HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST ARRESTED FOR "INSTIGATING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 001482

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARPI
LONDON FOR ETHAN GOLDRICH

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/25/2014
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KDEM KJUS BA
SUBJECT: HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST ARRESTED FOR "INSTIGATING
HATRED"

Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe for
reasons 1.4(b) and (d).


1. (C) SUMMARY. Two controversial speeches delivered at
the Al Aruba Club this past weekend created a political storm
in Bahrain, resulting in the closure of the club and the
arrest of a prominent human rights activist. The first
speech was delivered by an Iraqi Baathist who claimed that
Kuwait was still part of a Iraq. Both the King and MFA
officials told us that the speech could harm relations with
its GCC neighbor and led to GOB's decision to close the club.
A day later, former Executive Director of Bahrain Centre for
Human Rights (BCHR) delivered a speech in which he criticized
the Prime Minister's stewardship of the national economy.
This speech led to his arrest on charges of public incitement
against the regime and spreading rumors that could disrupt
national security. Although the GOB insists that the Aruba
Club was closed due to the damage caused by the Baathist's
speech, the GOB closed the club only after direct criticism
of the Prime Minister. END SUMMARY.


2. (C) On September 25 at 10:30 p.m. the police summoned
former BCHR Executive Director Abdulhadi Al Khawaja to the
Nabeeh Saleh police station for questioning. Upon arrival at
the station he was arrested and detained. A close friend of
Al Khawaja, Adel Al Abbasi told PolOff on September 25 that
Al Khawaja was allowed a telephone call to his family but he
had no access to legal counsel. Al Khawaja's wife informed
BCHR board members that Al Khawaja could be detained up to 45
days. Concerned citizens and BCHR volunteers quickly
gathered outside the police station.


3. (C) BCHR President Nabeel Rajab told EmbOffs on
September 26 that the police transferred Al Khawaja to Howdh
Aljaf, a former detention center in Muharraq (near Bahrain
International Airport). Upon his arrival at the center, Al
Khawaja called his wife to announce that he was going on a
hunger strike. According to Rajab, authorities arrested Al
Khawaja for criticizing the Prime Minister for contributing
to the current level of poverty in the country. Al Khawaja
made his remarks during the BCHR's symposium held at the Al
Aruba Club on September 24. BCHR has since launched an
e-mail campaign for the release of Al Khawaja and in support
of freedom of expression.


4. (C) On September 26, 50 supporters of Al Khawaja
demonstrated outside the Public Prosecutor's Office. Al
Khawaja's wife went to the detention center to provide him
with a change of clothing but was denied entrance to the
facility. On September 25, Bahrain's authority over clubs,
the General Organization for Youth and Sports (GOYS) closed
the Al Aruba Club for 45 days. In its September 26 press
release, the GOYS stated that the Al Aruba Club had been
guilty of repeated administrative violations.


5. (C) On September 26, MFA Minister of State Mohammed
Abdul Ghaffar requested a meeting with the Ambassador to
discuss the closure of the Al Aruba Club. The Minister
attributed the club's closure to a September 23 presentation
given by Iraqi Baathist Aouni Al Kalamji who said that Kuwait
rightfully was a part of Iraq. Shortly after his speech, Al
Kalamji left Bahrain. The Minister elaborated that Al
Kalamji is a well-known Baathist who had fled Iraq in the
1990s in opposition to Saddam, but had returned to Iraq a
couple of years before the recent Iraq war and had been
welcomed by the Saddam government.


6. (C) Abdul Ghaffar explained that there were two problems
with Al Kalamji's remarks. First, he crossed the line of
acceptability in Bahrain by so blatantly offending the
Kuwaitis and harming relations between the two countries.
(Abdul Ghaffar noted that he met with the Kuwaiti Ambassador
the day before to express his regret.) Second, the Al Aruba
Club, which is not registered as a political society, crossed
the line by sponsoring a speaker who delivered such a
political message. The club violated the societies law under
which it was established, and was therefore punished. The
Minister stressed that this measure would have no impact on
the democratization process. The Al Aruba Club broke the law
and the GOB enforced it.


7. (C) When the Ambassador asked about BCHR's September 24
symposium on poverty at the Al Aruba Club and the subsequent
arrest of Al Khawaja, the Minister seemed uninformed about
this incident and quickly made a phone call to get details.
After receiving a brief report, the Minister clarified that
Al Khawaja had been arrested for "instigating hatred." He
had no further details. The Ambassador cautioned that any
move against a human rights figure would invite USG scrutiny
and gives the Al Aruba Club case an added human rights
dimension as well.

8. (C) In a September 27 meeting with General Abizaid and
the Ambassador, the King said he closed the Aruba Club
because it was a base for Baathists. The King stated that
the club had been under surveillance for some time and the
GOB had been waiting for club management to take a misstep.
He said he would not allow platforms that would hurt the
interests of Bahrain's neighbors and friends. He was
concerned about sectarianism in Bahrain, and did not want
either extremist Sunni or Shi'a ideologies to spread, saying
it would "plant the roots of a civil war." It was time for
Bahrain to say "no" to demagogues.

--------------
Comment
--------------


9. (C) We believe the real reason Al Khawaja was arrested is
his explicit criticism of the Prime Minister's stewardship of
the national economy. In these early stages of political and
economic reform, previously understood red lines have become
blurred, and many civil society activists are anxious to push
the limits. With its tough response, the GOB has clearly
signaled that personal attacks on the Prime Minister, a
leading member of Bahrain's royal family and the King's
uncle, would not be tolerated.


10. (C) Just one day before Al Khawaja's seminar on poverty,
the Crown Prince presided over a splashy conference on
proposed labor reform in the Kingdom. Ministers, business
people, regional officials, and international experts
attended and participated in the event, which was broadcast
live on Bahraini television. Its message of the need for
economic reform and international competitiveness is not at
all that different from Al Khawaja's criticism of the
economy. But Al Khawaja's personalization of the issue
vis-a-vis the Prime Minister, and his exploration of the
sectarian aspects of poverty (i.e. Bahrain's majority Shi'a
are much poorer than its minority Sunni),went too far in the
GOB's view.
MONROE