Bahrain: A Brickwall (1994-96)

BAHRAIN
A Brickwall
Correspondence betweenLordAvebury and the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office ofthe British Government
on the Human Rights Situation in Bahrain
Parliamentary Human RightsGroup
London

TheParliamentary Human Rights Group
The Parliamentary Human Rights Group wasfounded in 1976 as an independentforum
in the British Parliament concerned with the defence of international human rights.
Since 1976,its members have increased to a currentlevel of130Parliamentariansfirom
both the House ofCommons and the House ofLords. With the increase in numbers has
come an increase in the range and extent of its activities. Members of the group
represent all pohtical parties, making the group broadly representative. The group
undertakes human rights missions, pubhshes discussion papers, receives visitors and
engagesin dialogue with the Foreign&Commonwealth Office.
Officers
President The RtHon The Lord Braine ofWheatleyPC(Conservative)
Chairman Lord Avebury(Liberal)
Vice Chairman Ann Clywd MP(Labour)
Vice Chairman Jeremy Corbyn MP(Labour)
Vice Chairman Anthony Coombs MP(Conservative)
Secretary Dr.RobertSpink(Conservative)
Treasurer Lord St.John ofBletso
Main Objectives
• To increase awareness in Parliament, Britain and abroad generally of human rights
abuses whenever they occur
•To communicate to governments, their representatives in the United Kingdom and
visiting delegations,the group'sconcern aboutviolationsofbasic human rights
• To work for the implementation by all governments ofthe Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, and of the UN Covenants on civil and pohtical, and on economic social
and cidtural rights
For more information, contact Lord Avebury, Chairman of the Parhamentary Human
Rights Group:
Telephone:0171 2744617
Fax:0171 7387864
Email:phrg@phrg.demon.co.uk or 100275.1565@compuserve.com
Mailing address: House ofLords
London SWIA OAA
ISBN 095702386 1
II

Forward
A fewdaysago,Ireceivedthe messagethateveryjournalistdreads,Ihadrecently
returned from Bahrain and reported for theBBCon humanrightsabusesthere.
During my week long stay in Bahrain, dozens of people hadtalkedto meand
volunteered to show me, at considerablepersonalrisk,the dailydemonstrations
that take placein thestrugglefordemocracy and tointroduce metothefamiliesof
those imprisoned or "martyred". The messagereadthattwoofthosepeople had
been arrested, one severely tortured, apparently for the "crime" of telling an
outsider the truth aboutwhatishappeninginBahraintoday.Ihavesinceappealed
to the Foreign and Commonwealthofficeforhelpinintervening with theBahraini
Governmentbut,afterreadingtheensuing210pages,Iam nothopeful.
The affection for Britain and things British in Bahrainis widespread. Manyof
Bahrain's prominent businessman, shia and sunni, havebeen educatedin Britain
and are today behind the pro-democracy movement They speakinaweofthe
"Mother of Parliaments" (theirs wasabolishedin 1975).Theyspeak withenvyof
"Speakers' Comer", "Spitting Image"andothersymbolsoffreespeech which we
take for granted. Above all,theyspeak with sadnessofthelackofinterestbythe
British Governmenttowards theircause.
As iftoexplainthesilencefrom Whitehall,peopleplead with visitingjournaliststo
"tell the truth". They say that "if only"the British Governmentknew aboutthe
arbitrary arrests of men,womenand children,thedesecrationofmosquesand the
terror tactics earned out against the homes of ordinary people living in Shia
villages, thenH.M.G.wouldintervene with theal-Khalifafamilyand urgerestraint
and negotiation.
Lord Avebury's indefatigable letter writingrevealsthattheForeign Officeknows
full weU what is going on butchoosestosupport,in DouglasKurd'swords,our
"old fnends", i.e. the Al-Khalifas. The campaign to restore democracy and a
parliament to Bahrainis notthe workofagroupofhotheadsand terrorists,asthe
Govemment may prefer to believe. Itisacampaignthatissupported bythevast
majority ofthepeopleofBahrainanditisfoolishand shortsightedtoignorethem.
Or, as Eric Avebury so eloquently puts it (letter to Rt. Hon.JeremyHanley,
13.1.96), "you could havehelpedpreventtheinstabilitynowoccurringandlikely
to-get worse if the al-Khalifasplaythe Canuteandattempttostoptheincoming
tideofdemocracy".
Sue Lloyd-Roberts
London
June 1996
III

Introduction
The events that have been taking placesince December 1994are seen as a continuation of
the process seeking change in the island state of Bahrain. Since the Amir, Sheikh Isa bin
Salman A1 Khalifa, issued a decree suspending the 1973 Constitution and dissolving the
parliament(National Assembly)in August 1975,there has been systematic opposition to the
unconstitutional rule,and many sacrifices were offered in the struggle to force the Amir to
rescind his infamous decree.
Bahrain was a British protectorate for more than 150 years, whose sheikh entered with
Britain into the General Treaty of 1820banning piracy in the Gulfregion.Since then Britain
became more involved in the internal affairs of the island as well as the other sheikhdoms
along the trucial coast,Qatar and Kuwait.Until 1971,the British control overthe region was
exercised through a unique arrangement with a Political Agent(PA) acting as the local
British representative in one or more ofthe sheikhdoms,and the Political Resident(PA)as
the main British authority in the Gulf. The PR resided at the Iranian city of Bushire until
1947 when he moved to Bahrain. This arrangement continued until 1971when the British
withdrew from the Gulffollowing the Labour Government's decision in 1968 to withdraw
from all areaseastofSuez within thefollowing three years.
During the British presence in the region,little development ofthe political system took
place, and the aim of the Government of India and later the Foreign and Commonwealth
Office(FCC)was to safeguard the British interest in the Gulfthrough the preservation ofthe
tribal rule in each ofthe sheikhdoms.They resisted any movementforchangethroughout the
Gulf.In Bahrain,for example,the British were instrumental in the crushing of the popular
uprisingsof1938,1956and 1965 which wereseekingthe establishmentofrepresentative and
legislative bodies. In all these instances the decisions of the successive PA's and PR's to
preventthe developmentofdemocratic regimes led to the ruthlesssuppression ofthe popular
movements.It was their policy to deport leading Bahraini political activists from Bahrain to
India in 1938,St. Helena in 1956, and to various Arab countries in 1965. The case of the
three Bahraini exiles in the Atlantic Ocean's island ofSt. Helena,Abdul Rahman A1 Bakir,
Abdul Aziz A1 Shamlan and Abd Ali A1 Ulaiwat, is well documented in the FCC archives.
Thethree wereexiled aboard a British ship in January 1957 after the British deployed troops
in the streets of Manama and Muharraq in October 1956 to crush the uprising that had been
going on fortwo years.
Furthermore, the British role in Bahrain was made even more direct through the
"employment" by Sheikh Hamad bin Isa A1 Khalifa in 1926 of a British "Adviser", Sir
Charles Belgrave.Hisservices were enlisted after the decision by the British Government to
remove from power Sheikh Isa bin Ali A1 Khalifa in 1923 whose reign of terror led to an
outburst ofanger in 1922 threatening the future ofthe A1 Khalifa rule.The move was meant
to preserve the U-ibal rule by allowing a degree ofcentral authority to evolve after decades of
gross violation ofthe rights ofindigenous inhabitantsofthe island,the Bahamah,orthe Shia.
Sir Charles managed to centralise the affairs ofthe government but refused to acknowledge
the need to establish a modem politicalsystem.In hisopinion,the Shia oughtnotto be given
the chance to flourish and become a formidable political force.To this end he countered the
two major popular movementsof1938and 1956and used force torepress the people.In both
cases the leaders of the movements,both Shia and Sunni were punished and some of them
exiled.
In 1965, a popular movement erupted following the decision by the Bahrain Petroleum
Company(BAPCO),to make redundant 500 employees. The whole nation went on strikes
and demonstrations,and were mthlessly suppressed.The RAF personnel took active role in
suppressing the movement, and more than ten people lost their lives by police arms.
Following that popular uprising the British administration decided to improve the efficiency
ofthe security system,and the notorious colonial officer, Ian Henderson, was employed to
oversee the developmentofthe State Intelligence System(SIS).He waschosen by the British

for his earlierexperience in Kenya where he had managed to suppress the Man Man rebels in
Mount Kenya. This colonial hero, with two King George medals, was to dominate the
internal affairs ofBahrain forthefollowing three decades.
Following Bahrain's independence in 1971, when the British finally withdrew from the
Gulf,thefutureofthe country was decided by the United Nations which ruled that the people
ofBahrain wanted to be independentofIran,and that,in return,they would share power with
the A1 Khalifa family. The first Constituent Assembly was elected in 1972 to propose a
constitution for the country. In 1973, the Amir, who had risen to the thrown in 1961
following the death of his father, officially approved the Constitution and sealed it. In the
same year the first parliamentary elections took place. For the first time in their modem
history,the people ofBahrain tasted a limited degree offreedom.However,within a yearIan
Henderson,the security chief, proposed the notorious State Security Law that empowers the
minister of the interior to order the administrative detention of any political suspect for a
period of up to three years without charge or trial. The parliament reacted fiercely, and in a
show ofsolidarity and defiance,rejected the bill in June 197S,causing seriousembarrassment
to the British officer. The prime minister. Sheikh Khalifa bin Salman A1 Khalifa reacted
angrily and on 25th August,submitted the resignation ofhis government.One day later,the
Amirissued a decree suspending those articles ofthe Constitution which guarantee a degree
offreedom to the people.Thefirst parliamentary experience had thus come to an abmptend.
Thisdecision heralded a new dark agein Bahrain that wasto continue until the presentday.
As the people's outrage became apparent in the following few months,the government
announced that it had foiled the first of a series ofalleged coup attempts At the time it was
convenientto accuse the Democratic Republic ofSouth Yemen,which was undercommunist
mle, of conspiring to overthrow the government and smuggling arms into the country.
Hundreds of young men were rounded up,and a few died under torture.The following two
decades would witness the emergence ofa popular movementcalling for the reinstatementof
the Constitution, an aim that has remained unchanged ever since. In 1981 the government
armoimced that it had uncovered a plot to overthrow the government.This time the culprit
was Iran. Hundreds were arrested and seventy three of them were sentenced to terms of
imprisonment ranging from seven years to life. Some of these men are still in jail. The
situation in the country became even more bleak in the following years,and in 1984a group
of18 people werejailedfor5-7 years after the governmenthad claimed thatthey belonged to
an illegal organisation. Thousands of people were either jailed or exiled in the eighties. At
least six people died under torture: Jamil A1 Ali, Karim A1 Hebshi, Mohammed Hassan
Madan,Sheikh Jamal A1 Asfoor,Radhi MahdiIbrahim and Dr.Hashim A1 Alawi.In 1986,a
groupof 11 people were also accused ofplotting to overthrow the government andjailed for
seven years. Two years later, several citizens were sentenced to 3- 10 years ofjail after a
summary trial in the State Security Court.Among them was Mohammed Jamil A1Jamri who
is stillinjail eight years afterthe dleged conspiracy to stage acoup.
This background helps to give a picture ofthe internal situation in Bahrain as it emerged
over the past twenty years.The morale of people remained high all along as the embattled
regime continued its reign of repression. The advent of the second Gulf war to liberate
Kuwaitfrom theIraqioccupation(1990-91)encouraged the peopleto resumetheirstruggle to
attain adegreeoffreedom.They chose to submitto the Amira petition signed by 300known
personalities who were mostly professional lawyers, doctors, artists, businessmen, clerics,
preachers and engineers. It called on the Amir to reinstate the Constitution in order to
stabilise the country. The Amir rebuked the petitioners in a meeting in January 1993, and
rejected theirdemand.Instead,he appointed 30people to a Consultative Assembly which has
neither powernow aconstitutional validity.In 1994the sponsorsofthefirst petition prepared
a new one with the additional demand to give women their political rights. Up to 25,000
peoplesigned it,including many women.The Amirrefused to receive it.In this connection,a
young cleric.Sheikh Ali Salman was arrested,a step that was to prove ill-conceived and to
lead to a popularuprising thatthecountry had neverexperienced before.
VI

Since December 1994,Bahrain has been in astate ofcrisis with the people calling forthe
reinstatement ofthe Constitution,the release of prisoners and the return of political exiles.
The government,on the other hand, has consistently refused to succumb to these demands
and precipitated a crisis that seems to grow worse by the day. As in the past,the A1 Khalifa
governmenthasfailed to acknowledge the need tochange,and in twenty years thatsucceeded
the abandonmentofthe democratic experiment,it has done absolutely nothing to impress its
own people in terms of political reforms.It has sought to blame outsiders offomenting the
dissent, a claim that does not absolve it from the need to modernise the autocratic tribal
system which is both outdated and repressive. Massive evidence has been collected by
ntemational human rights organisations on the human rights abuses in the country,and the
finger has always been pointed to Ian Henderson as the chief engineer of the repressive
measuresemployed by theforeign-staffed security system and riot police.More than twenty
Bahrainicitizens haveso far died in the struggle to attain a degree offreedom,many exiled
and thousandsimprionsed.
Thisbook isacompilationofthecorrespondence between Lord Avebury,theChairman of
the Parliamentary Human Rights Group, and the British Government on the crisis in
Bahrain.As wUlbeseen,thehumanrightsactivists,hasreceived littlepositiveresponsefrom
HM governmenton the issues he raised in his letters.Heoften said he is hitting a brick wall
as the British Government, which left a legacy to Bahrain ofits notorious security system,
hasconstantlyrefused toexpressany view on the general,political orhuman rightssituation
m Bahrain.Theletters contain details ofthe day-to-day development ofthe situation in the
first eighteen months ofthe uprising.They reflect a genuine concern ofa man who spent
most of his life championing the cause of human rights around the globe. After more than
thirty yearsin thisfield.Lord Avebury,asis clearissomeofhisletterstothe Foreign Office
in London,seems perplexed by the fact that HM Govemment chose to ignore the plight of
the prc^emocracy movement in a country that was not long ago, been under its direct
protection. Bahraini opposition maintains that the British Govemment have a moral and
politicalduty toacknowledgeits partin establishing thesecuritysystem in the island,and the
appointmentofIan Henderson at its top.Thiscolonel hero is viewed as the main mastermind
behind the terror that has engulfed the country as the constitutionalists pursued their
legitimate demands to have the constitution reinstated. The book will serve as a useful
reference for researchers, politicians, human rights activists and researchers as they start
digging into the crisis of Bahrain. Lord Avebury has tried to be as neutral as possible in
expressing his views,condemning acts ofarson and sabotage regardless of who has carried
them out,whilstreaffirming hiscommitmentto the defence ofhuman rights.It is a valuable
contribution to thecauseofjustice,democracy,human rights and freedom in a region whose
governments are not renowned for their affection forthese values.
VII

From Lord Avobuxy
Chairman
Parliamentary Human Rights Group
Tiouseoffords
January 25,1994
DearAmbassador,
You mayrecallthatI wrote to youon May9,1993,aboutthe applicationofthe
citizenshiplawsin Bahrain,and you kindlyforwarded myletter to the Ministerofthe
Interior,Sheikh Mohamed bin Khalifa A1 Khalifa,who replied on Jtine7,sendin usa
copyofthestatement made before the Commission on Human Rights atthe48th
sessionfrom January27to March6,1992.He also asked us tosupply a listofthe
personsto whom ourinquiryrelated,andI wrote to himonJune18enclosingthelists
(a)ofcitizensfearing to returnincase they would bo arrested and tried;(b)ofthose
who tried to returnand were allegedlydenied leave to enter,and(c)ofcitizensof
Persianoriginsaid to have beendeprivedoftheircitizenship.Iadded thatitseemed
to usthatalthough the Minister had emphasisedthatallBahrcunisei^joyed equal
rightsirrespectiveoftheir religionetc,aslaiddownin theconstitution,theShiasand
thoseofPersian ancestraloriginfeltthemselvesto bosufferingdiscrimination
through the citizenshiplaws.
OnAugust9,1 wrote again to the Minister,saying that we had taken note ofthe
lutingofmonitoringimderthespecialResolution 1503procedureofthe humanrights
situationinBahrain bythe UN Human RightsCommission,andIrepeated thatwe
hoped toreceive afullaccountofhis Government's pointofview onthe matters
raised,so thatwecould giveour membersabriefing which covered bothsidesofthe
picture.
Since then we have notheardfrom the Minister,butwe have taken noteofthe
Amnesfy International paperBanned from Bahrain:forcible exile ofBahraini
nationals,published in December1993.ThisindicatesthatyourGovernmenthad
responded tosomeoftheircommunications,andIveiy much hope we mayexpectan
earlyreply to ourownconcerns.Otherwise,we may becompelled to distribute
briefings toour120 members which do notcontain adirectaccountoftheBahrain
Government'sviewonthe mattersraised.Icertainly hope we would nothavetorely
on^edescriptiongiven byAmnestyInternationalofyourGovernment'sresponsesto
theirinquiries,since thereasonsgivenforexilingBahrainicitizens,orofrefusing
them admission,were notvalid underinternationallaw.
Yourssincerely,
HE theAmbassador,
MrKarim Ebrahim A1Shakar,
EmbassyoftheStateofBahrain,
98GloucesterRoad,
LondonSW74AU.

From Lord Avebiiiy P9411042
Chairman
Tfouseojfords
April 11,1994
1 have been corresponding with the Ambassador ofBahrain in Britain,
abouthuman rights in Bahrain,and in particular aboutthelaws of
citizenship.In view ofthe close and historicalrelationshipsbetween our
two countries,I would now very muchlike to visitBahrain myself,to
discuss these matters with you and other Ministers and officials,and a
rangeofeminentprivatecitizens.I would be mostgratefulifyou could
let me know when itwould be convenientfor you to receive me.
H E the Prime Minister,
Sheikh Khalifa bin Salmam al-Khalifa,
PO Box 1000,Manama,
Bahrain

From Lord Avebuiy P9418041
Chairman
ParliamentajyHuman RightsGroup
Tfouseo/fords
April 18,1994
Asyou know,wo are anxiousaboutsome aspectsofhuman rightsin Bahrain,and I
enclose acopyofa letter I wrote to the Prime Minister asking ifhe would receive me
for a discussion on these matters.
In the meanwhile,we heard abouttwocases,and I would be mostgrateful ifyou
would convey our views on these to the authorities in Bahrain.
Mr Hashem Al-Mousawi,an activistin the Islamicopposition movement,tried to
enter Bahrain on April 15 by GulfAir flight GF902 which arrived in Bahrain 20.00.
He wasdetained on entry,and then sentto Abu Dhabi,where he has notbeen
admitted either,and isstuck atthe airport.
Mr Al-Moussawi was detained withouttrial between November 1982 untilsome time
in 1986.He wasthen freed,but wasarrested again in 1988and tried before the State
Security Court,which sentenced him to five yearsin prison.Apparently hegotno
remission,and atthe end ofthe full sentence was taken directfrom his cell to the
airport where he wasexpelled to Syria,on a specialone-shotBahrain travel
document.There were no formal procedures todeprive him ofhiscitizenship,and his
expulsion wascontrary to internationalcustomary law..
MrAbdulJalilSaleh Ahmed An-Noaimi,a founder and Vice-Presidentufthe National
Union ofBahraini Students(NUBS),sought toenter Bahrainon April 15,but was
expeUed on April16 to Syria.When the National Assembly wasdissolved in August
1975'he leftBahrain,and since then has been advocatingthe restoration ofdemocracy
and human rightsfrom abroad.His passport wascancelled,butagain asfar as we are
aware,he was neverdeprived ofhiscitizenship.
We would respectfully ask thatthese two gentlemen be allowed to return to their
country,as is their right under customary law,and under the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights.
(/)
H E the Ambassador,
Mr Karim Ebrahim A1Shakar,
Embas^ofthe StateofBahrain,
98 Gloucester Road,
London SW74AU.

Chairman
Parliamentaiy Human Rights Group
Tfouseqffords
May 25,1994
Wehavejustheeninformed ofa possible attemptbyBahrainian oficials to
transfer two personsfrom prisons in Bahrain toIran. Mr.NabilIbrahim
Baqirand Mr.Ahmed Hussain Mirza wereboth arrested on November23,
1987,and weresentenced toseven yearsimprisonmentby the State
Security Court. Itisour understandingthatthesetwoindividuals are
now to be removed from Bahrain and sentto Iran.
We would appreciateitifyou would investigatethis matterandinform us
ofthelocation and condition ofthe two prisoners.Ifthey are to beexpelled
toIran,would you bekind enough toexplain under whatlaw thisis tobe
enforced?
£l.
Al-Shaikh Mohamed Bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa
Minister ofthe Interior
P.O.Box 13
Manama,Bahrain
Fax:010-973-290-526

lAex/hsUe ^
t^£fmcl(yn,
4/ 375
8th June 1994
DearLord Avebury,
With reference to previous correspondence, and upon directions from
my Government, I have the great pleasure,to extend an invitation to you to
visit Bahrain as guest ofthe Government ofthe State ofBahrain,hoping that
your visit will contribute to the long standing close and friendly relations
between Bahrain and the United Kingdom.
I would, therefore, appreciate receiving form you suggestions for
possible dates for such a visit in order for me to communicate them to
GovernmentofScialsin bahrainformutuallyconvenientdates.
Kind regards.
Yours sincerely
Karim Ebrahim A1 Shakar
Ambassador
Lord Avebury
Chairman
Parliamentary Human Rights
House of Lords
Westminster,
London,SW 1
98 GLOUCESTER ROAD,LONDON SW74AU.TEL:071-3705132

Prom LordAvebuiy P9414066
Chairmaii
Parliamentaiy Human RightsGroup
Tiouseoffords
June14,1994
# ?
Thankyoufor yourletterofJune8,and thekindinvitation which the
State ofBahrain extendsto me to visitthe coxmtiy.I am happy to accept,
onthe understandingthatIbear all myownexpenses,asis myrule when
makingany overseasvisit.I sureyoucanimderstandthatotherwise
myindependence mightbeopento criticism.
Icertainlylookforward todiscussing,with theBahrainGovernment,and
leading membersofthelegal profession,the mattersofconcernto us,
whichI haveraised in correspondence with the MinisteroftheInterior,
and withYourExcellehqy.Would adate aromnjlthe middle ofSeptember
be convenient,do youthink?
H EThe Ambassador,
Mr Karim Ebrahim A1Shakar,
Embassy oftheState ofBahrain,
98 Gloucester Road,
LondonSW74AU.

5 August 1994
Lord Avebury
House of Lords
LONDON
SWIA OPW
Foreign &
Commonwealth
Office
London SW1A2AH
From rhe itinhter of Stal*
Thank you for your letter of 21 July about human rights in
Bahrain which I passed on to the Charge d^ Affaires in Bahrain
for his comments.
I was interested to learn that you are intending to visit
Bahrain later in the year. I hope the arrangements for your
visit are running smoothly. Please let me know if you run
into difficulties: the Middle East Department here at the POO
and our Embassy in Bahrain are ready to help in any way.
We believe that there has been a marked improvement in
Bahrain's human rights record. The Amir has recently offered
amnesties to a number of political prisoners and exiles, and
we believe that only a few political prisoners remain.
However, we continue to take an interest in the human rights
situation. .Your contacts with the Bahraini authorities and
forthcoming visit could be a useful complement to our own
dialogue with the Bahrainis over human rights. I would
welcome your assessment of the-Tiuaan rights situ&tion in
Bahrain after your visi-f
flas Hogg

8
,^£<ynd(m
4/578
15th September 1994
DearLord Avebury,
Furtherto the correspondenceregarding your proposed visitto the State
ofBahrain,I am writing to you on behalf ofH.E. The Ambassador who is
abroad to inform you that the relevant authorities in the Government ofthe
State ofBahrain welcome your visit duringthe last week ofOctober orthe
beginning ofNovember 1994.
Iwillbe gratefulto receivefrom yourofBce the suitabilityofthe dates
suggested forthe visitto take place,and in due course the flights itinerary to
communicate them to the relevant authorities.
Kind regards.
s sincerely
'V
Adel Sater
Charge d'Affaires a.i.
The Rt.Hon.Lord Avebury
Chairman
Parhamentaiy Human Rights
House ofLords
Westminster
London,SW 1
GLOUCESTER ROAD,LONDON SWT 4AU.TEL:071-3705132

From Lord Avebuty
Chairman
ParliamentaiyHumanRightsGroup
Tiouse-(^fords
September22,1994
Dear MrSater,
Thankyoufor yourletter ofSeptember 15 aboutthe dates ofmy visitto
Bahrain.
Fron October28to November22I am taken up with the London Bach
Festival,ofwhichI am President,soimmediately after that would be a
good time to go,ifthat would be convenient.I would be available ftom
November12onwards,and willearmark thatweekin my diaiy.In the
nextfew daysI will bein touch aboutthedetails offlighttituoa etc.
Best wishes.
Yours sincerely.
Mr AdelSater,
Charge d'Affaires ai,
Embassy oftheStateofBahrain,
98 Gloucester Road,
LondonSW74AU

From Lord Avebury
n±oust<f[ovds
November 10,1994
0JdA"
1 am greatly lookingforward to my visittoBahrain in aweek's time,
and yoiu:Private Secretarysaid itwould be usefulifI dropped you a
note on how I would like to spend the time there.
I would hope to meetarange ofintellectuals-lawyers,journalists,
religiousleaders,businessmen.University teachersetc- as well as
Government Ministers and officials.I would also very much like to see
ordinary peoplein their villages.Ifpossible,I would Uke to visitthe Jaw
prison and talk privately to some detainees.
MayI callon youbefore nextThursday,and ifyou havethe time,could
yourPrivate Secretary pleaseletme know whenit would be convenient
for you?
His Excellency Sheikh Karim Ebrahim A1Shakar,
Embassy ofthe StateofBahrain,
98 Gloucester Road,
LondonSW74AU
Fax 071-370 5943
10

STATE OFBAHRAIN
MINISTRY OFTHEINTERIOR
OFFICEOF THE MINISTER -Upl .".r
Dale:....1.3..l.t..139.4. YourRef:. W-
Tcl: OitrRcf:
Lord Avebury,
Chai rman.
Parliamentary Human Rights Group,
House of Lords,
London.
Dear Lord Avebury,
I was very pleased to receive a copy of your letter of
the 22nd of September Addressed to Mr. Adel Sater Charge' d'
Affaires of the Bahrain Embassy in London concerning possible
timings for your visit to Bahrain.
period
Summit
As you know we are just entering upon a particularly busy
of the year including the hosting of the forthcoming GCC
w.... • ^'^® importance which the Government attachesto your visit it would be more convenient and enable us more easily
to extend to you the normal courtesies and facilities if you could
arrange to visit us sometime say in the new year.
I look forward to hearing from you,
Yours sincerely,
Mohami n Khalifa A1
Minister of Interior.
al1fa,
P.O.BOX 13,STATE OP BAHBAIN.Arabian Gnlf. TEL:272I1I
11

•.
4/689
14th November 1994
DearLord Avebury,
Further to your earlier request and correspondence concerning your
proposed visitto Bahrain.
As I informed you earlier today that I have been requested by my
Government to inform you of the postponement of your proposed visit to
Bahrain due to unforeseen Ministerial engagements and commitments. I am
enclosing a copy ofletter received today by fax from His Excellency Shaikh
Mohamed bin KJialifa A1 Khalifa Minister of Interior, which is self
explanatory. However, I will convey to you the new suggested dates to your
proposed visitas as soon asthey are communicated to me.
May I take this opportunity to thank you for you understanding ofthe
situation.
Kind regards.
Yours sincerely
Karim Ebrahim A1 Shakar
Ambassador
Lord Avebuiy
House ofLords
Westminster
London,SW 1
12
98 GLOUCESTER ROAD,LONDON SW74AU.TEL:071-3705132

From Lord Avebmy P9405121
Chairman
lioitye-^Tonls
December5,1994
, y(l4._4A.V»i^X«V-
I wasvery disappointed tolearnfrom yourPrivate Secretarythatthe new
datesI proposed for my-visittoBahrain,January5to 12,were also not
goingto beconvenient.The problem isthatI haveto trytofitoverseas
journeysinto the parliamentary recesses,and this means puttingitoffat
least until Easter.ButsinceI have a numberofother invitations still
outstanding which are more definite, perhapsIshould treatthe visitto
Bahrain as cancelled untilfurther notice.ThisI propose to do,unlessI
hearfrom you to the contrary.
H E Karim Ebrahim A1Shakar,
Embassy ofBahrain,
98Gloucester Road,
LondonSW74AU
13

FromLordAvebury ( ) P9420123
Chairman
Parliamentary Human Rights GrJ
December20,1994
IIjlav
I am sure you will have beenfollowingrecenteventsin Bahrain with
greatconcern,as we have.Ispoke to Caroline Alcock this afternoon and
she told methatthelatestnews was that things wererather quieter.But
f.bifi is notsurprisingifthey have arrestedsome600 people as we have
been told;thatatleastfoiu* people have been killed,and thatsome
villages have been virtually undersiegeby armed police,with helicopters
intimidatingthemfrom above.
All thiR stemsfrom the demand for the restoration ofthe 1973 constitution
and the Parliamentary assembly which was dismissed by the Emirin
1975.He hasbeen governingthestate extra-constitutionally eversince
then,and recently a petition to the Emir hasbeen circulatingfor the
restoration ofdemocracy.This petition,which has attracted 25,000
signaturesfrom every section ofthecommunity,is expressed in the most
respectfulterms.Itrecalls a previous appeal addressed to theEmirin
1992;calls attention to the worseningeconomicsituation,thelack of
freedom ofexpression and the exclusion ofwomenfrom publiclife;and
suggests either thereconveningofthe dissolved ParliamentunderArticle
65ofthe constitution or the holding offree elections.
Thespark which setoffthe disturbances was apparently the voicing of
these demands by Sheikh AliSalman,ajunior Shia cleric who happens to
have attended theological collegein Qom.The press hasseized on thisfact
to poi*tray the demands as asinister plotby Iran to destabilise and
perhapseven to annex Bahrain.Asyou know,Persian speakers constitute
only 15%ofthe population ofBahrain,and there is noreason whatsoever
tosupposethatArabic-speakingShias would favour accession toIran,if
they were able to expressthemselves democratically on the issue.
Sheikh AliSalman was arrested on December5,and has been held
incommunicado and withoutchargesince then.Under the Emir's rule,
detainees have no access tolawyers or to their families,and may be held
for three years,aterm which is indefinitely renewable.
14

I think people will find itextremely distastefulthatthe security
apparatus which props up the family dictatorship ofthe Al-Khalifas is
commanded by a British citizen, MrIan Henderson.Itis under his
authority thatpeople are arbitrarily arrested and imprisoned indefinitely,
shotdead atdemonstrations,and tortimed while in custody.I know that
there are restrictions on our citizens takingservice in the armed forces of
foreign powers;do you notthink thatsimilar rulesshould apply to the
security services offoreign powers?
We are one ofBahrain'sclosestallies,and we may be presumed to have
someinfluence with them.As with all the autocracies ofthe Gulf,we can
either tiy to persuadethem to move with the tide ofhistoiy towards
participatory democracy,or wecan supporttheircreakingfeudalsystems
untilthey finsdly disintegratein explosions ofviolence and anarchy.
Surelyitisin Britain's interests,from the business pointofview as well
asfrom a human rights angle,to use ourinfluence to the utmostin favour
ofpeacefulreform.I hope thatyou mightrespectfullysuggestto the Emir
thatafter20year«,itis abouttime heconsidered givingback to tiie people
the representative institution he arbitrarily and imlawfully dissolved in
1975.
Douglas HoggEsq MP,
Foreign& Commonwealth Office,
Whitehall,
London SWIA 2AH.
15

From Lord Avebury
Chairman
December 20,1994
Sir,
YourcorrespondentMichaelSheridan'sarticle ViolentShiaprotestsembarassBahrain
omits materialfacts which areessential to a proper understandingofthesituation.
The reasonfor the demonstrations wasthe demand for restoration ofthe 1973
constitution,under which thestate had anelected Parliament.The Emirdismissed the
Parliamentin 1975and hasruled bydecree since then.The arrestofSheikh AliSalman
forvoicingthisdemand wasonlythespark whichsetoffthe tmrest,and ifhe had not
spoken out,others would have done so.
A petitionsigned by morethan25,000 people,callingforthe restoration,was to have
been presentedtothe EmironoraboutDecember 16,the Bahraini National Day.The
leaderchosen to presentitwasDrAbdulLatifElMahmoud,aSunniProfessorofIslamic
Studiesatthe UniversityofBahrain,butitwassupported by people from everysection
ofthe community.
Few ifanyofthoseinvolved in thedemonstrations werefrom the Persian-speaking
minority,which constitutes15%ofthe population.There is no questionofarevivJhlof
Iranian claims to Bahrain,which were disposed ofby the United Nations nearly a
quarter ofacentury ago.
We have alistof79people arrested since the troubles began on December5,butwe
know thatthe actual totalis much higher.Four people are known to have been killed by
the securityforces,and othersarecritically injured.Under theemergency law
prevailingin Bahrain,a person may be detained withoutcharge for three years,and the
detention may be renewed indefinitely.
Yourcorrespondentdoes pointoutthataBritishcitizen,MrIan Henderson,commands
the securityapparatusofBahrain,and many people here will be surprised that we
should tolerate an arrangementwhich associates us with abusesofhuman rightsin
another coimtiy.
I had hoped to visitBahrain asthe guestofthe Governmentin November,butthe
authoritiescancelled atthelast moment,suggesting thatearly 1995 would be more
convenient.Recontlythey again put meoff,withoutsuggestingan alternative date.It
might helpto restoreconfidence in the Bahrain Government'sgood intentionsifthey
would reinstate theirinvitation,for aJanuaiy visit.
Yoursfaithfully,
C.A-
The Editor,
TheIndependent Fax071-9620017
16

30 December 1994
Foreign &
Commonwealth
Office
London SWIA 2AH
Lord Avebury
House of Lords
LONDON
SWIA OPW
From The MioUlor of State
Thank you for your letter of 20 December about recent events
in Bahrain.
Like you, we followed recent events in Bahrain closely. We
have received reports that two civilians and one policeman
have been killed during the disturbances. Our Embassy has
been reliably informed that around 500 arrests have been made
and they understand that the Bahraini authorities are
reviewing individual cases with a view to releasing as many as
possible soon. We have no evidence to suggest that the
Bahraini police used unnecessary force.
I was sorry to read in the Independent on 20 December that
your visit to Bahrain has not yet been reinstated. We hope
that the Bahrainis will propose an alternative date. But I
doubt that they would be able to accommodate a visit before
Ramadhan: March would be more timely. Middle East Department
of the Foreign Office and the Embassy in Bahrain would readily
help with arrangements.
Douglas Hogg
17

From Lord Avebuiy ( ] P9505016
Chairman
Parliamentaiy Human Rights
January 5,1995
YourPrivateSecretary suggested that1 mightwrite to youabout my
proposed visittoBahrain,which had beenscheduled for November
originally and then forearlyin the new year.AlthoughI underetood that
youthoughtalater date would be moreconvenient,I would very much
liketogosoon,to assessthesituationfollowingthe petition which wasto
havebeen presented toHE theEmironconstitutionalreform,and the
arrests ofdemonstratorscallingfor therestoration ofthe 1973
Constitution.Would you kindly let meknow ifthisis possible?
In any case,I would be gratefulfor anote aboutthe demonstrationsand
the arrests.Could you please tell me how many people arein custody;
whetherthey have been charged and ifso with whatoffences;whether
they havebeen allowed toseelawyersand relatives,and whetherthe
dates have beenfixedfor the trials.Would itbe possiblefor ustosend an
observer to the trials?
/
H E Karim Ebrahim A1Shakar
Ambassador,
Bahrain Embassy
98 Gloucester Road
London SWT 4AU
18

From Lord Avebuiy ( ) P9506014
Chairman
Parllamentaiy Human Rights
Januaiy6,1995
ft/
Thank youforyourletter ofDecember30aboutBahrain,which reached
methis morningon beingforwarded from the House.
Accordingtoourinformation,four people were killed,nottwo asyou were
informed:HaniAbbasKhamis(24),HaniHassan Ebrahim AliAl-wasti
(22),Yaqoub A1Ma'touq,from Al-Daih and H^iMirzaAliAbd Al-Redha
(65)from Al-Qadam.Itis reported thatfom otherpeople have died,but
theiridentity cannotbe confirmed untiltheir bodies are released from the
Salmanya Hospital,where thoseiiyured in the disturbances arebeing
treated in a high security area,in which no visits are allowed.Mr Khamis
wasa universitystudentin hisfinalyear.MrAl-wastiwasan employee of
the Ministiy ofHealth,who wasduetogetmarried afew dayslater.Mr
Abd Al-Redha was killed when police stormed theAl-MusharrafGrand
Mosque in Jidhafs on December 20.
A number ofothers wereseverely wounded,including achild named
Habibfrom Barbar,and two women,Asma'aAl-Rashed,fromSanabes,
and Zaynab Al-Rashed,hotin the eye by abulletfragmenton December
18in Sanabis.Detaineessaid to be hospitalised include Badir Habib
Jumaa(21)fromSanabis,with bulletwoundsin thechestand abdomen;
Riyadh Ashoor(29)from Sanabis also;MansoorAbdulRedha(18)from
Bani-Jamra,with a bullet wound in his knee;Hussain Al-Nashaba(21)
from Nuaim,wounded in the back by a bullet;Hussain Ramadhan(15),
hitin the chestby two bullets on December 19in Sanabis;Akeel
MohammedShareef(15)from Manama,and Sheikh AliSalman(29)from
Belad Al-qadeeem.The police are reported to have used live ammunition,
as well as teargas and rubber bullets,in their dispersal ofthe
demonstrators.I invite you to reconsider your opinion thatthere is no
evidencetosuggestthatthe police used unnecessaryforce.Surely the
deathsand casualtiesspeakforthemselves?Resipsaloquitur,astheysay
in your profession.
On the other hand,I have noreason to disagree with your assessmentof
the numberofdetainees,though alawyerinterviewed by theBBCArabic
19

service gave afigure of2,000,andI havefaxed him askingfor
clarification,and AFP quoted afigure of1,600.Wehave alistof138
TiflTnftg,butwe wereinformed thatthe totalisestimated to besomewhere
between400 and 600,which tallies with your estimate of600.
I itisimportantnottolosesightofthefactthatthereasonfor the
demonstration wastosupportthe petition callingforthe restoration ofthe
1973constitution.Ministers have often repeated the call made originally
by Douglas Hmrd forgoodgovernment,includingrepresentative
institutions.Itis surely quite unacceptable thatwhen peopledemand
their ordinary rights,this degreeofviolenceshould be used tosuppress
them,and thesupportyou give to autocraticregimesin the Gulfisnot
consistentwith the generalprinciples ofourforeign polity.Itsmacks more
ofthe Conservative administration of1859,which wasdetermined to prop
uptheBourbons ofNaples when they were attheirlastgasp.
./t— ^
Douglas HoggEsq MP,
WhitehaU,
London SW1A2AH.
20

Chairman
Parliamentary Human Rights Gl
January 9,1995
Further to my letterofJanuary6aboutBahrain,in which Isuggested
thatyou might wish torevise your statementthatyou had lip evidence to
suggestthatthe Bahraini police used unnecessary force,I have to draw
your attention to another death,this time whilein custody.MrHussain
Qambar,18,who was arrested in mid-December,who wasin perfect
health when he wastakeninto custody,died opor aboutJanuary4,when
hisfamily weresiunmonedtytheintelligence departmentto witness his
private burial.Thefamily said that hisfingerand toe nails had be^n
pulled out,and they were threatened with reprisalsiftheygavethia
information to anyone else.
On Friday,January6,a peaceful demonstration was held on the main
Budayya highway,between al-Qadam and al-Maqshaa villages,7 miles
westofthe capital., Manama,and near the residence ofthe US
Ambassador.The main demands were the restoration ofthe constitution
and the release ofthe political prisoners,butthe demonstrators also
wanted to makeitclear thatthey were notanti-foreigner,as had been
suggested in some quarters.The demontration had been going peacefully
forsome45 minutes,when the riotpolice appeared,encircled the
demonstrators,and used tear gas,rubber and plastic bullets against
them,quite unnecessarily.Somefifteen people weretaken toSalamaniya
hospital.The police imposed acurfew on the two villages mentioned,and
made a number ofarrestsfrom houses in both villages.
On Saturday,January 7,there was alarge demonstration on the streets of
al-Duraz village.The police again used plastic bullets,and more people
were injured
We understand that apartfrom the demonstrations ofwhich the details
have been reported,there have been many others,in which people have
been ii^ured and arrested.I think the numberin custody musthave risen
since we both heard thefigure of500. I talked to one Bahraini who
arrived here yesterday,and hesaid thatthe commonly accepted number
there is 1,500.
21

The poli(yofforcibledeportationsofBahrainicitizensiscontinuing.On
Thxirsdaylastweek MrHamid Hasan Al-Madeh,37,with his wife and
seven children;MrHaniAl-Bannaye,23;MrFuad Mubarak,23;Mr
Ibrahim AliAl-Setri,22;MrIbrahim Al-Sanadi,23;MrAl-Jufeir,25,and
Mr Mahmood Al-Ghoreifi,28,were deported toDubai.MrMoneerAbdul-
RasoolRadhi,his wife andthreechildren were deported to Beirut.
AsI havesaid before,weshould notbegivingoursupportto autocratic
regimesin theGttlf,which are certain tofall anjnvay.Even ifyoulook at
from a purely self-interested pointofview,itcannotbe tothe advantage of
Britainin thelongterm to beseen by the people as backingtheir
oppressors.
Douglas HoggEsq MP,
Foreign&Commonwealth Office,
WhitehaU,
London SW1A2AH.
22

Chairman _
ParliamentaiyHumanRightsGroi^^!2lf
January 9,1995
Furtherto myearlierlettersaboutpolice assaultson demonstratorsinBahrain,
I heard today ofanincidentinvolvinga nineyearold boy.All NooriA1Aradi was
walkingalongSheikh Abdullah Avenuein Manama whena police patrolstopped
andtried to arresthim.Thefri^tened boy tried tonm away,butitjvasreported
thathe wascaughtand beaten upbythepolice,usingtheir bootsand
tnmcheons.Theyleftthe boyimconsciousonthe pavement.Whenthe police
patrolleftthe area,bystanders picked him up and took himto Salmaniya
hospital,where heissaid tobereceivingtreatment.Hisfamily have notbeen
allowed to visit him!
Asthefatherofa nine yearold boy myself,Ifeel particularlyindignantabout
thislatestexampleofgratuitoususeofforce bythe police,andIcertainly hope
you willagreethatyou werebadlyadvised when you made yourfirstcomment
on their behaviour.Willyou please ask ourAmbassadorin Bahrain to maWo
particularinquiries aboutAli Noori'scurrentstate ofhealth,andtiytofindout
whythe police decided to pickon achildin this way?
We hearthatdemonstrationshave beencontinuing,andsohave the arrests.
Todaythere wasalargedemonstrationinBilad A1Qadeem,againcallingforthe
restoration oftheconstitution andfreeelections.Asusual,the police attacked
the demonstrators usingtear gas,rubberand plastic btdlets.
Once more,let merepeatthatitisodiousthata British citizen,MrIan
Henderson,should beinchargeoftheforces whichcommittheseoutrages
againstpeopleaskingonlyforthe mostelementarydemocraticrights.Itis also
repugnantthatBritain should beso closely allied with a mediaeval autocrat with
so little respectfor human rights.
Douglas HoggEsq MP,
Whitehall,
London SWIA 2AH.
23

FromLordAvebuiy ( ) P9513011
Chairman
Parliamentary Human Rights Grc
January 13,1995
We now have a more reliable estimate ofthe numbers detained in
Bahrain,arisingfrom thefactthatall prisoners aregiven serial numbers,
which are consecutive.Thefirst person to be arrested wasSheikh Ali
Salman as you will remember,and hisserial number was5181.Atthe
beginningofthis weekthe serial numberofa prisoner was6000,
indicatingthatmore than800 arrests had been made.Some may have
been released,butthisis a verylarge numberoutofa population ofhalfa
million.The equivedentfigurefor Britain,ifthesame proportion ofthe
population had been arrested,would be80,000.
Itisestimated thatthe number ofdetainees under the age of18is200.
Bahrain is a party tothe UN Convention on the Rightsofthe Child,and
thefailure ofthe authoritiestograntaccess to parents or guardiansis a
violation ofArticles5and 9ofthatinstrument.
Thearrests are still continuing.We havethe namesof6 people arrested
on January 11,one ofthema 17 year old.We have also beeninformed that
ateenagerfrom Duraz,Jaffer A1Shehabi,lostan^elastweek as aresult
ofashootingincident.Sothe police are still usingfirearms,as wellas tear
gas,rubberbullets and,itis alleged,a white chemicalsubstance which
causes irritation to the eyes and skin.
I have yetto hearthatwe have remonstrated with theEmirover the
violence being used to quell the demonstrations,and you have notyet
commented on the role ofMr Ian Henderson,a British citizen, who is
responsibleforthe behaviourofthesecurity forces.
Douglas Hogg Esq MP,
WhitehaU,
London SWIA 2AH.
24

FVom LidkIAvisbury
dmLrnmn
ParllamentatyHumanRic^tu Group
Januaiy20,1995
I note thatthere has been a propagandacampaign bythe Bahrain authoritiesin the
GulfpressaboutSheikhAliSalman,who isawaitingthe hearingofhisapplication for
asylum in Britain.In the newspaperAsharq alAwsat.aSaudi-owned daily publishedin
London,itisclaimed thatSheikh AliSalman wanted togo to TehranorBeirut,but
changed their mindsin Dubai.The factis thatthey wanted tostayin Bahrain,and the
ticketsissued to them bythe authoritiesinBsihrain would havelanded them finallyin
Damascus,a matterover which they were given nochoice.
AdelalShulsi,who wsusdeported on WednesdayJanusuy18,wtustaken straightto
Dsunascus,where he hsis nofriendsor money.
There have beenfurtherdeathssinceIlastwrote to you.Abdulqsuler
MuhsienAlfatlawi,25,from Duraz,wasshotdead onThursdayJsuiuary13.The
following morning,thesecurilyforcesstopped mournerscarryingoutftmeral rites,
stormingthe(»meteiyanddispersingthe relatives with teargas,arresting many people.
Mohammad Ridha MansourAhmad,30,from BaniJamrah,wasseverelywounded in
the head and iscriticalin Salmaniya MedicalCentre.
I wasdisturbed toreadin this morning'sGuardianthattheFOGis'upset'bySheikhAli
Span'spresence here.Ifhisarrival,andthatofhiscolleagues'annoys'youasthe
DiplomaticEditorsays,you havea perfectlysimpleremedy:tellyourfriendsinBahrain
tostopdeportingtheirown citizens,contrary to internationallaw.
DouglasHoggEsq MP,
Whitehall,
LondonSWIA 2AH.
25

FromLordAvebuiy f ) P952001b
Chairman
Parliamentaiy Human Rights Grt
Januaiy21,1995
K* ,
This aftemoon 1saw Sheikh AllSalman Ahmed Salman,Hamza All
Jassim Kadhem,and Sayed Haider Hasan Ali Hasan,who arrived here on
Januaiy 17 after beingdeported by their own country,Bahrain,on
Januaiy 15,as you know.
In his firstcommentto the BBC Arabicservice Sheikh AliSalman stated
thatthe reason for his arrestand subsequentexile was hissupportfor the
petition which demanded the restoration ofthe 1973constitution.
Following the deportation,large demonstrations were reported in Sanabis,
Jidhafs and Daih(six miles westofManama),callingfor the retiun ofthe
exiles.Security police redded mosquesin Jidhafs and Mani(four miles
westofManama),and destroyed their contents.
I told you thatAbdul Qader Mohsin A1Fatlawi was extrajudicially killed
on Januaiy 13,butI may have omitted to inform you thatHusein Qambar
died under torture on Januaiy4.We are beginning to get many
allegations oftorture and,Hamza AliJassim Kadhem has promised to
give me alistofthose who told him personally thatthey had been
tortmed.Sheikh AliSalman himselftells me thaton his firstday in
custody he was alternately interrogated and beaten while forced tostand,
from 07.00 to 20.00.The interrogators were Adel Flaifal and Mahmood El
Akkari,aJordanian,while the man who beatand hit him was named
Shamsan(first name notknown).Sheikh AliSalman said thathe was
handcuffed for the entire 22days hespentin the interrogation centre,and
had to sleep on an industrial carpeton the floor. He was keptin aspace
one metre by two metres.After22 days he was moved into the main prison
atQalaa,where he was keptin cell no 31,about2by3metres.For the
whole ofthe period ofhis detention he was allowed to see nobody except
the guards.He was denied any reading matter,exceptthatafter he was
moved to the main prison he was allowed a copy ofthe Koran,butas they
continued to withhold his glasses,he was unable to read anyway.
TheSaudi-owned paper A1Sharq A1 AwsatofJanuary 19 reported under
the headline Tears ofbad relations with Britain'thatlBahrain government
sources commented on the negative effecton Britain's relations notonly
26

withBahrain,bitthe Gulfasa whole,arisinghrom Britain having'invited'
persons who were persona nongratain Bahrain tocome here.Today the
Arabic newspaper A1Quds,published in London,confirmed thatthis was
an official reaction.The writerofthe article mentioned on thetelephone,
though notin the paper,thattheBahrain Foreign MinisterSheikh
Mohammed bin Mubarak Al-K^halifa,wascoming here nextFriday to
drive this message home.I asked yourPrivate Secretary whether he knew
anythingaboutthis visitand heconfirmed thatthe Foreign Minister was
indeed coming here,though hecouldn'tsay when this had been arranged,
and whether it was atourinvitation or ofthe Minister's own volition.I did
say thatifhe wascoming here to instructus as to who weshould or
should notgrantasylum to,heshould be told in no uncertain terms that
we are governed by our international obligations under the Convention
Relatingto theStatus ofRefugees,and that we would notbe deflected
from those dutiesby threatsor pressure.MayIpleaseknowthedates,
purpose and detailed arrangementsforthis visit,beforeittakes
place?
I haveasked you aboutthestatus ofMrIan Henderson,andI hopeI may
have a reply on thatmattersoon.Sheikh AliSfdman told methatsome
peoplein Bahrain drew theconclusion,from MrHenderson's role,thatthe
British people weresupportiveoftheAl-Khalifaregime and their
treatmentofthe democracy movement,buthe emphasised thathe himself
did nottakethatview.Itseemsto methatifunderourlaw,aBritish
citizenis notallowed toserve as a mercenaryinforeign armed forces,the
law should be extended tosecurityforces as well.Otherwise there is a
dangerthat,as with MrHenderson,the wronginferences may be drawn.
To putitatitslowest,the presence ofaBritish citizenin thetoplevels of
anotherstate'ssecurity forces makesitseem asthough we officially
supporttheir methodsofdealing with dissentItmakesonefeelextremely
uncomfortable to be associated,howeverremotely,with the extrajudicial
killings,torture and arbitrary detention now being practisedin Bahrain.
[2,
Douglas HoggEsq MP,
Whitehall,
London SWIA 2AH.
27

From Liord Avubury
ClmirmHn
Parliamentary HunuiiiBighta Group x:223E;5^ P952201a
JanuEuy23,1995
I wrote to DouglasHoggyesterday aboutthe visitbytheForeign Minister ofBahrain
which I understand isscheduled for theend ofnextweek.Since then,my attention has
beendrawn toyesterday'sissueofTheTimes,in which the headlineover Michael
Binyon's article says thatyou personallyare being pressed for talks with the Minister,
Shaikh Muhammad al-Khalifa.
Ifthe declared purpose ofthe meetingisto influence the decisionon the asylum
applicationsof SheikhAliSalman AhmedSalman,HamzaAliJassim Kadhem,and
Sayed Haider Hasan Ali Hasan,who arrived here onJanuaiy 17after beingdeported by
theirowncountiy,Bahrain,on Januaiy 15,1 hope you willfind a wayofindicating
beforehand thattWsis notthe waythings aredone here in Britain.Asylum applications
areofcourse considered on their merits,in accordance with the criteria laid down in the
Convention Relatingtothe StatusofRefugees,and there is noscopefor the processto be
influenced byotherconsiderations.Ifthe Ministerdoessay thatBritain's relations with
Bahrain,or with Gulfstates asa whole,are likely to be adversely affected by adecision
tograntthe three applicantsasylum,I hopeyou willtell him thatwe would notbe
deflected from carrying outour obligations under the Convention by threatsor pressure.
I hope you mightalsosaythatBahrain isin breach ofherownobligations under
internationallaw,byexpelling herown citizens.
The Rt Hon Douglas Hurd MP,
Whitehall,
London SW1A2AH.
hoc MichaelBinyon Esq,The Times
28

24 January 1995
Lord Avebury
House of Lords
LONDON
SWIA OPW
Foreign 8c
Commonwealth
Office
London SWIA 2AH
From The MinUier of State
Thank you for your letters of 20 and 21 January, which appear
to have crossed with mine of 19 January.
Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak A1 Khalifa, the Bahraini Foreign
Minister, will pay a short visit to the UK towards the end of
January after his scheduled visit to France. The Foreign
Secretary makes a point of trying to see his opposite numbers
if they are in the UK. He has agreed to see Shaikh Mohammed
on Friday 27 January. Their meeting will be the second in
five months and will be an opportunity to discuss both
bilateral relations and regional and international events.
Douglas Hogg
29

From Liortl Avisbury
Chiiiriiiiiii
ParliamentaryHuman Rig'litc*Group p9526015
January26,1995
I know you areseeingthe Foreign MinisterofBahrain,Sheikh Muhammad al-Khalifa
tomorrow,and I wanted you to have the latestinformation aboutthesituation there. Mr
Mohammed Redha Mansour Ahmed(AI-Hajji),died today withoutrecovering
consciousness since he wasshotin the head by the police on January 12.This brings the
total niunber dead to six including Mr Mirza AliAbd A1 Redha,(65)the immediate cause
ofwhose death may well have been a heartattack,but who was beaten up by the police
in the mosque as my informants have confirmed.
The deportation ofthree more people wasreported to us today.These are Mohammed
Hassan Ali Hussein Khojasteh(23)who had been beaten and held in solitary
confinementsince his arreston or aboutJanuary 12;Ali Mohammed,a Sunnifrom Isa
town,and Mohammed Nasr,a university student,who were all expelled to Bushirin
Iran.
I do hope thatin addition to making itclear thatin Britain,Ministersdo not bend rules
to accommodate theirfriends,you willexpressconcern to the Foreign Minister over the
level offorce that has been used to deal with these demonstrations,the objectfwhich is
to sectu% elementarydemocratic rightsfor the people.
On June 6,1990,speakingataconference organised by the Overseas Development
Institute,you said:
'Countries tendingtowardspluralism,public accountability,respectfor the rule oflaw,
human rightsand marketprinciplesshould beencouraged'.
Conversely,you said that'those whopersist with repressivepolicies should notexpect
us tosupporttheirfolly with scarce aid resources which could be better used elsewhere'.
In the case ofBahrain,no aid from Britain is needed,butthey do look to usfor political
supportand friendship.We cannotbeexpected to supportthe folly ofkilling,
imprisoning and beatingdemonstratorsaskingfor a democraticconstitution in Bahrain,
and your meeting with the Foreign Ministercan be turned to useful account ifyou urge
the Emir to grantthe people'sjustifiable demands.
The RtHon Douglas Hurd MP,
Whitehall,
London SW1A2AH.
30

From Lord Avebuiy j ) P9527014
Chairman
ParliamentaryHuman Rights Group
January27,1995
Igatherthatwhenthe Bahrain Foreign Minister,Sheikh Mohammed bin MubarakA1
Khalifasawyouthis morning,he warnedyouthatifthea^lum applicationsofSheikh
SalmanAliand histwocolleagueswere a<Mepted,relationsbetweenBritainand Bahrain
would bedamaged.
The Foreign Minister told reportersthatyou had promised toconsider his*"
representations.
Iamsorryyoudidn'ttell him thatitwasimproperfora Ministerofastatethatdeports
itsowncitirans to tryto blackmailusintorefiningasylum applications.Iamsorryyou
didn'ttell him thatMinisters heredo notmakearbitrarydecisionsatthe behestofthose
requestingfavours;they actin accordance with the ruleoflaw.
The Mnisterisalso reported to havetold you thedeporteeswanted tointroduceaShi'a
fundamentalistIslamic^stem inBahrain.Whatevertheirideologicalposition maybe,
theiractualdemandsarelimited to therestorationofthe 1973constitution,andin this,
theyaresupported by manySunnis.Itwould bea matterforthe peopleofBahrain,if
theyevergetthechance,to decide whatformofgovernmentthey would like,and itis
notfor usto interfereintheirchoice.TheconstantidentificationofShi'as with the
pejorative terin'fundamentalist'istobedeplored,however,andIhopeyouemphasised
ourowncommitmentto the principleoffreedom ofreligion.
Whileyouareconsideringtheremarksmade bytheBahrainForeign Minister,you may
alsolike to bearin mind thatyesterdayeveningMr HussainAliAl-ShaH wasshotdead
duringademonstrationinthestreetsofSitraand neighbouringvillages,bringingthe
numberofdead toseven.According toanofficialstatement,the numberofriotpoliceon
thestreetsexceeded the numberofdemonstrators,afreshconfirmation ofthe excessive
force being used tocounterexpressionsofthe people'ssupportfortherestorationofthe
1973constitution.
C:
The RtHon Douglas Hurd MP,
Whitehall,
LondonSWIA 2AH.
31

yyBiTTFW ANSWER
The Lord Avebury asked Her Majesty's Government:
whether they have remonstrated with the Government of Bahrain
about the accusation made by Crown Prince Hamad ai-Khalifa that
the United Kingdom was "a haven for terrorists and saboteurs";
whether the Forsign Secretary made any promises to the Foreign
Minister of Ba-irain,Sheikh Muhammad al-Khalifa, on this question
when they met on ?.3 January; whether the Foreign Minister of
Bahrain warned that relations between Bahrain and *he
United Kingdom• juld be harmed if particularapplicationsforasyium
were granted;rnd ifso,wtatwasthe Foreign Secretary's.esponse.
[30 January]
BARONESS CKALKER OF WALLASEY: Our exchanges with the Bahrain
Governmentare confidential. During the visitofthe Bahrain!Foreign
Minister, Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, the Bahrain
Government confirmed the strength of UK/Bahrain relations. They
are also well aware that the Brldsh Government has no intention of
allowing the UK to become a haven for terrorists and saboteurs.
TUFSDAY 7 FEBRUARY 1995
32

Chairman
Tiouse^fords
February 22,1995
Thank youforseeing meyesterday afternoon to discuss thesituationin
Bsihrain.I appreciate thatyour reaction totherecentdevelopmentsthere
has to besomewhatdifferentfrom ours,buttheimportantthingisthatwe
agree on the facts.
First,the arrestofSheikh AliSalman was thespark thatlitthe
gunpowder,butthere wasalotofdiscontentamongthe people already,
which found expression in the demand for the restoration ofthe
constitution.People feltstrongly aboutotherissuessuch as
unemployment,which were notcovered by the petition.They mighthave
reasoned thatademocraticconstitution waslikely to yield measuresfor
dealing more vigorously with unemployment.
Thatthesecurityforces used excessiveforcein dealing with the
demonstrationsis afact.Ishowed you the photographs oftheii^jured and
killed,and ofthe types ofprojectile used by the policeincludinglive
ammunition,and I gave you thelists ofdead and iiyured.
I also gave you the listofabout560 named detainees,and told you that
the mostrecentestimates putthe numberin custody at2,000 plus or
minus 10%.This was higher than your advisers putit,butI pointed out
thatarrests werestill continuing,and I cited the 18people arrested in the
village ofBaniJamraon Sunday,and the90arrested on Monday on the
islemd ofSitra.
By all accounts,thesituation is calmerjustnow,and opinions differon
whether this meantthatthe unresthad been contained,orsimply
deferred imtil after Ramadan.I mentioned thatsigns weregoing up all
over the place"See you after Ramadan",and this could beinterpreted as
an indication ofthe people's resolve to bring matters to a head.
The organisers ofthe petition had notbeen successfulin obtaining an
appointmenttosubmitit to theEmir,whose officials did notgive them a
33

blank refusal,butcontinually procrastinated.Theorganisers are goingto
have onelastgo atpinningthe Emir down to a date,and ifthey are
unsuccessful,they willassumethis meansa refusalofthedemands.You
did agreethatitwasthecustomfortheEmirtoreceivesubjects who want
to petition him,butyousaid thatMinisterscould notdirectly advise him
to receive the petitioners.You could onlysay thatweencourage dialogue,
which in effectcomesto thesame thingbecause it means the petitioners
getto see the Emir.
We dealt with the question ofthe Bahrain asylum seekers,and
particularly the three who arrived herestraightfrom prison.You told me
thatthe Home Office had notasked you for any advice on them,nor had
you offered them any.ThisI wasglad tolearn,becauseitmeansthatthe
visitby theBahrain Foreign Minister did notachieve the results he
expected.Indeed,I wassurethatyou would notallow anybody tointerfere
with the exercise ofour responsibilities underthe UN Convention on
Refugees.
One pointI omitted to make wasthatnone ofthose arrestedin Bahrain
hasbeen broughtbefore acourt.Asoneinformantputitto me,'the
judicialsystem has beenswitched off,and allfiles are beingdealtwith by
the Interior Ministry'.
Isaid I hoped thatour Embeissy would keepin touch with leading
opposition figuressuch asSheikh alJamri and Mr elShamlan,and you
said you would look atthat point.
You didn'tthink there was veiy much pointin pressing my requestto visit
Bahrain,and I'm afraid thatis adead duck.Itoccurred to me afterwards
thatthey mightbe prepared to accepta visitby Einother ofour members,
and ifthey would dosoin principle,we could submita name or names for
their consideration.Whatdo you think?
Again,many thanksfor the useful discussion.
Foreign & Commonwealth Office,
Whitehall,
London SWIA 2AH.
34

Foreign &
Commonwealth
Office
3 March 1995 London SWIA 2AH
Lord Avebury
House of Lords
LONDON
SWIA OAA
from The Mfaister of Suie
Thank you for your letter of 22 February about our usef
discussion of recent events in Bahrain.
As I said, we believe the number of detainees to be
considerably lower than the figure of 2,000 or so which you
mentioned. Releases are continuing and there is a
possibility that an amnesty will be declared during the Bid
A1 Fitr for some of those currently in detention.
We agreed that your visit to Bahrain was unlikely to be
reinstated in the near future. As for visits by other
Parliamentarians, you may be interested to know that David
Mellor MP visited Bahrain last month and held substantive
discussions with several members of the Bahraini Government.
You may also wish to be aware that a group of MPs, lead by
William Powell, is due to vis^ Bahrain from 12-16 March.
35

From LordAvebuiy P9509038
Chairman
Tiouse0/fords
March 10,1995
/^k/c£(
I have beentryingto contactyousinceIheardfrom DouglasHoggthatyou areleadinga
groupofMPswhich isto visitBahrainfrom March 12to 16,to askifyou would make
inquiriesaboutthepetitionforthe restorationofthe 1973Constitution which hasbeen
circulated amongthe people,andthedemonstrationswhich have brokenoutsinceearly
December,and to raise concernsabout human rightsand democracy with the Bahrain
Government.
A powerfuland broadly-based pro-democracy movementdeveloped in Bahrain between
1954and 1956,whena networkof120dignitarieselected eightoftheir numbertoform
the High Executive Committee representing allsectionsofBahrain sociely.The
movementdemanded an elected parliament,written law,the righttoform trade imions,
and other socialjustice principles.In1956,three ofthe eightleaders were arrested and
forcibly deported to St.Helena.They wereAbdulRahman Al-Bakir,Abdula AzizAl-
Shamlan(son ofSaad Al-Shamlan who wasforcibly deported to India in 1938)and Abd
AliAl-UlaiwaL The British House ofCommons hotly debated the legality ofour
involvementin thatforcible deportation.The three were then released after fiveyearsin
the prison cellsofSt. Helena and were compensated by the British Governmentfor
wrongfuldetention. Other leadersspent more thain adecade in Bahraunjails.
Since 1957 Bahrain has been underastate ofemergency.The opposition were forced
underground and dispersed in mamy partsofthe world.In 1965 another uprising was
ignited by the workersofthe oil refinery(Bapco)and schools'students.The British
Army wasdeployed aind the uprising wasquelled.Asa result,the Special Branch was
re-structured and given more powers to suppressopponents.
In 1968,the Labour Governmentofthe United Kingdom decided to pull outall British
forcesfrom eaiitofSuezincluding Bahrain.The status ofBahrain wasbrought before
the UN to settle an Iranian claiim to the islands.In May 1970,the UN Security Council
unanimously approved the verdictofthe Personal Representative ofthe Secretary
General,Mr Winspeare Guicciardi,whostated:"TheBahrainisImet were virtually
unanimousin wantingafullyindependentsovereignstate. Thegreat majorityadded
that this should be an Arab State".
To gain publicsupport,the rulingfamily,Al-Khalifa,allowed an election in 1972for a
ConstituentAssembly.The Assembly debated a draftconstitution that waslater ratified
by the Amir(Head ofState)Sheikh Isa bin Salman Al-Khalifa,and by membersofthe
ConstituentAssembly.The 1973Constitution paved the way for election ofthe National
Assembly,which had 30elected membersand 15ex-officio government ministers.
After 18 months,however,the Amir dissolved the short-lived parliament,when it
refused to approve the government's"State SecurityLaw of1974".Thatlaw,which was
then passed by decree,empowersthe interior minister to order the administrative
detention ofany political opponentfor three years,renewable,withoutchargesor trial.
36

And ifthe personis broughtbefore acourt,heorshe hasno rightofappealagainsta
verdictthatmay be based onconfessionsextracted underdiu^ss,orby torture.
Since the dissolutionofthe parliament,thegovernmenthasignored the Constitution.
Thelatterspecifiesthatadraftlaw may notbecomelegalimlessthe parliamentand the
Amirapprove it.The Constitution alsostatesthatBahrain maynotbe withouta
parliamentfor more than two months.
Theruleoflaw doesnotoperateinBahrain,and human rightsareconferred onlyatthe
discretion oftheruler.Freedom ofthe pressand ofexpression arelimited.Accordingto
the USState Department'sCountryReportsonHumanRightsPracticesfor1994,
Whilethe Constitutionprovidesforthe right"toexpressandpropagateopinioTis,"
citizensare notgenerallyfreetoexpresspublicopposition totheM-Khalifaregimein
speech or writing. The Governmentdoes notpermitpoliticalmeetingsand monitors
gatheringsthatmighttakeonapoliticaltone. Thesecurityforcessometimesdisperse
such meetings. The Governmentprohibitspresscriticism ofpersonalitiesin theruling
familyandon certainsensitivesubjects,such astheHawarIslandsdispute with Qatar.
No association isfree to existwithoutgovernment permission or to actfreeof
governmentintervention.Political prisonersstands nochanceoffair trials,ifever they
are broughtbefore acourt(InternationalCommissionofJurists reported the persecution
oflawyersandjudgesin 1993).Forcible deportation hasbeen acommon practice and
many hundreds now live abroad in permanentexile.Bahrain's Constitution forbids the
deportationofcitizensor preventingthem from returning to their home.Arbitraiy
arrests arecommon,and casesofarrestsofchildren have been documented byAmnesty
International.Manyformsoftorture are used includingsexualtorture.
The USState Departmentsums upthe lastyear:
There waslittlechangein thehuman rightssituation: civillibertiesremained broadly
circumscribed. The main abusesincludedarbitraryandincommunicado detention;
involuntaryexile;theabsenceofimpartialinspection ofdetentionandprisonfricilities;
someinstancesofabuse ofdetainees;restrictionson the rightto afairpublic trial,
especiallyin theSecurity Court;and restrictionsonfreedom ofspeech andpress,freedom
ofassemblyand association, women'srights,and workerrights. Asapractical matter,
thepeopledo nothave the righttochange theirgovernment.
Afterthe liberation ofKuwaitin 1991,a new politicalenvironment paved the wayfora
group ofBahraini leading personalities to initiate demandsfor reforms.In November
1992,hundredsofintellectualscomingfrom all walksoflife signed a petition that was
submitted to the Amircallingon him to reinstate the parliamentand restore the
constitution of1973.The governmentdisregarded the plea,and instead the Amir
appointed a powerlessconsultative councilof30 people.The latter has no legislative or
monitoring powers and its resolutions are not mandatory.
In October 1994,a new initiative revived the 1992 petition.This time the pro-democracy
campaignerssubmitted the petition to the public and managed to gather more than
25,000signatures(voters in 1973 were 17,000only) from Bahrainicitizens above 18
yearsofage.Thesponsorsincluded a universityfemale professor,Dr Moneera Fakhroo,
for the first time in the history ofBahrain in addition to representatives ofallsections
and political tendencies).The petition wassupposed to have been submitted on 16
December,Bahrain's National Day.Thisyear was also the turn ofBahrain to hostthe
GulfCooperation Councilsummit.The government wanted to obstructthe submission
and gave thegreen light to the interior ministry to arbitrarily detain and persecute
campaigners.Some were dismissed from theirjobs. Forexample,Mr.Saeed Al-Asbool,
an engineering manager with the MinistryofWorks,wassacked after refusing to
remove his name from the petition.
37

Demonstrationsstarted on December5,after the arrestofa popular figure,Sheikh Ali
Salman,who wasinstrumentalin gatheringsignaturesfrom the public.The interior
ministry refused to listen to a delegation led bySheikh HamzaAl-Deirito calm down the
situation byreleasingSheikh AliSalman.In factthe response wasthe governmenthas
decided to use an"iron fist"policy to dead with pro-democracy campaigners.
Since December5,1994:
• eightpeople have been killed,one ofthem imder torture,one ofthem a65yearold
who died at home afterreceiving harsh beatingfrom police,anotheraone yearold
who died aftersuffering police tear gas,and the restwere shotdead in the streets.
• scores ofpeople have been iijured includingelderly people in their seventies.The
casualties have been denied proper medicaltreatmentand face persecution.The
police used manyformsofteargas,white powder(thatcausesvomitingand skin
irritation),bullets thatexplode and spread glassy particlesin the victim's bodyand
for the firsttime since independence,live ammunition.
• more than 2,000 have been detained includingchildren.The prisons are fully packed
and a zoo(MahmeyyatAl-Areen)has been converted to aconcentration camp.
• Sheikh AliSalman(whose arrest sparked-ofFthe uprising).Sheikh HamzaAl-Deiri
(wholed the delegation to the interior ministry)and Seyed Haider Al-Setri were
forcibly deported on January 15.They arrived in London after2days.The Bahraini
governmentsentitsforeign minister,Sheikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al-Khalifa to
London on 27January 1995 to persuade the Foreign Secretary,Douglas Hurd,that
the three leaders be denied political refugee status.Douglas Hogg tells me that the
advice ofthe FCO hasnot been sought by the Home Office on thesecases,and
Ministers no doubtexplained to the Bahrain Foreign Minister thatwe operate under
the rule oflaw,which forbids interference by ministersin quasi-judicial decisions.
• many other activists were later forcibly deported from Bahrain.(Note:Amnesty
Internationalstarted acampaign against Forcible Deportation in Bahrain and
published a major reportin 1993).
demonstrations are continuing.This week,on Saturday,Sunday and Monday
February 11,12and 13,hundredsofwomen(wives,mothers,sisters and relativesof
prisoners)gathered in frontofthe(Doiurts Building(MinistryofJustice)in the
diplomaticarea ofthe capital,Manama.Many were injured by police use offorce,
oneofthem a middle aged woman,Fatima AMulla Ali,whoseson Assad Ashoor has
been detained since early December.
Now,the situation isextremely volatile after the government's refusalto release
prisoners,to appointacommittee to investigate the arbitrary killing ofcitizens and to
address the question ofrestarting the parliamentand constitution.Itis reported thaton
Wednesday Februaiy 15,a military force of150armoured vehicles wasstationed in the
international airport ahead ofdemonstrations that were expected to take place by the
end ofFebruary,marking the end ofthe holy Muslim month ofRamadhan.During the
fast,signsappeared on the wallseverywhere.See You after Ramadhan.
On February 15,the European Parliament passed a resolution callingon Bahrain to
restore the constitution,release the political prisoners,and respect human rights.
Concern has been expressed aboutthe role ofMrIan Henderson,a British citizen who is
head ofthe Bahrain security service.Although he has no official cormection with the UK
government,the fact thathe is the holderofa high profile,controversisd and unpopular
38

office does have aneffectonthe mindsofordinaiy peopleinBahrain.They e«^04?int^ us
with the repressive policiesofthe rulers.
During the1992conference ofUN Commissionon Human Rights,Amnesty
Internationalcampaigned forconsideringBahrain under the 1503Procedure.This
caused minorimprovementduring1992.However,in 1993,theBahrainigovernment
depended on the USdelegation'ssupportto have theconsideration dropped.Asaresult
weseeinnocentcitizens arbitrarily killed,detained,tortured and forciblyexiled merely
for demanding to be treated asdignified human beingsas mandated by thecountiy's
Constitution.
It would be usefulifyoucould urge the Bahrainigovernment:
to allow a delegation to present the petition to the Amir
to lift the state ofemergency
toend the useoflive ammunition againstdemonstrators
to free all those who are arbitrarily detained
toend the practice offorcible expulsion ofBahrainicitizens
to allow those previously expelled to return in peace to their homesand families
to guarantee full participation ofall sectionsofsociety,including women,in the
political process asstated in the Constitution.
to allow free accessfor international human rights NGOsto assess and reporton the
human rightssituation
William Powell Esq MP,
House ofCommons,
London SWIA OAA.
39

From William Powell, MP(Corby)
HOUSE OF COMMONS
LONDON SWIA OAA
WRP/CAW/LACPHRG 17 March 1995
The Lord Avebury
Chairman
House of Lords
London
SW1A0PW
I was most grateful to you for your letter of 10March 1995which I distributed to the other
Members ofthe All Party Group forthe Gulf who accompanied me,MrTony Marlow MP,Mr
Martin Redmond MP and Mr Bill Etherington MP.
During the course of our visit we had a long talk withthe Minister of Information about the
matters which you had raised, butdo notfeel that we have been able to take the matter very
much further.
Whatis quite clear is thatalthough Bahrain is not a democratic state there is a wide atmosphere
offreedom withinthe country. Information is notsuppressed or censored, television,
newspapers and all other parts ofthe media are widelyavailable to all citizens ofthe country. It
is quite obvious walking around thatthere is no great atmosphere of hostility.
Itis clear thatthere are a number of dissidents abroad who have an axe to grind and who may
well be pushing out misleading information. For example wearrived to find a thunder storm
which delivered 2.5inches of rain in a little over an hour. It reduced the country to chaos.
During the course ofthattime the Ministerof Information received a call from Agence France
Presse saying thatthey had received an anonymous call from a telephone kiosk to say thatat
that very momentthere wasrioting in the streets and that weapons and guns were being used
against the rioters. The one thing which could not have happened atthattime was whatthe
anonymous caller apparently claimed. The whole place had been brought to a halt by the
savagery of the weather.
It may be that my colleagues would wish to approach you about their own individual
discoveries. I am awarethattwoindividuals attempted to telephone us including one Mr Shawki
AlmajOed who contacted me. He identified himself as a businessman and asked for myfax
number. I invited him to come and have a talk at my hotel but I heard no furtherfrom him. It is
possible he wasnothing to do withthe Human Rights Movementat all butitis possible that he
wasand wasaware through your networkof my presence in Bahrain.
40 Tel No.01536 400133 Fax No.01536 407148

i would welcome the opportunity oftalking about these mattersfurtherto you:ifthis wasof
interest perhaps wecan organise a suitably convenienttime through my secretary whose
telephone number is 01536400133.
41

PromLordAvebuiy —-^ P9522032
Chairman
Ifouseo/fords
March 22,1995
LJ-A
Thank youfor your letter ofMarch 17 aboutyour visitto Bahrain.
You had a letter from the six leadingsponsors ofthe petition to the Amir,
which they copied to me,and I enclose acopy for ease ofreference.We also
had a number ofcallsfrom Bahrain during your visit asking where you
were staying,butnone ofthe leaders ofthe democracy movementwere
able to getin touch with you.So itis notjusta question ofdissidents
abroad,butofthe 25,000 people whosigned the petition to the Amir,and
the many thousandsin eveiy partofthe country who have been
demonstrating since December 5.
There are indeed many exiles abroad,as you say.Justbecause they have
an axe to grind, having been imprisoned withouttrial and kicked outof
their own country,it doesn't mean they are pushing out misleading
information.As a matter offact,before the thunderstorm you mention had
reached its peak,there were confrontations between the police and
demonstrators in Karzakkan in the southwestofthe country,and this
may have been the story which reached AFP.
Itisn'tthatdifficult,however,to obtain information directfrom people
livingin Bahrain.There are some leaders,such as the sinatories ofthe
letter to you,who are prepared to stick their necks out.You can fax Mr
Ahmed Essa Al-Shamlan and he will reply to your questions,though
anybody who does speak outaboutthe political situation is taking a great
personal risk.There cannotbe an atmosphere offreedom,surely,in a
state where so many can be imprisoned or exiled for political reasons.
Yousay thatinformation is notsuppressed or censored,and thatTV and
newspapers are widely available.The US State Department's Country
Reports on Human Rights 1994 says,on freedom ofexpressions;
While the Constitution providesfor the light"to expressand propagate
opinions,"citizensare notgenerallyfiee to expresspublic opposition to the
Al-Khalifa regimeinspeech or writing. The Governm'entdoes notpermit
42

political meetingsand monitorsgatherings that mighttakeonapolitical
tone. Thesecurityforcessometimesdispersesuch meetings. The
Governmentprohibitspresscriticism ofpersonalitiesin the rulingfamily
and on certain sensitive subjects,such asthe HawarIslands dispute with
Qatar.
The localpressisfree to reportand commenton internationalissues.
Discussion oflocaleconomicand commercialissuesisalso relatively
unrestricted. Inpractice there arefew restrictions on the discussion of
political and economic issuesinprivate settings,provided such discussions
do not becomepublic.
TheInformation Ministry exercisessweepingcontrol over alllocal media.
Bahrain'sprivately owned newspapers routinelyexercise self-censorship of
stories on sensitive topics. In 1994the Governmentprohibited a local
editorialcolumnistfrom publishingfor1 monthfollowing hiscriticism of
governmentpolicy duringthe Yemeni civil war.
The Governmentdoes notcondone unfavorable coverage ofitsdomestic
policies by the international,media and hasoccasionally revoked thepress
credentials ofoffendingforeignjournalists. Since the Ministry also
sponsorsforeignjournalists'residencepermits,this action can lead to
deportation. The Governmentdeported a correspondentofthe British
BroadcastingCompany(BBC)in Decemberforcoveringthe civil
disturbances in a manner unfavorable to the Government. In addition,
Renter withdrew its correspondentin April and did notreplace him after
the Ministry ofInformation indicated that his residence permit would not
be renewed. Otherinternational newsservices havefrequently complained
ofgovernmentrestrictions. Several newsservices have departed Bahrain
and established offices elsewhere in the region.
The State ownsand operatesall radio and television stations. The
Governmentdoes notinterfere with radio and television broadcastsfrom
neighboringcountries andfrom Egypt,nordoesitinterfere with the
English-language newsfrom the British Broadcasting Companyand
Cable News Network. Manyseniorgovernmentofficials,rulingfamily
members,and well-to-do citizens receive international television broacasts
via satellite receiving dishes. The Ministiy ofInformation closely controls
access to these and the importation orinstallation ofthem without
governmentapproval is illegal. In October the Ministry established a 13-
channelsubscription cable network and announcedplans to add an
additional 7channels by the end ofthe year.
^Although there are noformal regulations limitingacademicfreedom,asa
practical matteracademics try to avoid contentiouspoliticalissues. In
generalthere isgreaterlatitude to discusspoliticsinan academic setting.
Nevertheless,strictlimits are obseived,and research,publications,and
public discussionscritical ofthe Governmentare highlyinfrequent.
43

As you may have found,there are two daily newspapersin Arabic and one
in English,allofthem sponsored by the Ministry ofInformation.The
editorofAl-Ayyam,Mr NabiAl-Hamar,was actually appointed by the
Minister!These papersdo notreportthe demonstrations,orthe use of
incapacitating gases,rubber bullets and live ammunition by the police
againstthe demonstrators,or the arrestofan estimated 2,000 people.
Thisis rather alarge numberin relation to the population ofBahrain,the
equivalentof275,000 people being arrested in the UK.
I lookforward to discussing these matters with you,and in the
meanwhile,for ease ofreference,I enclose a copy ofthe petition which is
the cause ofthe repression.As you can see,itis expressed in moderate
terms,and the demands it makes would have been quite acceptable to
Charles I or Louis XVI!
William Powell Esq MP,
House ofCommons,
London SWIA OAA.
44

From Lord Avebuiy / P9527031
Chairman
March 27, 1995
At about 14.15 on March 25,a woman resident ofthe village ofDurazsaw riot police
entering the DurazIntermediate School building carrying tyres,and afew minuteslater
the building went up in flames.People rushed to the scene and began shouting slogans,
confronting the police who were outside the school.There wasa tear gas attack on the
crowd at about 15.30,and Hamid Abdullah YousifQasim,age 17, was injured by a
projectile. Hisfriends tried to carry him to safety,but the police drove them away and
took Hamid into custody.
On Sunday March 26 at about 08.00,the police delivered Hamid's body to hisfamily.
Three fingers ofhis left hand had and his face had been mutilated beyond recognition.
His lefl side was covered with cuts and contusions and his left elbow had a massive
cut.
Hamid was buried at 15.30 yesterday afternoon,and his funeral was the occasion for
manifestations ofgreat concern by the people. This fresh instance ofthe use oftorture
by the security forces will make it harder to promote the dialogue which you told me
we had been urging on the government. Up to now,it has been the democratic
opposition which asked for dialogue,and the government which had turned a deafear.
The danger now is that the people will begin to see that peaceful means ofsatisfying
their moderate demands have been ruled out and this may be a very ominous
development.
This morning 1 received,in confidence,the following copy ofa letter to Ian Henderson
by the wife ofone ofthe three exiles whose applications for asylum the Bahrain
Foreign Minister tried to persuade usto reject:
Your Excellency Major GeneralIan Henderson
Director ofSpecial Branch
P.O. Box 13
Ministry ofthe Interior
Manama State ofBahrain
/write thisletter to YourI'lxcellencyregarding myPassport. No. 272953issuedon
16.9.1981. Thepassport vim seizedon myreturn to Bahrain on 16.6.1993 withoutany
rea.son. The matter vra.v notofmuch importance to me untilthe Ministry ofthe
45

InteriordecidedtodeportmyBahrainihusband,SayyedHaidarSayyedAHSayyed
Hassan outside Bahrain.
lamamotherofsix children, hence my.stayawayfrom myhusbandputsmein a
highlyinconvenientandembarrassingsituation. SinceIcannotaskyou to return my
husbandto Bahrain,atleastIrequestyou to make iteasyfor me tojoin him in his
place ofstay.
Ihavecheckedwith theImmigrationandPassportsDirectorate whichindicatedthat
itisnotpossible toissuePassportsto meandto mychildren withoutyourprior
approval.
Isincerelyhope thatyou willissueyourinstructionsto theImmigrationandPassports
Directorate to issuepassportsto meandto mysixchildren.
Qudsiya,SayyedHassan,Zaynab,Batool,GhadeerandFatima,as
soon aspossible.
Thankingyou in advance.
Wafa AH Akbar
P.O.Box 260Bahrain
Tel 735 488
It certainly would compound the offence ofthe regime if,after expelling one oftheir
own citizens,contrary to internationallaw,they now prevent his wife and children
fromjoining him.I hope you would ask them to release Mrs Wafa Ali Akbar and her
children,and that we would give them entry certificates tojoin their husband and
father here.
-7
L
Foreign & Commonwealth Office,
Whitehall,
London SWIA 2AH.
46

Chairman
April3,1995
There hasbeen an intensification ofthe crackdown in Bahrain,which may
notbe unconnected with yourforthcoming visitto the state,for the
conference which is due to begin on Monday week.Itcould be thatthe
authorities are keen to preventtheir distinguished visitorsfrom
discovering that mostBahrainis are very upsetaboutthe Amir's refusal
even to receive the petition which has been signed by more than 25,000
people,askingfor the restoration ofthe 1973constitution and Parliament.
Lastnight,some time after21.00localtime,the police raided the house of
MrsZahraSalman Helal,age31,and took herinto custody,leaving her
children withoutadultcare.The eldestis Hawra(8),then Mohammed
Baqer(6),Ma'ali(3)and the yoimgest Maiyam(IV'2), who isstill being
breast-fed. Mrs Helal's husband has been in custody since the end of
January,together with an estimated 3,000 other political prisoners.Ten
people have died as a resultofviolence by the police since demonstrations
in favourofthe restoration ofthe constitution and Parliamentbegan in
early December 1994.Only this morning Mohammed Jaffer YusifTwaig.
in his early thirties wasshotdead in the village ofBaniJamra,and his
wife Kawther is critically injured in hospital as aresult ofthesame
incident.Kawther's8-year-old sister was alsoinjured by a police bullet
and is in hospital
As well as Mrs Helal,the police arrested an unknown number ofother
opinion leaders this morning.They includeSheikh AbdulAmir Al-Jamri,
60,elder statesman,former MP,and formerjudge,whose elderson
Mohammed Jameel,an Oxford graduate isservinga 10 year prison
sentence imposed in 1988for political offences;Sheikh Hassan Sultan,30,
cleric;Sheikh HalilSultan,34,cleric;Omran Hussein,52,teacher,whose
son is in custody for the last3months withouttrial,and is himselfa
former political prisoner and thefather ofKawther mentioned above,and
Mohammed Al-Qadami.
Armoured personnel carriers are patrollingthe streets throughout
northern Bahrain and on Sitraisland.The atmosphere is very tense and I
47

would expectthatasthenewsofthelatestarrestsspreads,there willbe
strikes and further demonstrations,which in turn mayspark offmore
arrests and violence by the police.
Myimmediatereasonfor passingonthisinformation isto askyou to
intercede urgentlyforthe releaseofMrsHelal,sothatherlittle children
may receive propercare,particularly the youngestwhois stillbeing
breastfed.To wrench the mother away like thatis an actofgreatcruelty,
both to the mother and the infant.
It would be much appreciatedifyou could make yourown inquiries about
the demandsofthe opposition while you arein Bahredn.When William
Powell wenttiiere last month,membersofthe opposition did tiy to see
him butthey were unable to gain accessto him.I'm afraid he only heard
thegovernment'ssideofthestoiy,and thusin my view underestimated
the size ofthe problem.Ifpeople think whatis happeningin Bahrainis
goingtoblow over and thattherequests madeinthe petition willbe
meekly abandoned,they aresadly mistaken.This applies withequalforce
to the businessleaders who will be attendingyour Forum,asto those ofus
who are concerned with human rights.The prospectsfor the economy of
Bahrain,and for trade and investmentthere byforeigners,areinevitably
functions ofpoliticalstability,and common prudencesuggests that
Bahrain'sbusiness partnersshould take acloserlook atthe scenariosfor
political change.
The RtHon the Baroness Thatcher
48

6 April 1995
Lord Avebury
House of Lords
LONDON
SWIA OPW
Foreign &
Commonwealth
Office
London SWIA 2AH
From Tit Mlalslor of Slolt
Thank you for your letter of 27 March about Bahrain.
We were sorry to hear the sad news of a further death during
the latest series of incidents. I have asked the Embassy in
Bahrain whether they can shed any further light on the
circumstances of Mr Qasim's death, and will let you know
their response in due course.
We fully understand your concern for Mr Hassan's wife and
children. As you know, Mr Hassan's application for asylum
in the UK is currently under consideration. We do not think
it would be right to approach the Bahraini authorities in
relation to the wife and ch^dren before the substantive
application has been decid^.
Douglas Hogg

Chairman
April6,1995
Further to myearlier letteroftoday'sdate,since you may not have heen fully hriefed on
Bahrain,tojudge from yourcommentsatyesterday'scelebration ofthe Arab League's
50th anniversary,1thoughtyou mightlike to have an accountofthe case ofSheikh
AbdulAmirAl-Jamri,who was put under house arreston April 1,1995.
Born in 1937,Sheikh Al-Jamri studied Islamic theology and law at Al-Najaf Religious
Institute from 1962-1973. His hooks include: Islamic Duties,Islamic Teachings,Women
in Islam,and some worksofpoetry.
In 1973 he waselected by the 14th regionalconstituencyfor the National Assembly.As
an active opposition member^hespoke againstthe imposition ofthe State Security Law
which wasintroduced by the Amir(ruler)in October 1974.The constitution specifies
thatthe legislative power isshared between the Amirand the NationalAssembly. Both
branchesofthe legislature mustagree on any bill before itcan become law.The Amir
ignored this provision,illegally dissolved theelected parliamentand suspended the
importantarticles ofthe constitution in August1975.
The State Security Law,which the Amir then purported to enact by decree,empowers
the Interior Minister to order the administrative detention ofany person for up to three
years,which can then be renewed forfurther periods ofthree years at a time. Thislaw
has been fully used to suppress the opposition since 1975.
Between 1975 and 1977 Sheikh Al-Jamri worked as a religious scholar and active
member ofthe Islamic EnlightenmentSociety.He wasinvolved in many cultural,social,
charitable and educational activitiesfor the promotion ofreligious teachings and social
justice.
In 1977 he accepted an appointmentasajudgein the Religious Court.The religious
courts are partofthe Ministry ofJustice,and wereestablished in the twenties to deal
with casesinvolving personal affairs,such as marriage,divorce,inheritance and other
religious affairs ofthe community.The courts are divided into two departments,one for
the Shia community and one for the Sunnicommunity,these beingthe two major
Muslim sects ofBahrain.Sheikh Al-Jamri wasa member ofthe Shia court.
Asa prominentfigure in society,hisdomain ofactivitiesextended beyond thecourts to
include allcultural activities,including peaceful opposition to the socialinjustices
caused by the banning ofthe parliament and the imlawfulimplementation ofthe State
Security Law.
In 1988,the Bahraini authorities decided to punish him for hisopen opposition.On May
14,1988,the security forcessurrounded and searched the Mosque where Sheikh Al-
Jamri leads the daily prayers.Then,although Bahrain law does notallow the dismissal
ofajudge,in July 1988Sheikh Al-Jamri wassuspended from duty.In September both
hisson(Mohammed Jamil)and son-in-law(AbdulJalil Khalil Ebrahim)were arrested,
severely tortured,charged with anti-governmentactivities and sentenced to ten and
seven yearsimprisonment. Sheikh Al-Jamri himselfwas arrested on September6,but
50

wasreleased afterafew hours when the people demonstrated against hisdetention.The
sentencing ofboth hisson cmd son-in-law wasasubstitute punishment.
From 1988to 1993,Sheikh Al-Jamricontinued his writingand educational work,at
home and in the mosque.He also continued campaigningagainstwhathe considered the
unjust policesofthe government.
In November 1992,he,with five others,sponsored a petition callingfor the restoration of
the constitution and the dissolved parliamentasstated in the constitution.The petition
wassigned by hundredsofleading personalitiesfrom allsectionsand tendencies in
Bahrain'ssociety.The sponsoringsix-person committee included DrAbdul LatifAl-
Mahmood(a imiversity professor and aleadingSimnifigure)Mr Mohammed Jaber
Sabah(an ex-MP,a nationalistand aSunni personality).Sheikh Isa Al-Joder(a Sunni
religious scholar),MrAbdul Wahab Husain(a Shia personality)and Mr Hamid
Sangoor(a lawyer,nationalistand Shia personality).
The petition wassubmitted to theAmir in mid November,butthe Amirignored itand
instead on December 16,appointed a30-member Consultative Council.
A meeting between the committee and theAmir ended in deadlock,asthe ruler insisted
on the appointed council,which hesaw asthe bestoption for Bahrain.The Amir
personalised the issue byasking the delegatesifthey distrusted the people he had
appointed.
Dr.Al-Mahmood then conducted adetailed legalstudycomparing the Consultative
CJoimcil(Shura)appointed by the Amirand the NationalAsrombly prescribed by the
constitution. He concluded thatthe differences between the Shura Council(SC)nnH the
NationalAssembly(NA)are:
1. TheSCisconsultative while the NA is legislative;
2. TheSCis appointed while the NA isfreelyelected by the populace;
3. TheSCisforoffering unbindingsuggestions while the NA isfor enactingstatutory
law and monitoringthe Executive branch ofthe(government;
4. TheSCis for recommending policies while the Assembly is for formulation and
implementationofpolicies;
5. The provisionsoftheSCare"forinformation"while those ofthe NA are binding;
6. MembersoftheSCrepresentthemselveswhile membersofthe NA representall
citizens;
7. The Government's presencein theSCis nominal whilein the NA itisintegral;
8. PresidencyoftheSCis appointed while thatofthe NA iselected;
9. SessionsoftheSCare held insecret while thoseofthe NA are public.
On March6,1993,both Dr.Al-Mahmoodand SheikhAl-Jamri were invited tospeakat
Al-Khawajah Mosquein Manama,and presenttheirviews to the publicina peaceful
way.The Bahrain!authoritiesintervened to cancelthe meeting.Bothspeakers were told
notto attend the meeting,or they would be arrested.Then,the securityforcesencircled
the mosque,closed itsgatesand posted a prohibition noticeon the wall.
SheikhAl-Jamri wasinvited for another meetingon March 18atMo'min Mosquein
Manama.Thistimethesecurityforcesarrested himjustbefore hestarted hisjourney
51

Bahrain: A Brickwall (1994-96)

Bahrain: A Brickwall (1994-96)

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