Bahrain Students: Expelled, detained, and prosecuted for expressing their views , as the country starts the National Dialouge

Posted on the BCHR website

Escalation of abuse against university students in Bahrain violating their right to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and right to education

06 July 2011

Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) expresses its deep concern for the continuing and escalating systematic targeting of university students by the Bahraini regime and the Ministry of Education, which are supposed to protect the students’ right to education, freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. Despite previous calls[1] from BCHR and other rights groups[2] , the Bahraini authorities continued targeting students with expulsions from universities, arrests and prosecution in military court. Up to now, around 300 students have been reportedly expelled in less than two months.

Interrogating Students On Campus

Investigation committees has been established to interrogate the students in University of Bahrain, Bahrain Polytechnic, Bahrain Training Institute and other educational institutions, accusing them of false and baseless allegations like “participating in marches to overthrow the regime” and criminalizing their exercise of basic rights for expressing their opinions.

The investigation process, as described in detail by the students, was as far as could be from professionalism and respect to the students. More than 20 students from Bahrain Polytechnic said almost the same story about the process. They were called for a meeting without knowing the reason; a panel of four headed by Deputy CEO, Dr. Mohammed Al Aseeri, who has been recently appointed, started with reading the accusations that were all around “participating in marches to overthrow the regime” which they all denied.

Students were asked:
- Do you have a facebook account?
- What is your username?
- Have you posted anything anti-government? (They were shown screenshots of their facebook accounts if they deny that they have)
- Have you participated in any marches to overthrow the regime?
- Have you been to lulu (Pearl) roundabout? When? And how many times?
- How long have you been studying in the university?

The answer to the questions above would be followed by one of the members of the investigation panel stating that the student is studying because of the generosity of the king and the ruling family and that they should be more appreciative for the education they were getting. Students stated that the questions were very provocative, humiliating and offensive and no matter how much they tried to deny the accusations, it did not work as it seemed decisions were taken in advance.

After more than a week, all those interrogated were expelled from the university. Only 3 weeks before the end of the semester, they were escorted out of the university campus by security.

Expulsion

The number of expelled students increased since BCHR’s last report on 6 June 2011, reaching around 300 students in less than two months based on the announced numbers and reported cases.

Starting 14 June 2011, two weeks before the start of the National Dialogue, Bahrain Polytechnic university expelled 5 students in the first batch followed by more than 40, as per the official statement[3] 47 students were expelled, 9 suspended for 1 year and 2 for a semester while 5 got final warning.

University of Bahrain announced[4] that almost 200 were expelled last April while BCHR has received 180 cases from students in Bahrain University and numbers are expected to increase as there are reports of more to be expelled.

The center has received more than 20 reports of expulsion from other educational institutions like the Bahrain Training Institute, Health Sciences College and Gulf Aviation Academy, in addition to overseas academies like Oxford Aviation Academy[5] . However we believe that the total number is higher but no official statement has been released to confirm that.

The education ministry has said students can apply to other schools, but they have complained they were unable to get copies of their transcripts. They were also convinced no other local university would take on students expelled for protests. Some, under a travel ban for political activities, cannot study abroad. Others are too afraid to leave.[6]

Revoked Scholarships

Bahraini students studying abroad on scholarships funded by the Ministry of Education have also had their scholarships terminated. Majed Al Noaimi, the Minister of Education, stated that “100 scholarships have been revoked temporarily until the investigation process is completed”. This action has been taken because of students’ participation in pro-democracy protests in solidarity with their brothers and sisters in Bahrain demanding for political reform[7] .

The Ministry of Education sent on 24 April 2011 a letter to the University of Auckland in New Zealand informing them that they have terminated the scholarship of 10 Bahraini students because “they violated the terms and conditions of the scholarship”. Being at risk of getting arrested, the students are currently living on the remainder of their scholarship allowance like many other Bahraini students studying abroad.

Hawra and Khatoon are among those students in Auckland that have had their scholarships revoked. They have arranged for a visual exhibition in New Zealand to tell the story of their people in Bahrain. Hawra says “I had this vision that when I complete my study here in New Zealand and go back home, I will build my own school where I inspire my students to question and investigate reality, develop their own ideas and celebrate their uniqueness”. This dream to build her country was shuttered with a decision from the Ministry of Education to revoke her scholarship.

It has been a month since the announcement[8] of reinstating the scholarships of students who would have pledged not to get involved again in "anti-Bahrain activities."; a decision that was blasted by an MP saying that it was "provocative and unacceptable."[9] However a month later there are still no reports of any scholarships reinstated.

Penalized for an Anti-government Facebook Status

Students’ expulsions have been based mainly on their electronic posts in social network where they have expressed their opinions of the situation in Bahrain that have been interpreted by the interrogation committee as “anti Bahrain”.

Students have been presented with screenshots of their facebook accounts and interrogated about a status or a comment they posted or to the extent to liking a page or a photo. Others were questioned about their tweets on twitter and statuses on their MSN or Blackberry messengers.

Noor Al Derazi[10] got expelled for what she wrote on her private and personal facebook page, which is a clear violation of her freedom of opinion and expression

A student from University of Bahrain was accused of participating in a peaceful protest and presented with photos taken of her in a march in solidarity with her colleague, martyr Ali Al Momen. Other students were also investigated with for their photos in the Pearl roundabout supporting the pro-democracy movement in Bahrain.

Peaceful protest on 3/3/2011 in solidarity with Ali AlMomen, a university student who was killed on the attack of 17th FEB

Arrests and Military Trials

At least 78 students have been arrested. Some of whom had their homes raided and vandalized, and their families terrorized. Others have been arrested from their universities while some others, from their villages or at checkpoints. Students who have no political activity have also been subjected to arrests because of their religious background which the government sees as synonymous to the opposition[11] .

Students have also been put on trial before the military courts. Among these students Ebrahim Ashkanani , an activist who defended and spoke out for students rights. He is a student in AMA University in his last semester before graduation. He was expelled on April for expressing his political views on television, as stated in his letter on the White House facebook page. He was later arrested on 18 May 2011. Ebrahim was also known for writing about students issues, blogging and for talking to the media. He has been presented at martial court without a lawyer and in absence of any family member as they were not informed about his trial. He is charged with incitement to overthrow the regime, trying to demolish the country's economy, illegal gathering and communicating with external parties and broadcasting of false news and lies.

Ayat Al Qurmozi a 20 year old student at the College of Teachers, was sentenced on 12 June 2011, after around 2 months of detention, to 1 year in jail for reciting an anti-government poem in the Pearl Roundabout. She has been reportedly tortured[12] in detention and forced to confess and apologize to the king and the prime minister on national TV.

Shawqi Radhi, also known as @machboos, a blogger and an activist student in the university of Bahrain known for helping and supporting the students has also been detained for more than 2 months and has been presented before martial court on 21 June 2011. He has been reportedly tortured and was unable to stand at the court.

Dozens of expelled students are going on trials[13] for baseless charges like illegal gathering , damaging of public properties, assaults and inciting hatred against the regime. Some of them were sent to martial court before the recent decree on which the king ordered all cases to be moved to civil courts.

Loyalty pledge

In a direct discrimination against students based on their political stance, the University of Bahrain has made its educational services allowed only for students “loyal to leadership of the Kingdom of Bahrain” through forcing students to sign loyalty pledges[14] affirming complete loyalty to the leadership of Bahrain in order to be able to continue their study at the university.

“Under this document, I the undersigned assure, As a full-time student studying at the University of Bahrain, my complete loyalty to the leadership of the Kingdom of Bahrain, represented by His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, governor of this country may God protect him, and to the rational government.”

The pledge specifies “I acknowledge that not signing this document means I do not wish to continue my education in the University of Bahrain."

Students said they were required to sign the document in order to continue study, adding that the university had “turned into a big prison" as metal detectors, surveillance cameras and stationed security guards at each of the college campus buildings have been installed upon orders from the university officials according to the leading opposition newspaper, Al-Wasat.[15]

Not only were Bahraini students studying in Bahrain forced to sign loyalty pledges but also those abroad. According to Majed Al Noaimi, all Bahraini students on scholarships abroad and their parents would have to sign a pledge stating that they would not be involved in “acts offending Bahrain inside or outside”. He added that this is “considered as a final warning” for those students whose petty “crime” was participating in peaceful protests abroad to voice their opinions of reform[16] .

Violations of Human rights

The privacy of students in Bahrain has been violated, while they were targeted for practicing their right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly that cost them their right to education and put their future at risk.

They are being deprived from their basic rights that have been protected by international human rights declarations and covenant:

(1) Violation of Article 19 of the universal declaration of Human Rights: Freedom of Opinion and Expression[17]
Targeting their freedom of opinion by expelling and arresting based on messages posted on social networks.

(2) Violation of Article 20 of the universal declaration of Human Rights: Freedom of Peaceful Assembly[18]
Peaceful protests and assembly is a right that is preserved not only in the universal declaration but also in Bahrain’s constitutions, however, students were expelled and arrested for practicing their rights and forced to sign loyalty pledges not to practice it in the future.

(3) Violation of Article 26 of the universal declaration of Human Rights: Right to Education[19]
Students in the university are being deprived from their right to education and achieving their dreams that they worked hard toward through school and their first years in university. University of Bahrain’s students are not even given their transcript to apply to other universities which puts their future at stake.

(4) Violation of Article 2 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: Rights recognized without distinction of any kind[20]
Based on their political stands, students in Bahrain are discriminated against by being deprived from their right to education and targeted for demanding freedom by being humiliated, arrested and tortured.

Check also :
Bahrain: Urgent Appeal: Growing violations to the University Students' rights to education and freedom of expression , 6 June 2011

Based on all the above, the BCHR demands the Bahraini Authorities to:

(1) Take back all the students who have been expelled for them to continue from where they left and reinstate the provoked scholarships with no further delay.
(2) Put an end to all the baseless investigations and expulsions of students
(3) Release all the students detained for exercising their legitimate rights of expression and peaceful assembly and stop their unfair trials.
(4) An independent committee should investigate into the events that took place in the university of Bahrain on March 13, 2011 and all consequences.
(5) Annul all the policies and procedures that restrict the freedom of opinion and expression
(6) Abide to the international human rights charters and covenants that states that all human beings have the right to express themselves freely

My letter to the BICI investigatior, Mr Khalid

Posted by Noor Al-Derazi, an ex student in Bahrain polytechnic on her blog on 29/8/11

Dear Khalid M Ahmed, Head of (Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry) investigators,

 My name is Noor and I am one of Bahrain Polytechnic expelled students. I am positive that you will not remember me because you apologized several times during the very short 8 minutes I sat speaking to you and asked me: what’s your name again? I came to your committee a couple of weeks ago to document my case, and I have been told that I might only have 30 minutes to speak. I thought that 30 minutes would not be enough, but I did not know that I would only have a fraction of that time to speak about my case even though I came with an appointment.

 Well, I am not here to talk about the way our conversation went or the time it took. I am mostly concerned about its content. You begun by taking my personal and contact information and then asked me a couple of questions like everyone else in the room. When you knew that I was there for an expelled student case, you told me that you’re meeting the people related to our case soon to see if there is a way to solve it. I told you that we were wronged by the expulsion, so the common sense would be returning us back! I also said that returning us is only the start of getting back our right because many of us were offended too. You seemed shocked and almost laughed when you said to me after that: “so are you expecting an official apology?! Because that will never happen!”.

Well, what can I say? You were right. Not only we didn’t get any sort of emotional compensation, but we got another official offense as far as I see it. I was highly offended by the official release that returning back students was announced in few days ago. And what I have expected and told you will happen did actually happen. I told you that I don’t want to be returned as a student who did something wrong and then was “forgiven”, because as a student, I didn’t do anything wrong. I also told you if we were “forgiven” then it would mean having less advantages in the polytechnic as students, especially that all what had happen would probably remain in my university records which was once a clean one! In addition to that I asked you, if we were “forgiven” what is there to guarantee that this “forgiveness” would not be taken back at anytime and the next thing we know is us getting expelled again? Some would say: compliance with the polytechnic’s rules would guarantee that. Well, apparently that did not help much in the first time!

You told me that there is nothing much that can be done regarding that now, and asked me to come again to document if that happens. Now I wonder what if that happens right after you leave, would you still look at the case once your job here is over? I certainly hope so, but I don’t think that is possible. Now you might ask, what do you want exactly? Why are you saying all of that? The answer is simple, I want my right back. It has been said that only the students who have been allowed back will be contacted. This means that not everyone will be returned as I understood. If I was returned, I hope I get an official letter for that at least and not a phone call like the one I got for the investigation. Also, I want to know what will happen regarding the semester that we were few weeks away from completing; do we have to start it all over again? And what about our university records, will they be cleaned? Whether I go back to polytechnic or not after being allowed back in again is a choice that is left for me to make. But even if I chose not to go back to the polytechnic again, it doesn’t change the fact that I still want to get my right back.

 Now I do not know if I am among the people who will be returned or not, but I certainly hope that this letter does not magically become a reason that prevents me from being returned.

Thank you for everything..

 Kind regards,

Noor

29-8-2011

The letter I wrote on facebook to the CEO of Bahrain Polytechnic

Noor Al-Derazi is an ex-student in the Bahrain polytechnic. You can check out here blog here.
This letter was posted on her facebook and blog on 12/06/11

This is a letter to the CEO of Bahrain Polytechnic

By : Noor Al-Derazi

Dear Johan Scott,

My name is Noor and until 2pm today I was a proud Bahrain Polytechnic student. You might recognize my face because I’m an active student. I won’t talk about the good things I have done to the Polytechnic because everyone knows, the staff & students. And because the polytechnic gave me so much that I can’t rap it all in this letter.

Dear Mr. Scott, I was one of the founding students, the very first batch. A student who was there before there were even printed patterns on the walls. I sat in classes hearing constructions noises in the background. I watched the whole polytechnic grow and develop. I was there since the very beginning that I was in the class whom the crown prince of Bahrain had visited while having a campus tour in the official opening ceremony. I was there when you welcomed us in the first orientation days in 2009 where you said to us: you are the new Bahrainis

Now, after being there for 6 semesters, I was the first one to get expelled from Bahrain polytechnic. And for some reason, you administration felt the need of having me leave the campus looking like a dangerous person whom the security had to escort out. I didn’t even get the chance to say goodbye to the tutors who have known me since they were first employed. I didn’t get the chance to say goodbye to my group mates I was working with to submit an assignment that is due tomorrow.

Firstly, you might find the channel I’m delivering my message through as a strange one, why a letter on my facebook and not anything else? Well, my facebook was the reason why I was sent to the investigation panel at Bahrain polytechnic to begin with. As you might already know, some of my facebook posts were already printed out and were provided to the investigation panel. My face book account has high privacy sittings which mean not everyone can view my wall, only people who I accept their friend requests can view it. Therefore, whatever I was saying was purely personal opinion and was not made for public release purposes. I never expected that expressing my opinion and practicing the right of freedom of speech that Bahraini constitution grant me would send me to an investigation panel.

Secondly,  part of the main reasons why I got expelled was for my alleged participation in some unauthorized marches along with other things. I am curious to know if the investigation panel took my words seriously when I said that I didn’t participate in any marches. The reason for that as I told them is that I was not even here in Bahrain when people where marching! Would you like to know where I was? I was in the Minnesota -United States.

I have my flight tickets that shows the date of departure from Bahrain (28-1-2011), and another one that shows that my departure date from washington DC to Amsterdam was (6-3-2011). On Tuesday (7-3-2011 – in the midnight) I arrived to Bahrain, on Thursday the 9th of March 2011 I traveled to Dubai for two nights so I came back to Bahrain on Saturday the 12th of march 2011. Technically, if you calculate how much I spent in Bahrain before the Roundabout evacuation you find that I was in Bahrain for nearly a week only! that is counting the days where I faced jet lag from the 8 hours difference in time! So I wonder, what were those marches(s) (because the letter refers to me allegedly participating in several marches not only one) that I have participated in because I cannot think of any! Can you please give me an answer for that? Because apparently it was one of the key reasons I got expelled!

Thirdly, would you like to know why I was in the US at that time? Well, I was sent through the US embassy in Manama on a women’s leadership program funded by US department of state. Among 5 other Bahraini women, I was selected to participate in the program after they have viewed applications from all over Bahrain. The program name is “ the Study of the united state institute for student leaders on women’s leadership”. During our time in Minnesota and Washington DC, I have learnt so much about the US history, women’s leadership and Human rights. We even were given a copy of the Universal declaration of the human rights document. We learnt and saw how freedom of speech is granted and practiced by everyone. I connected it with what Bahrain constitution provides as well. Sadly, almost 2 months after I came back to Bahrain, I got called for investigation for practicing what I have learnt.

That experience in the US really changed me to the better. I can’t even begin to describe to you to the pride I felt representing my country abroad. I become full of honor every time I remember that. We were talking about how civilized Bahrain is, how great its people are and how lucky we are to be Bahrainis. That of course hasn’t change and will never change.

Finally, I want to tell you that I’m not sad or bitter because of this. And I defiantly didn’t write this letter begging to be a Bahrain polytechnic student again. I said what I have said in this letter simply because I have the right to do so.

Thank you very much for everything..

Noor Al-Derazi

12/6/2011