Bahrain Mirror-Exclusive: Participants in a roundtable session in the German capital Berlin said that Bahrain has arrested 1153 people since the beginning of the year, including 186 children and 21 women, which reflects the extent of human rights deterioration in the country.

Bahrain Center for human rights hosted a seminar in Berlin entitled "The Attacks on Civil Society", where the center representatives, International Federation for human rights and Human Rights Watch took part in.

Participants stressed that "Bahrain has the highest rate of prisoners in the Middle East till now (...) and that it has arrested 1153 persons since the onset of the year, including 186 children and 21 women."

Vice President of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights Yousif Al-Muhafda indicated that the president of the center and prominent activist Nabeel Rajab faces 15-year jail term over a tweet he posted, warning that the health of Rajab had deteriorated since his arrest

"The large number of detainees in Bahrain is a clear indication that the Government wants to regulate people's opinions and determine what to say and not to say," he added.

As he called on "everyone to join the fight for freedom", Al-Muhafda stressed that the "campaign against civil society and opposition figures in Bahrain proves that the Government is not only ignoring its commitment to address the human rights situation, but it further worsens the situation."

For his part, Human Rights Watch official stated that "Manama's decision to revoke the nationality of the highest religious authority in Bahrain, Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim led to the deterioration of the situation in the Gulf Kingdom"

He also criticized the UK-supported surveillance institutions (the Ombudsman and Prisoners' Rights Office) for not making any change.

He went on to say that what was recently discovered regarding the financial support from Manama to the western political organizations, like IISS, is a proof that these organizations do not work "independently".

Jean-Marie Rogue, EU Liaison Officer at the International Federation for Human Rights, announced that "the states that export weapons and spy equipment to repressive regimes such as Bahrain should be revealed".

Marie called on London and Brussels to use their influence on the government of Bahrain to address human rights violations.

Arabic Version