US embassy cable - 04MANAMA1482

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 001482 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARPI 
LONDON FOR ETHAN GOLDRICH 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/25/2014 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, KDEM, KJUS, BA 
SUBJECT: HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST ARRESTED FOR "INSTIGATING 
HATRED" 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe for 
reasons 1.4(b) and (d). 
 
1.  (C)  SUMMARY.  Two controversial speeches delivered at 
the Al Aruba Club this past weekend created a political storm 
in Bahrain, resulting in the closure of the club and the 
arrest of a prominent human rights activist.  The first 
speech was delivered by an Iraqi Baathist who claimed that 
Kuwait was still part of a Iraq.  Both the King and MFA 
officials told us that the speech could harm relations with 
its GCC neighbor and led to GOB's decision to close the club. 
 A day later, former Executive Director of Bahrain Centre for 
Human Rights (BCHR) delivered a speech in which he criticized 
the Prime Minister's stewardship of the national economy. 
This speech led to his arrest on charges of public incitement 
against the regime and spreading rumors that could disrupt 
national security.  Although the GOB insists that the Aruba 
Club was closed due to the damage caused by the Baathist's 
speech, the GOB closed the club only after direct criticism 
of the Prime Minister.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  (C)  On September 25 at 10:30 p.m. the police summoned 
former BCHR Executive Director Abdulhadi Al Khawaja to the 
Nabeeh Saleh police station for questioning.  Upon arrival at 
the station he was arrested and detained.  A close friend of 
Al Khawaja, Adel Al Abbasi told PolOff on September 25 that 
Al Khawaja was allowed a telephone call to his family but he 
had no access to legal counsel.  Al Khawaja's wife informed 
BCHR board members that Al Khawaja could be detained up to 45 
days.  Concerned citizens and BCHR volunteers quickly 
gathered outside the police station. 
 
3.  (C)  BCHR President Nabeel Rajab told EmbOffs on 
September 26 that the police transferred Al Khawaja to Howdh 
Aljaf, a former detention center in Muharraq (near Bahrain 
International Airport).  Upon his arrival at the center, Al 
Khawaja called his wife to announce that he was going on a 
hunger strike.  According to Rajab, authorities arrested Al 
Khawaja for criticizing the Prime Minister for contributing 
to the current level of poverty in the country.  Al Khawaja 
made his remarks during the BCHR's symposium held at the Al 
Aruba Club on September 24.  BCHR has since launched an 
e-mail campaign for the release of Al Khawaja and in support 
of freedom of expression. 
 
4.  (C)  On September 26, 50 supporters of Al Khawaja 
demonstrated outside the Public Prosecutor's Office.  Al 
Khawaja's wife went to the detention center to provide him 
with a change of clothing but was denied entrance to the 
facility.  On September 25, Bahrain's authority over clubs, 
the General Organization for Youth and Sports (GOYS) closed 
the Al Aruba Club for 45 days.  In its September 26 press 
release, the GOYS stated that the Al Aruba Club had been 
guilty of repeated administrative violations. 
 
5.  (C)  On September 26, MFA Minister of State Mohammed 
Abdul Ghaffar requested a meeting with the Ambassador to 
discuss the closure of the Al Aruba Club.  The Minister 
attributed the club's closure to a September 23 presentation 
given by Iraqi Baathist Aouni Al Kalamji who said that Kuwait 
rightfully was a part of Iraq. Shortly after his speech, Al 
Kalamji left Bahrain.  The Minister elaborated that Al 
Kalamji is a well-known Baathist who had fled Iraq in the 
1990s in opposition to Saddam, but had returned to Iraq a 
couple of years before the recent Iraq war and had been 
welcomed by the Saddam government. 
 
6.  (C)  Abdul Ghaffar explained that there were two problems 
with Al Kalamji's remarks.  First, he crossed the line of 
acceptability in Bahrain by so blatantly offending the 
Kuwaitis and harming relations between the two countries. 
(Abdul Ghaffar noted that he met with the Kuwaiti Ambassador 
the day before to express his regret.)   Second, the Al Aruba 
Club, which is not registered as a political society, crossed 
the line by sponsoring a speaker who delivered such a 
political message. The club violated the societies law under 
which it was established, and was therefore punished. The 
Minister stressed that this measure would have no impact on 
the democratization process. The Al Aruba Club broke the law 
and the GOB enforced it. 
 
7.  (C)  When the Ambassador asked about BCHR's September 24 
symposium on poverty at the Al Aruba Club and the subsequent 
arrest of Al Khawaja, the Minister seemed uninformed about 
this incident and quickly made a phone call to get details. 
After receiving a brief report, the Minister clarified that 
Al Khawaja had been arrested for "instigating hatred."  He 
had no further details.  The Ambassador cautioned that any 
move against a human rights figure would invite USG scrutiny 
and gives the Al Aruba Club case an added human rights 
dimension as well. 
8.  (C)  In a September 27 meeting with General Abizaid and 
the Ambassador, the King said he closed the Aruba Club 
because it was a base for Baathists.  The King stated that 
the club had been under surveillance for some time and the 
GOB had been waiting for club management to take a misstep. 
He said he would not allow platforms that would hurt the 
interests of Bahrain's neighbors and friends.  He was 
concerned about sectarianism in Bahrain, and did not want 
either extremist Sunni or Shi'a ideologies to spread, saying 
it would "plant the roots of a civil war."  It was time for 
Bahrain to say "no" to demagogues. 
 
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Comment 
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9.  (C) We believe the real reason Al Khawaja was arrested is 
his explicit criticism of the Prime Minister's stewardship of 
the national economy.  In these early stages of political and 
economic reform, previously understood red lines have become 
blurred, and many civil society activists are anxious to push 
the limits.  With its tough response, the GOB has clearly 
signaled that personal attacks on the Prime Minister, a 
leading member of Bahrain's royal family and the King's 
uncle, would not be tolerated. 
 
10.  (C) Just one day before Al Khawaja's seminar on poverty, 
the Crown Prince presided over a splashy conference on 
proposed labor reform in the Kingdom.  Ministers, business 
people, regional officials, and international experts 
attended and participated in the event, which was broadcast 
live on Bahraini television.  Its message of the need for 
economic reform and international competitiveness is not at 
all that different from Al Khawaja's criticism of the 
economy.  But Al Khawaja's personalization of the issue 
vis-a-vis the Prime Minister, and his exploration of the 
sectarian aspects of poverty (i.e. Bahrain's majority Shi'a 
are much poorer than its minority Sunni), went too far in the 
GOB's view. 
MONROE