Bahrain Mirror: Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) voiced its concern over the ongoing campaign targeting students in different grades and throwing them behind bars. The Bahraini authorities has arrested within a period of two weeks before the scholastic year began 10 children under 18 years of age, who are now languishing behind bars alongside at least 240 other children deprived of their right to education.

On September 6, 2015, Bahraini students started their new school year, yet over 240 children are being deprived of this right since they are locked up in prison, either detained or convicted in cases of political backgrounds.

According to the statistics made by BCHR, 13 children were taken into custody over the period between August 23 and September 6, 2015. However, 3 of them were released later on. Some of the cases documented by BCHR were cases of 4 children who were arbitrarily arrested and detained.

Coinciding with the beginning of the new school year, BCHR launched a campaign on social media, demanding that detained students in Bahraini prisons be allowed to pursue their studies and go to their schools. The campaign received widespread participation by the children's parents and activists inside and outside the island kingdom.

BCHR saw that the ongoing detention of these children will deprive them of their right to education, internationally-guaranteed in Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which stipulates that "everyone has the right to education."

BCHR also called on governments and international organizations to pressure the Government of Bahrain to release these detained students, especially those who were arrested over political cases or for expressing their opinions, and to commit to the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, particularly Article 26.

The human rights center further stressed on the necessity to guarantee respect of human rights and political freedoms in all circumstances, according to the international standards of human rights and international instruments ratified by Bahrain.

Arabic Issue