Abdul Ghani Al Kanja
Cases- Location of case in SG report
- 2011-015-003
- Relevant SG report
- Year of the report
- 2011
- From Country
- Country Geolocation
Latitude: 26.0667
Longitude: 50.5577
- Country Geolocation (linked Cases)
- Bahrain
- From Region
- UN body that raised the case prior to the SG report
- UN Special Procedures: Thematic
- Dates of prior UN action
- 22 March 2011
- Type of record
- Named individual
- Gender
- Male
- Was the victim a foreign national?
- No
- Was the victim a minor?
- No
- Individual's/organization's activity
Spokesperson for the Bahraini National Committee for Martyrs and Victims of Torture
- Type of rights defended
- Civil/political rights
- Was the victim a civil servant or member of the security forces or of the judiciary?
- No
- Reported trigger of reprisal
On 15 August 2010, Mr. Al Kanja was arrested and detained in Bahrain upon his return from London, where he and Mr. Al Singace had addressed the House of Lords on torture in Bahrain.
- Engagement with UN body
- UN Treaty Bodies: CAT
- UN Human Rights Council: UN Human Rights Council - General
- Unclear
- Dates of engagement
- Unclear
- Type of attempted engagement
- Unclear
- Dates of mentioned reprisals
- 15 August 2010
- Reprisal information
On 15 August 2010, Mr. Al Kanja was arrested and detained in Bahrain upon his return from London, where he and Mr. Al Singace had addressed the House of Lords on torture in Bahrain.
- Types of reprisals suffered
- Detention/Imprisonment: Detention/Imprisonment - General
- Physical attack: Torture/Cruel, inhuman, degrading treatment
- Charge/Investigation/Prosecution: Trial
- Alleged/likely perpetrators
- State actors
- Was the reprisal based on new legislation?
- No
- Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?
- No
- Government response dates
- 26 May 2011
- Government response content
Government indicated that Mr. Al Kanja, who had been reportedly involved in the commission of crimes against the security of Bahrain, had to date not been arrested, although the relevant judicial authorities had issued a warrant for his arrest.
- Is the country cited for a "pattern of reprisal" in the context of this case?
- No
- Is a pattern of reprisals mentioned otherwise in the context of this case?
- No
- Does the report cite "self-censorship" as an issue in the context of this case?
- No
- How many times has the case been followed up in subsequent SG reports?
- 1
- In which SG report was this case followed up on? 0
- 2012
- Follow up information provided in SG report 0
- According to information received, the National Safety Court (a military court) sentenced Mr. Al-Khawaja, Mr. Al-Singace, Mr. Mushaima and Mr. Ghani Al-Kanja to life imprisonment on 22 June 2011. The Government reportedly considered that these human rights defenders formed part of a “terrorist cell”. The same defenders were referred to in several urgent appeals sent by special procedures, notably a communication of 5 August 2011 expressing concern in relation to their prosecution.13
- Followup Trends 0
- Deterioration/further reprisals
- Did the government respond? 0
- No
- Was this case followed up by a UN body? 0
- UN Special Procedures: Thematic