• Urgent Action

Urgent Action: Bahraini Youth Targeted in Family Retaliation (Bahrain: UA 143.20)

September 17, 2020

Kameel Juma Hasan, a Bahraini secondary school student, has been imprisoned in retaliation against him and his family after he and his mother refused to become informants and his mother spoke out in the international press. He faces over 20 prosecutions arising from his alleged participation in opposition demonstrations.

TAKE ACTION:
  1. Write a letter in your own words or using the sample below as a guide to one or both government officials listed. You can also email, fax, call or Tweet them.
  2. Click here to let us know the actions you took on Urgent Action 143.20. It’s important to report because we share the total number with the officials we are trying to persuade and the people we are trying to help.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Bu Abdullah, Minister of Justice Ministry of Justice 82 Road No. 1702 Diplomatic Area Manama, Bahrain Fax: +973 1753 0574 Twitter: @Khaled_Bin_Ali
Ambassador Shaikh Abdullah bin Rashed bin Abdullah Al Khalifa Embassy of the Kingdom of Bahrain 3502 International Drive NW, Washington DC 20008 Phone: 202 342 1111 I Fax: 202 362 2192 Email: [email protected] Twitter: @BahrainEmbDC Salutation: Dear Ambassador
SAMPLE LETTER Dear Minister, I write to you today to express my concern about the arbitrary detention of Kameel Juma Hasan, a 17-year-old secondary-school student who has been jailed since 31 December 2019. Kameel is currently being held at the Juvenile Reform and Rehabilitation Center at Dry Dock. He faces over 20 separate prosecutions based on demonstrations against the Bahraini monarchy and appears to have been targeted because his mother, Najah Ahmed Yusuf, who was arbitrarily detained from 2017 to 2019, spoke up about her abuse in detention. On 13 September 2020, Kameel was sentenced to five years in prison on one such set of charges, in a trial of 39 defendants – all Shi’a citizens, reflecting discrimination in the criminal justice system of the Sunni-led government. Amnesty International has received credible reports that, in January 2020, Kameel was compelled to sign a prepared “confession” placed in front of him by interrogators after being beaten and forced to stand for prolonged periods of time. I urge you to immediately release Kameel, drop all outstanding charges against him stemming from his non-violent participation in demonstrations, end the targeting of his family, and quash his conviction in the unjust group trial concluded on 13 September. Pending his release, I urge you to ensure that he is granted access to his family and lawyers and protected from torture and other ill-treatment. Allegations that he has been tortured or otherwise ill-treated must be independently and effectively investigated, and statements obtained under torture must not be admitted as evidence in criminal proceedings. Yours sincerely, [YOUR NAME] ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
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