Amnesty warns that human rights activists in Yemen are under threat

Amal Basha, chairperson of the Sisters Arab Forum for Human Rights

Amnesty International yesterday reported that human rights activist Amal Basha, chairperson of the Sisters Arab Forum for Human Rights (SAFHR) in Yemen, has been warned to take extra precautions as she may be under threat from security forces.

Basha is said to be suspected by the Yemeni authorities of passing information to the UN Security Council, and thus internationalizing the country's situation. Basha denies the claim.

Amnesty writes that she "received a telephone warning via her office yesterday morning telling her not to leave her home and to take extra precautions."

Amnesty is calling for the Yemeni authorities to investigate this threat to the leading human rights activist and take steps to ensure her safety.

An excerpt from the Amnesty report:

UN Security Council members were briefed on Tuesday on the situation in Yemen by UN officials in a closed session. The Council called for restraint and dialogue in Yemen but failed to agree on a statement.

The Security Council met on a day when at least three more people were killed during ongoing protests in Yemen’s capital, Sana’a.

Yemeni Central Security forces attacked protesters with water cannons, tear gas, batons and live fire.

Protesters were said to have thrown rocks in response to the use of force by security forces.

Those shot dead by the security forces included Anis Ahmed Abdu Saeed al-Usaydi, a SAFHR employee aged 32. The others who died were named as Nasser Muhammed Hizam and Abdul Latif Muhammad Abdullah Muhammad Omar.

Between 50 and 60 other protestors are reported to have been injured, many with gunshot wounds, when security forces opened fire on a demonstration by tens of thousands of protesters in Sana’a.

President Ali Abdallah Saleh has ordered an investigation of the incident and directed the Ministry of Interior to arrest and bring to justice those involved, according to Yemeni state news agency reports.

At least 120 people have been killed in months of anti-government protests in Yemen.

Four female doctors on their way to attend to the injured at a field hospital in Sana’a were arrested by members of Yemeni security forces on Tuesday.

All four, Dr Lamis Muhammad Saeed Dhafer, Dr Tasnim Ali al-Wafi, Dr Hiyam al-Qadesi, and Dr Iman al-Amisi were released at around midnight after civil society organizations had threatened that they would march to the Presidential Palace if they were not released.

In a report entitled, Moment of Truth for Yemen , issued on 6 April 2011, Amnesty International called on the international community to play a more active role if Yemenis are to get accountability for the bloody killings.

Repression continues in Bahrain

Unconfirmed reports surfaced today that a female poet who recited her anti-government poems in Pearl Square had died after enduring torture. She remains missing.

Twenty-year-old Ayat al-Ghermezi was actively involved in the peaceful protests against Bahrain’s authoritarian government led by King Hamad bin Isa. When the government’s response to the demonstrations turned violent in mid March, security forces searched Ghermezi’s home and threatened her family until they revealed her whereabouts. She was arrested shortly afterwards. Her death was reported today, although it was later claimed that the news is a leak by the Bahrain government to discredit media. Bahrain is currently under a media blackout enforced by the government.

Bahrain’s government continues to abduct both female and male protesters and human rights activists. On Monday, six female teachers and several pupils were arrested at a school in Hamad. Teachers have gone on strike several times since the beginning of demonstrations in Bahrain on February 14, to show solidarity with the aims of the protest movements. The Education Ministry has responded by setting up a committee to take action against administration staff and teachers who are active in the protests and strikes. Security forces have further abducted medical staff from several medical centres. Human Rights Watch has estimated that at least 400 activists have gone missing since the beginning of the government crack-down on March 14.

Bahraini youth began a mass hunger strike on March 18 to show their rejection of the abuses of human rights currently underway in their country. They are following the example of Zainab Alkhawaja, daughter of human rights activist Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, who is now on her eighth day of hunger strike.

Bahrain’s government is receiving support from Saudi Arabian, Kuwaiti and United Arab Emirate forces in an attempt to quell pro-democracy uprisings. The response of the international community to the violence in Bahrain has been lukewarm in comparison to previous responses in countries such as Libya and Egypt. Hesitation over the situation in Bahrain is damaging the image of Western governments in some quarters of the Arab world, as the USA is associated by many with Saudi Arabia’s government.

Petitions asking the UN, EU, USA and UK governments to take a firmer stance to dissuade the government in Bahrain from violating human rights are operating online.

Through the peaceful and democratic process of letter-writing, you can bring your concern over the situation in Bahrain, especially in regard to the deaths of human rights activists and the detention of pregnant women and children, to the attention of decision-makers around the world. For more information about the human rights situation in Bahrain, visit Human Rights Watch.

United States of America: To find and contact your representative in the USA click here, or contact the White House here.

United Kingdom: To find and contact your MP in the UK click here, or to write to the Prime Minister click here.

Austria: To contact your representative in the Austrian Parliament click here.

EU: To contact your representative in the European Parliament, click here.

UN: Contact the UN General Assembly here.