Dr. Khalid Al-Shafi
“We were once proud that we did not have political detainees in the Gulf region. Today, however, we are the fiercest chasers of tweeters in the world”, said a Gulf politician, describing the state of freedom of expression and opinion in the region, which reflects the reality of a new phase that is different from the past.
This indicates that things here are moving towards more escalation as Arab movements have managed to raise the ceiling of political, constitutional, economic and social demands. All these have their impact on the situation in the GCC states and create a formidable challenge for these countries in many respects. The measures taken by these countries have been described as attempts to muzzle the opposition and restrict freedoms instead of keeping up with the Arab Spring, which is pushing towards more democracy.
Human Rights Watch, a body for monitoring the human rights situation across the world, has reported that persecution of political activists has recently increased in the Gulf region. The organisation also said that authorities in the GCC states have pursued, prosecuted and jailed activists who called for political reforms and freedom of the press.
CNN reported that there were more than 300 detainees who had made comments in social media in a GCC country that used to be described as an oasis of democracy.
In other GCC countries, tweeters are being arrested at airports, even during transit. This has led the head of a human rights body to call for having a separate law for electronic crimes, as is the case in many countries.
It is not acceptable to see someone who sent a text message, tweeted, or commented in the media to be convicted by a security court.
In fact it is not only limited to detention, but includes other violations, as the detainees are not allowed to contact their lawyers or to be visited by their families and friends, and no one knows about their legal status or psychological and physical condition.
Some detainees are kept in secret locations as if they have been kidnapped rather than detained. There are also attempts to extract confessions from suspects under torture. Local or international human rights associations and organisations are not allowed to visit them or know their condition.
“We were once proud that we did not have political detainees in the Gulf region. Today, however, we are the fiercest chasers of tweeters in the world”, said a Gulf politician, describing the state of freedom of expression and opinion in the region, which reflects the reality of a new phase that is different from the past.
This indicates that things here are moving towards more escalation as Arab movements have managed to raise the ceiling of political, constitutional, economic and social demands. All these have their impact on the situation in the GCC states and create a formidable challenge for these countries in many respects. The measures taken by these countries have been described as attempts to muzzle the opposition and restrict freedoms instead of keeping up with the Arab Spring, which is pushing towards more democracy.
Human Rights Watch, a body for monitoring the human rights situation across the world, has reported that persecution of political activists has recently increased in the Gulf region. The organisation also said that authorities in the GCC states have pursued, prosecuted and jailed activists who called for political reforms and freedom of the press.
CNN reported that there were more than 300 detainees who had made comments in social media in a GCC country that used to be described as an oasis of democracy.
In other GCC countries, tweeters are being arrested at airports, even during transit. This has led the head of a human rights body to call for having a separate law for electronic crimes, as is the case in many countries.
It is not acceptable to see someone who sent a text message, tweeted, or commented in the media to be convicted by a security court.
In fact it is not only limited to detention, but includes other violations, as the detainees are not allowed to contact their lawyers or to be visited by their families and friends, and no one knows about their legal status or psychological and physical condition.
Some detainees are kept in secret locations as if they have been kidnapped rather than detained. There are also attempts to extract confessions from suspects under torture. Local or international human rights associations and organisations are not allowed to visit them or know their condition.
