On 2nd October 2004, the president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), Mr. Nabeel Rajab, met the public prosecutor, Sheikh Abdul Rahman Jaber Al Khalifa ( Member of the royal family ), at his office at 12 noon. During the meeting, Mr. Rajab demanded to visit the prisoner of conscience Mr. Abdul Hadi Al-Khawaja along with other human rights activists representing international human rights societies and accompanied by lawyers. In this regard, it is important to remark that many international human rights activists and lawyers have volunteered to visit and defend or monitor Mr. Al-Khuwaja case at the court. The public prosecutor adamantly turned down the request and refused to give access to any human rights activists or international lawyers to visit Mr. Al-Khuwaja or attend his court session.
Confusing messages from the Minister of Labour on reasons behind the dissolution of BCHR.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Labour & Social Affairs, Mr. Majeed Al-Alawi, is giving contradictory messages about the reason of dissolving BCHR. So far, no clear or formal reason has been given to the BCHR. Mr. Al-Alawi stated, in a public discussion which was covered by Al-Wasat newspaper on 3rd October 2004 (page 1), that the dissolution of BCHR was not based on what Mr. Al-Khuwaja had stated earlier in the symposium on poverty, but the dissolution was based on ‘insulting’ statements made by the President of BCHR, Nabeel Rajab after the symposium. The Minister did not mention what the ‘insulting’ statements were.

Minister of Labour is threatening to dissolve 80 more civil societies in Bahrain

At the same public discussion, According to Al-Wasat newspaper (3rd Oct 2004 p.1), the Minster of Labour an Social Affair threatened to dissolve 80 civil societies should they not have a location. He stated that his Ministry has written letters to 80 civil societies, asking them about their locations and either they have held their general meetings ; otherwise it would dissolve them all.

Rally in support of Abdul-Hadi & BCHR :