Dr. Abdul Hameed Dashti, former Kuwaiti deputy and president of ICSFT

International Council Supporting Fair Trial and Human Rights President Dr Abdul Hameed Dashti, Lawyer, Human rights activist, former MP in Kuwait, chair of the Human Rights Commission of the Kuwaiti Parliament from June 2014 until October 2015, has been a subject of gradually escalating campaign of judicial harassment for the mere fact of exercising his freedom of opinion and expression through his critical opinion on regional matters pertaining to human rights and democracy. Following the lift of Dr Dashti’s parliamentary immunity, the criminal cases against him are piling up with the total number of jail terms reaching more than 46 years- the common denominator in all of these criminal cases is “criticizing Saudi Arabia and Bahrain”. All criminal cases are based on statements made by Dr. Dashti in the press and on social media criticizing Saudi, Bahrain and other allied GCC states violations of human rights and the principles and provisions international human rights instruments including Universal Declaration of Human Rights and ICCPR that guarantee the freedom of thought and expression.

The latest sentence for three years comes few days after Dr Dashti criticizes the Gulf States for the lack of democracy and vile human rights violations during the 34th Human Rights Council Session at UN Geneva.  During his speech at the UN Dr Dashti specifically spoke about, among other things, the government repression against human rights defenders in Bahrain, the Saudi led military operation and the massive violations of human rights resulting from it in Yemen, lack of democratic constitution and transition in Gulf States like Kuwait, the spreading of extremist ideologies by Saudi and its western allies distorting Islam, promoting sectarianism and supporting terrorists and the destabilization of neighbouring countries. As part of their advocacy engagement during the human rights council session, Dr Dashti and other prominent human rights experts have adopted the Geneva Declaration on Democratic Transition and Human Rights in the Gulf States that calls for rights reform and democratic transition which is a terrifying concept for Gulf States dictators and tyrants. Therefore it's no secret that the latest verdict for 3 years of jail time is part of the systemic and well-funded judicial harassment against Dr  Dashti to subvert the potentially transformative impact of the Geneva Declaration.

Dr Dashti is being unjustly punished simply for exercising his right to freedom of expression by calling for political and human rights reform. The charges against him are ludicrous and must be dropped immediately.

Once again freedom of speech and expression is proven to be an empty ideal in the Gulf States with governments’ like Saudi, Bahrain, and Kuwait’s ruthless determination to silence human rights defenders and crush all signs of dissent. Authorities’ from Saudi, Bahrain, and Kuwait have repeatedly sought to harass and intimidate Dr Dashti. Instead of wasting their time attempting to silence peaceful activists and critics, the authorities’ should be protecting and upholding human rights in their countries.

The persecution of Dr Abdul Hameed Dashti and other peaceful activists from the Gulf States is a clear evidence of the ongoing campaign against human rights and democracy by silencing all critical voices.

ICSFT denounces in the strongest terms all politically incentivized criminal prosecutions against Dr. Dashti, and calls on the UN to pressure Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain to put an end to such systematic targeting of human rights defenders for practicing their fundamental rights to free expression.