Bahraini detainees continue to suffer

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When no charges were pressed against them and they were finally freed, the Bahrainis returned home with the hope of piecing their lives together, under the care of their families, friends and the government.

But the efforts have failed.

For no fault of theirs, in their own country, the Bahrainis are facing a different kind of ordeal – the government apathy towards their rehabilitation as well as integration into the mainstream.
Adel Kamal, Shaikh Salman Al Khalifa, Abdullah Majid Al Nuaimi, Salah Al Beloushi, Juma Al Dossary and Isa Al Murbati do not feel home in their own home country.

"My ordeal is not over yet. I need to earn for my family. But I cannot find a job. I have no CPR, no passport and my movement is restricted as a result. I want to go for Hajj," Al Murbati, the last of the detainees to return from Camp Delta, tells the Tribune.

Adel Kamal is equally frustrated. "I was released in 2005. But we are still criminals for the government. Nobody in our own society is ready to accept us. There are no jobs, no houses, no regular income. We feel cheated. We are not guilty. We are normal people and deserve to live a normal life."

National Justice Movement (NJM) chief and lawyer Abdulla Hashim says Al Murbati and the other detainees have been deprived of their housing, job, medical and other rights.

"The solution is that we sit with the authorities and discuss the issue. We need to impress on the government to do something for these former detainees."

Hashim says they are coordinating with international organisations on the six Bahrainis’ case. "At this stage all I can say is that everything is possible. We are in talks to take up the case with the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva," he said.

US officials had alleged that the Bahrainis were recruiting personnel for Al Qaeda, fighting for the Taliban in Afghanistan and had joined hands with the separatist group, Abu Sayyaf, in the Philippines.
The Bahrainis denied the accusations.

NJM and a group of lawyers are considering the possibility of filing a case in US court for the unfair detention of the six men. This follows a US Supreme Court decision to allow prisoners to contest their detention in US civilian courts.

Nabeel Rajab from the defunct Bahrain Centre for Human Rights says they are coordinating with the families for compensation for six years of detention in Camp Delta without trial.
Lawyer Joshua Colangelo Bryan told Rajab that Juma Al Dossary received financial assistance like all former Saudi detainees to rebuild his life.

"We would call on the government and the people to help the Bahrainis who have suffered a lot," Bryan said in an e-mail to Rajab.

According to the US Department of Defence, more than 500 detainees have been released since 2002 and about 270 are still at the Bay.

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