The Bahrain Thirteen () are thirteen Bahraini opposition leaders, rights activists, bloggers and Shia clerics arrested between 17 March and 9 April 2011 in connection with their role in the national uprising. In June 2011, they were tried by a special military court, the National Safety Court, and convicted of "setting up terror groups to topple the royal regime and change the constitution"; they received sentences ranging from two years to life in prison. A military appeal court upheld the sentences in September. The trial was "one of the most prominent" before the National Safety Court. A retrial in a civilian court was held in April 2012 but the accused were not released from prison. The sentences were upheld again on 4 September 2012. On 7 January 2013, the defendants lost their last chance of appeal when the Court of Cassation, Bahrain's top court upheld the sentences.
The thirteen are Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, Abdulhadi al-Mukhodher, Abduljalil al-Miqdad, Abduljalil al-Singace, Abdulla al-Mahroos, Abdulwahab Hussain, Hasan Mushaima, Ibrahim Sharif, Mohamed Habib al-Miqdad, Mohamed Hasan Jawad, Mohamed Ismail, Sa’eed al-Nuri and Salah al-Khawaja. They were originally twenty-one, but seven were tried in absentia and one was released in April 2012. The thirteen became popular heroes in Bahrain, and analysts speculated that the government was concerned that their release might re-energize the protest movement and frustrate government supporters who oppose any royal pardons.
The trial, conviction and sentencing of the Bahrain Thirteen drew expressions of concern from European Union, Denmark, France, Ireland, United Kingdom and United States, and international organizations including the United Nations, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Reporters Without Borders, Committee to Protect Journalists and Human Rights First. The government of Bahrain maintained that trials were fair. The Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI), an independent inquiry commissioned by the King of Bahrain, concluded in November 2011 that there had been a discernible pattern of mistreatment to the defendants while in prison.
Background
In February 2011 the Bahraini authorities sought to repress pro-democracy protests around the Pearl Roundabout, a traffic circle near the financial district in Bahrain's capital Manama (part of the wider Arab Spring movement). On 17 February, in an attack by police that subsequently became known as Bloody Thursday; four protesters died and more than 300 were injured. Protests involving up to one fifth of the population continued over the next monthMichael Slackman (25 February 2012). "Protesters in Bahrain Demand More Changes". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 June 2012. until the government called in Gulf Cooperation Council troops and police and declared a three-month state of emergency. Despite the brutal crack-down that followed,Law, Bill (6 April 2011). "Police Brutality Turns Bahrain Into 'Island of Fear'. Crossing Continents (via BBC News). Retrieved 15 April 2011.Cockburn, Patrick (18 March 2011). "The Footage That Reveals the Brutal Truth About Bahrain's Crackdown – Seven Protest Leaders Arrested as Video Clip Highlights Regime's Ruthless Grip on Power". The Independent. Retrieved 15 April 2011. smaller-scale protests and clashes continued, mostly outside Manama's business districts. By April 2012, more than 80 people had died during the uprising.Gregg Carlstrom (23 April 2012). "Bahrain court delays ruling in activists case". Al Jazeera English. Retrieved 14 June 2012.
Naming
Amnesty International coined the name "Bahrain 13" to refer to the men, which was later adopted by some media sources.Justin Cremer (4 September 2012). "Al-Khawaja's life sentence is upheld by Bahrain court". The Copenhagen Post. Retrieved 6 September 2012. Their case is known locally as the Case of Icons () and the Group of 21 (). They were originally twenty-one, but seven were tried in absentia and one was released in April 2012.Andrew Hammond. "Bahrain delays verdict in protest leaders' retrial". Reuters. 14 August 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2012. The seven tried in absentia were either hiding or outside the country.
Role in the Bahraini uprising
The Bahrain Thirteen played an important role in mobilizing the public opinion against the government, organizing protests and shaping political demands. Some of the group were already in detention when the uprising began, having been arrested in the Manama incident the previous August, and were released on 22 February 2011. Abdulwahab Hussain and Hassan Mushaima, leaders of opposition parties Al Wafa' and Haq Movement respectively, were among the leaders of the 1990s uprising in Bahrain."Wafa': A new Shia rejectionist movement - Passed to the Telegraph by WikiLeaks". The Daily Telegraph. 18 February 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2012.
Mushaima was a leading member in Al Wefaq opposition group until resigning in 2005 due to their decision to run in 2006 parliamentary election. He then founded the Haq Movement. In 2010, the London-based activist was sentenced in absentia over an alleged plot to overthrow the government, however the charges were dropped in February 2011 as a part of government concessions to the opposition. This allowed Mushaima to return to Bahrain on 26 February and join the protest movement. Abduljalil al-Singace, a blogger and once the chair of University of Bahrain Engineering Department followed Mushaima's path; he resigned from his position in Al Wefaq as public relations chief and joined Haq in 2005 as the head of human rights department."Updates: Harsh sentences to 21 prominent oppositional leaders and Human Rights defenders" . Bahrain Centre for Human Rights. 10 July 2011. Retrieved 24 August 2012. He was among the arrested in August 2010 and joined the uprising when he was released on 22 February. The Haq Movement supported protest plans.
Abdulwahab Hussain was also a member of Al Wefaq who resigned in 2005. Unlike Mushaima and al-Singace, Hussain left politics in 2005. He returned in 2009 when he co-founded Al Wafa' opposition group and became its official spokesperson. He played a bigger role in the uprising; he was not arrested when the uprising began nor was he outside the country. Hussain led the first demonstration in the uprising in the early hours of 14 February. "عبدالوهاب حسين ..رجل وقيام ثورة". Islam Times. 9 February 2012. Retrieved 25 May 2012. He is also credited with suggesting autonomous action and total decentralization of the protest movement which was adopted by February 14 Youth Coalition, the group behind the call for an uprising in order to avoid getting infiltrated by government.
Abduljalil al-Miqdad is a prominent Shia and political activist, and a co-founder of Al Wafa'. He resigned from the Bahrain Ulama Council in 2005. The relationship between al-Miqdad and Al Wafa' is comparable to that of Isa Qassim and Al Wefaq; its unofficial spiritual leader. Sa'eed al-Nori is a religious, political activist and vocal critic of the government, and member of Al Wafa'. He was among the arrested in August 2010. Mohamed Ismail is a political activist with close relations to Abdulwahab Hussain.
In March 2011, Haq, Al Wafa' and Bahrain Freedom Movement formed a "Coalition for a [Bahraini] Republic",CNN wire staff (6 October 2011). "Bahrain announces new trial for convicted medics". CNN. Retrieved 25 May 2012 calling for the downfall of the current regime by escalation of peaceful protests and the establishment of a democratic republic. While they accepted a western-style constitutional monarchy in principle, saying it was "not very different from a republic", they doubted the regime would voluntarily implement such a radical change and argued that toppling it was unavoidable. The newly found coalition supported a controversial, yet peaceful protest heading to the Royal Court in Riffa.Frederik Richter and Lin Noueihed (11 March 2011). "Bahrain police block march on royal palace". Reuters. Retrieved 30 August 2012. The rally ended in chaos after it was dispersed by security forces and "pro-government Sunni vigilantes"."Bahrain protesters march on palace as Gates visits". Associated Press (The Washington Post). 12 March 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2012.
Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, described by the Index on Censorship as one of the best-known human rights activists in the world, is the co-founder of the Bahrain Centre for Human RightsBrian Dooley (20 June 2012). "Playing cat and mouse with Bahrain’s political prisoners" . Index on Censorship. Retrieved 24 August 2012. and a vocal critic of the government. Al-Khawaja was arrested in 2004"Bahrain: Activist Jailed After Criticizing Prime Minister". Human Rights Watch. 28 September 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2011. and 2007, and reportedly beaten in 2005 over his opposition activities. He holds Danish and Bahraini dual citizenship. His role in the uprising was much less; his activities were limited to "organising peaceful awareness-raising and human rights education". He said he had intentionally kept himself away from the Pearl Roundabout in order to avoid "giv[ing] the authorities any reason to arrest" him. Salah al-Khawaja is a former member of Islamic Action Society (Amal) and brother of Abdulhadi al-Khawaja. During the uprising, he sought to document events and contact international media.
Ibrahim Sharif is an opposition leader and president of the secular, leftist, cross-sectarian National Democratic Action Society (Wa'ad). Wa'ad is allied with Al Wefaq opposition group. They organized many protests calling for an elected government and a constitutional monarchy. Sharif is the only Sunni member of Bahrain Thirteen, the rest being Shia. His Sunni identity undermines the attempts of government of Bahrain to visualize the protest movement as a sectarian and pro-Iranian plot, and shows that it has support from parts of the Sunni community. Ten days before the uprising, Sharif demanded "local reform" in a rally in solidarity with the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, however Wa'ad only announced a day before the protests that it supported "the principle of the right of the youth to demonstrate peacefully".
Mohamed Habib al-Miqdad -cousin of Abduljalil al-Miqdad- is a prominent religious and political leader, president of al-Zahraa Society for Orphans and holds Bahraini and Swedish dual citizenship. Al-Miqdad is also a vocal critic of the government. Abdulla al-Mahroos is a religious and political activist, vice president of al-Zahraa Society for Orphans and a vocal critic of the government. Abdulhadi al-Mukhodher is a Shia cleric. Mohamed Hasan Jawad is a rights activist. He is also an uncle of Nabeel Rajab, a Bahraini opposition leader, and a father of Hussain Jawad, a prominent human rights defender, arrested in February 2015. All of the four (Mohamed Habib al-Miqdad, Abdulla al-Mahroos, Abdulhadi al-Mukhodher and Mohamed Hasan Jawad) were among the arrested in August 2010.
Arrests
The arrests of the Bahrain Thirteen took place between 17 March 2011 and 9 April,"Urgent action: Verdict expected for 13 opposition activists" . Amnesty International. 7 August 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2012. due to their role in the uprising.Kindah Shair (4 September 2012). "Bahrain court upholds verdicts against group accused of coup attempt". CNN. Retrieved 4 September 2012. The first to be arrested were Abdulhadi al-Mukhodher, Abduljalil al-Singace, Abdulwahab Hussain, Ibrahim Sharif, Hassan Mushaima and Saeed al-Nuri,"Bahrain: Protest Leaders Arbitrarily Detained". Human Rights Watch. 18 March 2011. Retrieved 25 August 2012. and the last was Abdulhadi al-Khawaja. Most were arrested by security forces during the night. According to the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, no warrants were shown and many of the detainees were beaten during their arrest. They were held in al-Qurain military prison and on 28 November they were transferred to Jaw prison.
Torture