King George 'Bin Isa Al-Khalifa' III

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In all fairness of an opposing view, see BooMan’s report on Obama foreign policy: We Can’t Always Be Good Guys.

MANAMA – BAHRAIN

(Embassy of the United States – Human Rights Report) Bahrain is a monarchy with a population of approximately 1,050,000, including approximately 530,000 who are citizens. King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa is the head of state and all branches of government. The king appoints a cabinet of ministers; approximately half are members of the minority Sunni Al-Khalifa ruling family.

Citizens did not have the right to change their government. The government restricted civil liberties, including freedoms of speech, press, assembly, association, and some religious practices. Domestic violence against women and children persisted, as did discrimination on the basis of gender, religion, nationality, and sect, especially against the Shia majority population. Trafficking in persons and restrictions on the rights of foreign resident workers remained problems.

Following December 2007 protests, security forces arrested and detained dozens of protestors in the Adliya jail. Some detainees reported that judicial interrogators beat and electrocuted them in prison; officials denied the allegations of abuse.

Prisons and detention center conditions generally met international standards, although the government did not permit any independent inspections by human rights observers. Throughout the year some detainees alleged that pretrial detention facility guards physically abused them, a charge the government denied. The country’s Red Crescent Society officials reported that ICRC officials had not visited prisons since the release of all political prisoners in 2000.
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is responsible for public security. The MOI controls the public security force and other specialized security units that are responsible for maintaining internal order. The Bahrain Defense Force (BDF) is responsible for defending against external threats and provides internal security. The security forces were generally effective in maintaining internal order. A widespread lack of transparency made corruption in the security services difficult to assess.
The constitution provides for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial independence in practice. According to the constitution, the king appoints all judges by royal decree. The king also serves as chairman of the supreme judicial council, the body responsible for supervising the work of the courts and the public prosecutor.
The Constitutional Court provides final and binding ruling on the constitutionality of laws and statutes. The court’s membership consists of a president and six members, all appointed by the king to nine-year terms that may not be abridged.
The constitution provides for freedom of speech and press “provided that the fundamenatal beliefs of Islamic doctrine are not infringed, the unity of the people is not prejudiced, and discord or sectarianism is not aroused.” Freedom of press is also subject to applicable press laws. Both censorship and self-censorship took place.
The government did not own any print media, but the Ministry of Culture and Information (MOCI) exercised considerable control over local privately owned print media. The government owned and operated all radio and television stations and vetted the selection of the country’s Al-Jazeera correspondent.
Government censorship occurred. MOCI representatives actively monitored and blocked local stories on sensitive matters, especially those related to sectarianism and national security or criticism of the royal family, the Saudi royal family, and judges. Journalists also practiced widespread self-censorship. According to some members of the media, government officials contacted editors directly and asked them to stop writing about certain subjects or asked them not to publish a press release or a story.
The constitution provides for the right of free assembly, but the law restricts the exercise of this right, and security forces intervened in some demonstrations during the year.
The constitution states that Islam is the official religion and that Shari’a is a principal source for legislation. The constitution provides for freedom of conscience, the inviolability of worship, and the freedom to perform religious rites and hold religious parades and meetings, in accordance with the customs and laws of the country; however, the government placed some limits on the exercise of these rights.
Government and societal discrimination against the majority Shia population remained a problem. Sunnis received preference for employment in sensitive government positions and in the managerial ranks of the civil service. The defense and internal security forces were also predominantly Sunni, and few Shia members attained high-ranking positions. During the year fewer than one percent of new recruits in the armed forces were Shia; however, the MOI increased efforts to recruit Shia into unarmed security agencies such as traffic and community police. In the private sector, Shia tended to work in lower-paid, less-skilled jobs.
The constitution provides for equality, equal opportunity, and the right to medical care, welfare, education, property, capital, and work for all citizens. These rights were protected unevenly, depending on an individual’s social status, sect, or gender.
Rape is illegal; however, the law does not address spousal rape. Rape was not a major problem in the country. The press reported cases of men arrested for the crime, including a few cases in which fathers of rape victims sought lighter sentences for perpetrators.
Sexual harassment is prohibited by law but remained a widespread problem for women, especially foreigners working as domestics and in other low-level service jobs. The press reported a number of cases of men arrested for sexually harassing women. Article 350 stipulates penalties of imprisonment of up to one year or a fine of 100 dinars ($265) for committing an “act of indecency with a female.”
The law prohibits trafficking in persons for all purposes, in line with the 2000 UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, which the country ratified in 2004. However, trafficking in persons continued to be a significant problem.
The country was a destination for persons trafficked from Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Horn of Africa, and East European and Central Asian states. Reports also indicated the country was a transit point for workers from these regions to Europe. Some victims were trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation, but victims were most commonly trafficked for unskilled construction and domestic labor.

LIVING UNDER A MONARCHY FOR 200 YEARS

For two hundred years there had been no redistribution of seats, and many old towns, known as “rotten boroughs,” which had dwindled to almost nothing, were still represented, while growing cities had no representation.