Bahrain - Reports
The findings of the report indicate that on many levels the human rights situation has worsened since March, and human rights defenders, activists and journalists have been arrested.
UN member states expressed strong concerns over the country's human rights record during the second cycle of their Universal Periodic Review in Geneva.
The authorities have hired Western PR firms to help project a favourable image of the regime in the Western media.
Some of the BICI’s most serious concerns, like accountability for crimes such as torture and relief for people wrongly imprisoned have not been adequately addressed, says Human Rights Watch.
The report honours the past and current sacrifices made by human rights defender Abdulhadi Alkhawaja and all those who paid a high price for demanding human rights.
The egregious violations of fair trial rights in political cases do not just reflect the poor practices of individual prosecutors and judges, but serious, systemic problems with the country's criminal justice system, said the organisation.
On 13 December 2011, the Criminal Court sentenced racing champion Mohamed AlKhunaizi to two years' imprisonment on charges of illegal gathering and inciting hatred against the regime.
The report gives background to the situation, then identifies and documents all the types of violations that took place, with the aim of putting out recommendations to the Bahraini government, as well as the EU, US, UN OHCHR and the ICC.
Despite the regime's brutality, the United States recently signed a multimillion-dollar arms deal (currently on hold) with the country and has remained largely silent amid a crackdown that proportionally surpasses the magnitude of any other in the region.
A number of media professionals have recently been summoned to appear before criminal courts, according to BCHR.
Recent moves include the jamming of the opposition Lulu channel and pressure tactics used against Al-Jazeera to prevent the airing of a video on the situation in the country.
BCHR provides a synopsis of actions against foreign media personnel since the start of pro-democracy protests in February.
There have been widespread arbitrary arrests and incommunicado detention, torture, and unfair military court trials since pro-democracy protests began, as well as summary dismissals of workers accused of sympathising with the protests.
Many who have spoken to media have been subject to intimidation, violence, arrest, and prosecution, according to BCHR.
The report documents the authorities' targeting of photographers, from dismissals to assaults and arrests, in response to their involvement in documenting the events of Bahrain's revolution.
BCHR reiterates its concern for the safety of organisation president Nabeel Rajab and that of his family.
The Bahrain TV station has been broadcasting fabricated images and programs aimed at discrediting those who participated in the peaceful protests, says BCHR.
A number of political affairs sites, discussion forums and activists' blogs have been blocked or shut down by the authorities, BCHR notes.
The report points to the media's bias towards government candidates and the effect of the detention crackdown on the media's performance.
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