The Global Campaign for Education abhors the current persecution and imprisonment of teachers and students for expressing their opinion in Bahrain. The campaign is offering its support and urges the King of Bahrain and the Bahraini government to immediately address this issue and enable everyone to learn free from fear of persecution in Bahrain.
“...she was punched and beaten with a baton and electric cable so severely that she lost consciousness. She was threatened with rape or sexual molestation, kept in a freezing cell and forced to clean a lavatory with her bare hands. She says she was told by prison guards that one of those beating her was a woman member of the royal al-Khalifa family.”
A description of the conditions of imprisonment of Ayat al-Gormezi, a student teacher in Bahrain
Taken from an interview in The Independent (UK), 20 July 2011
You can help these victims by demanding that the Bahraini government immediately address this issue.Since March 2011 Bahrain has been carrying out a punitive and vindictive campaign of violent repression against its own citizens. The pro-democratic protests, centred at Pearl Roundabout in the capital, Manama, were largely brought to an end following a brutal government crackdown on the 15th March, with the help of UAE and Saudi troops. Since then the fierce repression has been characterised by widespread arbitrary arrests, credible allegations of torture and ill treatment, apparently coerced televised “confessions”, unfair trials and politically-motivated mass dismissals of students from universities and workers from their jobs.
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights, Bahrain Society for Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Education International are amongst the international organisations raising alarm and campaigning for the rights of these individuals in Bahrain.
On 29th March, Jaleela al-Salman, Vice President of the Bahrain Teachers Association, was arrested at gunpoint in her bedroom in front of her children. Many of her colleagues and fellow board members of the teachers’ union have since been arrested and released but are still awaiting trial on the claims of having illegal messages on their BlackBerrys and ‘inciting hatred towards the regime’.
- On 12th June, 63 students of the Bahrain University and Polytechnic were expelled following peaceful demonstrations and updates on Facebook – and at least one student in this group can prove they were not even in Bahrain during the demonstrations. They have also been banned from enrolling in other universities in Bahrain and placed on ‘unofficial blacklists’, effectively ending their academic future in Bahrain.
- On 2nd August Jaleela went on hunger strike along with Rula Al Safar (the President of the Bahrain Nursing Society), in protest at their illegitimate detention.
- The Bahrain Teachers’ Union has been dissolved and a new one put in place with teachers ‘more amenable to the regime’.
- A 20-year-old student teacher at the Bahrain University, Ayat al-Gormezi, was imprisoned and tortured by the Bahraini security forces for nine days after reading a pro-democratic poem on Pearl Roundabout in March this year. Her case became high profile, and international media support has helped lead to her release. By taking action we can give other victims of the current persecution a public voice.
Give a voice to Bahraini teachers and students and take action nowSend your message to the King of Bahrain, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Education demanding an immediate end to the persecution and violation of rights of teachers and students in Bahrain. With your help the denial of rights to these individuals will not go unnoticed, as we demand immediate justice for those concerned.
You can also take further action here:
JOIN the Education International campaign Bahrain: Stop the Crackdown on teacher unionists
http://www.ei-ie.org/en/uaas/uaa_details/28WRITE independently to the King of Bahrain, the Prime Minister and the Education Minister:
His Majesty Shaikh Hamad bin ‘Issa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain P.O. Box 555, Rifa’a Palace, al-Manama, Bahrain, Fax: 973 17664587
Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Prime Minister Fax: 973 175 33033; 973 175 32839
Dr Majid Bin Ali Al-Naimi (Minister of Education)
Fax: 973 1768 0161 or 973 1768 4493
Minister@moe.gov.bh, Akhbar-alterbia@maktoob.com, Moe@moe.gov.bh
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