International Solidarity Network
26 June 2007
His Majesty Shaikh Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa
Office of His Majesty the King
Rifa’a Palace
Kingdom of Bahrain
Subject: The ruling of the Sharia Court against Ms. Suad Mohammed Fathalla
Your Majesty:
I am writing to you from the international coordination office of Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML) solidarity network in response to the information received by the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) and the Women’s Petition Committee regarding Ms. Suad Mohammed Fathalla. We have been following the case of Ms. Fathalla and are aware of the harassment campaign she has endured since speaking out against the court system in public for a. According to the BCHR, following a Shari’a Court ruling on 20 June 2007, Ms. Fathalla has now lost custody of her three children and even the right to remain in her place of residence. We are gravely concerned about the safety and well being of Ms. Fathalla in addition to the precedent being set by quelling the individual’s freedom of expression and the lack of transparent judicial process evident in this matter.
In light of the Kingdom of Bahrain’s accession to the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 2002, we sincerely hope that Your Majesty will pay due attention to the ongoing commitment of the Bahraini government to implement the codification of family law and the reform of Shari’a Courts in Bahrain.
I support the Bahrain Center for Human Rights and the Women’s Petition Committee in calling on Bahraini officials to meet the following demands:
1) For the ruling to be overturned in the interests of Ms Fathalla’s children, who have said in the past that they wish to live with their mother and to ensure that they remain in her custody.
2) For the government to stop using the Public Prosecution and Shari’a Courts as pressure tools to silence victims and human rights activists.
3) For the Kingdom of Bahrain to work towards developing an independent and honest judiciary that can be trusted to protect victims.
4) For the Interior Ministry to take responsibility for dealing with their employee, Ms Fathalla’s ex-husband, who has so far acted with impunity because of his position.
We trust your officials will acknowledge these demands and hasten their implementation so as to protect Ms. Fathalla from further harassment and to ensure the full realization of her human rights.
Yours sincerely,
Aisha Lee Shaheed
WLUML
International Coordination Office