more than 166,000 followers from all around the world. He travelled around the world and he met several international officials both in the West and the Middle East and officials in human rights organizations and institutions to uncover the human rights violations carried out by the regime and to explore ways to stop these violations and end the impunity. Nabeel and his team at the BCHR succeeded in uncovering the lies of the regime in front of the world. As a result, the Bahraini regime manipulated the politicized judicial authorities to fabricate cases against him in order to imprison him and stop his influential activities.

Bahraini security forces attacked his home on several occasions and fired tear gas inside the house in order to put pressure on him and his family. His family, including his children and elderly mother, have suffered from breathing problems more than once as a result of the tear gas. What happened inside the house was documented by video recordings and through international statements issued on these occasions. The regime also made it difficult for Nabeel to work and ruined his business. Our children were harassed in school and I, his wife, was sacked from my job after a campaign of harassment so that the regime could make sure that Nabeel’s only income was stopped. Nabeel has been arrested and interrogated on several occasions for his criticism of the regime and also for his calls for peaceful protests. He declared from his prison that he rejects all these fabricated charges and he refuses to appear before any court because the judicial system in Bahrain lacks independence and transparency. Dozens of regional and international human rights organisations issued statements demanding the immediate release of Nabeel Rajab, an end to the harassment of him and our family and also that he be allowed to work freely on his independent human rights activities, but the Bahraini regime did not respond to all these calls.

Nabeel Rajab is currently held at Jaw central prison in harsh conditions which reflect the desire of the Bahraini regime to take revenge. He is being held in a dirty cell where there are insects. The cell has no ventilation despite the high temperature. He is isolated from political prisoners and held with criminal prisoners. Prisoners are not allowed to talk to him, excluding the two people who share the cell with him. He was refused access to the doctor despite the fact that he suffers from eczema, high blood pressure and an irregular heartbeat. In addition, on several occasions, the prison administration has denied access to his medication in order to put pressure on him. Contrary to the rules of Bahraini prisons, we as a family are harassed when we apply to visit him and the reply to the applications always take a long time. Also, in contrast to other detainees, he is always brought to the visiting room with his hands handcuffed.

We, as the family of Nabeel Rajab, plead to you and plead to the UN and all international human rights organizations and institutions to demand from the Bahraini authorities that Nabeel Rajab should be released, that abuses against him and our family should stop and that he should be allowed to practice his human rights activities as guaranteed by all international conventions. We also hold the international community responsible for protecting freedoms and human rights in Bahrain and for working to put an end to human rights violations against the Bahraini people and especially against human rights defenders such as Nabeel Rajab.

We hope that you will take our plea into consideration and that you realize that the silence of some Western governments about the gross human rights violations in Bahrain means that the Bahraini people will lose trust in you and in principles you talk about. The people of Bahrain cannot understand the silence of the international community about the violations taking place in Bahrain while it is moving to resolve violations in other areas of the world. Freedom and respect for human rights are the only path to building a flourishing future for all people without any exception, and we in Bahrain long to build a state based on the foundations of justice and equality for all Bahraini people without any exception.

Bahrain, 11 August 2012

Sumaya Rajab, wife of activist Nabeel Rajab
Adam Rajab, son of activist Nabeel Rajab
Malak Rajab, daughter of activist Nabeel Rajab

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