Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards

Bahrain’s crackdown on human rights defenders continued today with the arrest of another prominent figure, Naji Fateel. The arrest is the latest in a string of recent events calling into question the Kingdom’s claims of reform and progress.  On 2 May 2013 at dawn, police arrested human rights defender Naji Fateel at his home in the village in north-west Bahrain. He is being held without formal charges at a location which is still unknown. Naji Fateel is a board member of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights and a blogger who has been active in reporting human rights violations in Bahrain. The human rights defender gives daily speeches during marches in villages in which he discusses the importance of documenting violations and calls for people to form monitoring committees. He also publishes his opinion twice daily on his twitter account.  “Naji Fateel was taken from his home in Bani Jamra at dawn. We hear he is being held without charge at an unknown location,” said Human Rights First’s Brian Dooley. Leading Bahrain human rights activists including Nabeel Rajab, Zainab al Khawaja and Abdulhadi Al Khawaja remain in prison in Bahrain, as do several medics sentenced after treating injured protestors.