Dismissal of Students and Suspension of Scholarships
[bici] 1463: By 18 May, a total of 427 students had been expelled from University of Bahrain, 34 had been suspended and a further 7 had been issued with “final warnings”.
[bici] 1464: By 13 June, a total of 54 students had been expelled from Bahrain Polytechnic, 12 had been suspended for periods ranging from a semester to a year and a further five had been issued with “final warnings”.
[bici] 1464: The university expelled an additional 24 students for alleged criminal activities
[bici] 1466: Beginning in February 2011, a number of Bahraini students studying at universities abroad had their scholarships revoked. On 27 May, the MoE reinstated all 97 of them
[bici] 1470: Students were questioned about things they had written on social media sites and groups they had joined or expressed affinity with (“liked”) on Facebook
[bici] 1475: One Polytechnic student was investigated and later disciplined for writing “the transportation system in Bahrain sucks”. Another was disciplined for writing “all I need is my freedom” on his/her Facebook wall.
[bici] 1478: Letters of expulsion to Polytechnic students noted that students violated Law No. 27 of 2005 on education. However, this Law does not provide that students expressing political opinions or practicing in political activities be expelled
Findings and Conclusions
[bici] 1491: It is of particular concern that hundreds of students were initially dismissed from the university simply after being identified in photographs showing them participating in a demonstration at the university campus
[bici] 1492: Evidence provided by the university does not indicate in every case that wrongdoing had been clearly established
[bici] 1492: In respect of photographic evidence, the Commission did not see any photographs in the university’s investigative files that established that a particular student had participated in a violent, criminal or disruptive act
[bici] 1493: Records indicate that 400-500 students participated in the protests, 427 students were expelled. It seems implausible that such a high percentage were deemed culpable of acts of violence and destruction of university property
[bici] 1497: The universities often applied arbitrary and unclear standards for issuing determinations and taking disciplinary action
[bici] 1498: The universities took indiscriminate disciplinary action against students based on their involvement in the February/March demonstrations and thereby infringed on their right to free expressions, assembly and association
Recommendations
[bici] 1502: Reinstate all students who have not been been criminally charged with an act of violence
[bici] 1504: Adopt clear and fair standards for disciplinary measures against students and to ensure that they are applied in a fair and impartial manner
Allegations of Media Harassment
[bici] 1629: The Commission viewed a selection of material from the national television, radio and print media. Much of this material contained derogatory language and inflammatory coverage of events, and some may have been defamatory
[bici] 1631: No evidence was presented to the Commission to support allegation by State-controlled media outlets that Al-Wasat newspaper engaged in incitement to violence.
[bici] 1631: The Commission cannot conclude that there was any intention of malice in Al-Wasat’s publication of false and misleading news
[bici] 1632: The Commission accepts that Al-Wasat newspaper was attacked
[bici] 1633: The Commission find that the GoB exercised censorship over local media outlets and that this intensified in response to the events of February/March
[bici] 1633: The Commission received several complaints from journalists alleging that they were forced to portray the events in a certain light in order to retain their employment. The Commission considers these allegations to be credible
[bici] 1634: During February and March, the authorities attempted to restrict the freedom of expression and opinion of Bahraini journalists, photographers, bloggers and media personnel. This crackdown led to dismissals from employment, censorship of articles, arrests and detention of journalists and in some cases mistreatment in custody
[bici] 1635: The Commission finds that there was a tendency in the Bahraini media to defame protesters
[bici] 1636: The Commission considers such harassment (by Hareghum) to be a violation of a person’s right to privacy while also amounting to hate speech and incitement to violence
[bici] 1639: The GoB has not permanently shut down Twitter feeds such as Hareghum even though they produced material that international law requires to be prohibited and which is in fact prohibited under Bahrain law
[bici] 1640: It is clear that media in Bahrain is biased towards the GoB. Six of the seven daily newspapers are pro-government. Broadcasting service is State-controlled.
[bici] 1640: The lack of access to mainstream media creates frustration within opposition groups and results in these groups resorting to other media.
Recommendations
[bici] 1641: The Commission recommends that the GoB consider relaxing censorship and allowing the opposition greater access to television broadcast, radio broadcasts and print media
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