A statement of solidarity with the detained human rights activist, Mr. Nabeel Rajab, issued by a group of human rights defenders from various Gulf and Arab countries

A statement of solidarity with the detained human rights activist, Mr. Nabeel Rajab, president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), issued by a group of human rights defenders from various Gulf and Arab countries

We are a group of human rights defenders from various Gulf and Arab countries announcing our absolute solidarity with the human rights defender and the prisoner of conscience, Mr. Nabeel Rajab, Deputy Secretary-General of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), and the Director of the Gulf Center for Human Rights (GCHR), and whom one year has passed since his arrest for his opinion against the government, and for demanding justice and human rights on 9^thJuly 2012 after repeated arrests, ongoing investigations and judicial targeting.

Mr. Nabeel Rajab is a prominent human rights defender whom is well-known at both the international and local levels, and he became broadly recognizedduringthe past four years at least as a result of his international defense of human rights through the international human rights organizations,as he had a big role in standing with the victims whom rights were violated, and especially after the announcement of the state of national "emergency" in March 2011 which is after the protests Bahrain witnessed during that period.

We the human rights defenders believe that the human rights defender, Mr. Nabeel Rajab, is a prisoner of conscience and that the charges he is facingand which he got sentenced upon, are charges which relates to the freedom of opinion and expression which are guaranteed by the Bahraini Constitution,the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the international conventions which includes Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

And we believe that the continuing the imprisonment of Mr. Nabeel Rajab is a clear violation of the Bahraini Constitution, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Defenders, and the international conventions and treaties which were ratified by Bahrain.

Finally, we demand the Bahraini authorities to stop the sentence faced by Nabeel Rajab,drop all charges against him, and to release him immediately and unconditionally. We also call for the Bahraini authorities to respect the law, and for the effective application of the principles of human rights and values,​​and to open a horizon and aspace for the fundamental freedoms which its base is the freedom of opinion and expression.

The undersigned:

1. Mr. /MunthirAlHabib/ human rights activist, member of Kuwaiti Committee for Monitoring Violations (Kuwait)
2. Ms. /KhadeejaAlShamri/ human rights activist, member of Group 29 (Kuwait)
3. Mr. /NawafAlhndal/ human rights activist, member of White Peace Line (Kuwait)
4. Mr. /Mohammed Alajmi/ human rights activist and journalist (Kuwait)
5. Mr./Abdulla AlRifdi/ human rights activist, member of Kuwaiti Committee for Monitoring Violations (Kuwait)
6. Mr. /Habib AlSafar/ human rights activist, member of Kuwaiti Committee for Monitoring Violations (Kuwait)
7. Ms. /RanaAlSadoon/ human rights activist, member of Kuwaiti Committee for Monitoring Violations (Kuwait)
8. Mr. / AbdulrahmanAlwarhi/ human rights activist, member of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (Saudi Arabia)
9. Mr. / Ahmed AlGhareb/ human rights activist, member of Watan Center for Human Rights (Saudi Arabia)
10. Mr. / Ali Shaaban/ social and human rights activist, a member of the Gulf Centre for Monitoring Discrimination (Saudi Arabia)
11. Ms. / TufoolZahran/ human rights activist (Oman)
12. Mr. / HussainJawad/ human rights activist,  Chairman of the European-Bahraini Organization for Human Rights  (Bahrain)
13. Mr. / HussainRadhi/ human rights activist, a member of the Bahrain Human Rights Society (Bahrain)
14. Mr. / AhmedAlSaffar/ human rights activist, a member of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (Bahrain)
15. Mr. / SayedYousifAlMuhafdah/ human rights activist, head of Monitoring and Follow Up at the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (Bahrain)
16. Ms. / Zahra Mahdi / human rights activist, a member of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (Bahrain)
17. Ms. / EbtisamAlSayigh/ independent human rights activist (Bahrain)
18. Mr. / Mohammad AlMaskati/ human rights activist, president of the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (Bahrain)
19. Mr. / Mohammed Sultan / human rights activist, a member of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (Bahrain)
20. Ms. / NuhaHassan / human rights activist, a member of the Bahrain Human Rights Society (Bahrain)
21. Mr. / Mohammed Fadhil/ human rights activist, a member of the Bahraini Association for Human Rights (Bahrain)
22. Mr. / JalilYousif/ head of monitoring and follow-up at the Bahrain Human Rights Society (Bahrain)
23. Mr. /AbdulnabiAlekry  / president of Bahrain Transparency Society  (Bahrain)
24. Mr. / SayedHadiAlMousawi/ head of the Human Rights and Civil Liberties Unit at AlWifaq Society(Bahrain)
25. Ms. / EmanAlHubaishi/ independent human rights activist (Bahrain)
26. Ms. / AsmaaDarwish/ human rights activist, Head of Information & Media Relations in The European-Bahraini Organization for Human Rights (Bahrain)
27. Ms. / WalaaAlTaweel/ human rights activist, a member of the Qualification and Legal Assistance for Human Rights (Yemen)
28. Mr. / lawyer Ghazi AlSamaai/ president of the Activists Organization for Development and Human Rights (Yemen)
29. Ms. / EelaaAbdulaziz/ independent human rights activist (Yemen)
30. Ms. / Amani Ahmad / human rights activist, a member of Activists Organization for Development and Human Rights (Yemen)
31. Mr. / SaifAlhdi/ head of the monitoring and documentation unit at the  Yemni Transparency Association (Yemen)