26th

May 2012

Row between Bahrain and UN Human Rights Council intensifies The Bahrain Ministry of Interior today ignored the advice of the President of the UN Human Rights Council, suggesting it will take legal action against civil society representatives who attended the organizations Universal Periodic Review. The President of the Council yesterday made a statement in which she expressed concern about articles in Bahrain media, threatening those civil society representatives who took part in the session. In response the Bahrain delegation fiercely denied the allegations as unfounded and a fiery exchange ensued between other delegations supporting Bahrain and the President. Adding to this, the Minister of Interior said in a statement today the ministry will take statements from the opposition delegates at Geneva for the UPR in order to know the truth surrounding their allegations of threats. He called the Presidents remarks only talks without affirming the truth behind the allegations. He also criticized human rights NGOs, calling them biased and accusing them of adopting a single view. It came at the end of the UPR session in which the majority of member states criticized Bahrains human rights record and made a number of recommendations that included the release of political prisoners. Jalila Al Salman, was one of those attending the UPR. She was imprisoned last year for protesting against the regime and also claims she was tortured. She said: The announcement by the minister is a direct challenge to the President of the human rights council when she asked for our protection against what was written in the pro-government newspapers. This is not at all encouraging and shows the embarrassment and distress caused to the authority as a result of what happened in Geneva, after their lies were exposed to the world. She added, This is what we are used to in Bahrain, to silence and intimidate any voice of civil society. Dominic Kavakeb of the Bahrain Justice and Development Movement said, This shows that when there is real international pressure, the true face of the regime becomes apparent. When a regime like Bahrain is backed into a corner it will try to fight its way out and this is exactly what it has proved today. He added, We hope that there will be no action taken against the delegation most of whom have already suffered enough with prison sentences and torture. For more information on this story please see the following links:

Bahrain Minister of Interior threatens legal action against UPR reps, calls NGOs biased http://bahrainjdm.hopto.org/2012/05/26/bahrain-minister-of- interior-threats-legal-action-against-upr-reps-calls-ngos-biased/ President of UN Human Rights Council makes unprecedented statement against Bahrain http://bahrainjdm.hopto.org/2012/05/25/president-of-un-human- rights-council-calls-on-bahrain-to-not-make-reprisals-against-opposition-delegates/ Transcript of speech by UN HR Council President and responses http://bahrainjdm.hopto.org/2012/05/25/transcript-of-speech-by-un-hr-council- president-and-responses/

Contact: Dominic Kavakeb - +447545965302/ dominic@bahrainjdm.org The Bahrain Justice and Development Movement is based in the UK and campaigns for political reform in Bahrain. www.bahrainjdm.org