The ICJ intervened today with His Highness Sheikh Issa Bin Salman AI-Khalifa, expressing its deep concern over the continued detention of Judge Abdul Amir AI-Jamri.
Judge Abdul Amir AI-Jamri, a former member of the dissolved National Assembly and a judge of the Bahrain courts, was suspended from duty in July 1988. He was then arrested on 1 April 1995 and subsequently released again on 21 January 1996 and remains in detention without charge or trial to this date. His detention seems to be related to the fact that he supported pro-democracy petitions calling mainly for the restoration of the National Assembly and all constitutional provisions relating to parliamentary life.
The ICJ considers that the arrest and detention of Judge AI-Jamri contravene Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees the right to freedom of opinion and expression as well as Article 9, which prohibits the arbitrary arrest or detention of a person. They also violate Article 10, which provides for the right of each person to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations.
The ICJ believes that no person shall be deprived of his freedom without being charged with a criminal offense. Judge Abdul Amir AI-Jamri has been detained without ever being charged of any crime and he has never had the opportunity to defend himself in a fair and public trial. Since his detention, he was kept in solitary confinement without access to his family until September 1996, and to date he has been denied access to a lawyer.
The ICJ urges you to join its intervention, requesting that Judge Abdul Amir AI-Jamri be released or at least tried by a court which provides the essential guarantees of fairness, independence and impartiality.
Please write to:
His Highness Shaikh Issa Bin Salman AI-Khalifa
Office of His Highness the Amir
P.O. Box 555
The Amiri Court
Rifa’a Palace
Bahrain