Briefing on Latest Developments in Bahrain

Published: Thursday, September 08, 2011

Invitation

Briefing on Latest Developments in Bahrain

Dr Ali Al Ekri by skype from Bahrain
Professor Abdulla Al Derazi, the Secretary General of Bahrain Human Rights Society
12 September 2011 - 7PM The Oak Room, The Mansion House
Chairperson Professor Damian McCormack
Reception to follow

Dear Friends

Front Line Defenders would like you to join us for a celebration of the recent release in Bahrain of the imprisoned doctors, nurses and health professionals, including Dr Ali Al Ekri, Dr Ghassan Daif and Dr Basim Daif who all studied in the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin. The trio and their colleagues were released in Bahrain on Wednesday as their hunger strike entered its second week.

Dr Ali Al Ekri was a vocal critic of the failure by the Minister for Health to send ambulances to look after injured demonstrators and the arrest and ill treatment of patients who were brought to the hospital for emergency treatment. He and his colleagues were brutally arrested, tortured and held in incommunicado detention before being tried before a military court.

We are very privileged to have Dr Al Ekri join us here this evening by Skype to give us the latest updates from Bahrain.

We are also delighted to welcome Professor Abdulla Alderazi, Secretary General of the Bahrain Society for Human Rights. He was recently dismissed from his position as Professor of English in retaliation for his outspoken work in defence of human rights in Bahrain.

While we are very happy to welcome the releases and celebrate the end of the hunger strikes Front Line Defenders remains concerned that the charges against the doctors still stand and the trials will reconvene later this month before a military court in which they will not be able either to present witnesses or question witnesses for the prosecution. They still face the prospect of heavy jail sentences.

We are also concerned at the situation of our former colleague Abdulhadi Al Khawaja who was sentenced to life imprisonment and Ali Abdulemam who was sentenced to fifteen years imprisonment in absentia.

A key message from Bahrain is that the international support, especially from Ireland, has been a tremendous morale boost for all the doctors and their families.

We need to keep up the pressure on the government of Bahrain.

We hope that you will be able to join us.

The Oak Room is limited to 80 people so please confirm your attendance by email - jimloughran@frontlinedefenders.org