VZCZCXRO3356
PP RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHDIR
DE RUEHMK #0283 1331428
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 131428Z MAY 09
FM AMEMBASSY MANAMA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8671
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHBVAKS/COMUSNAVCENT  PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY

UNCLAS MANAMA 000283 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR DRL AND NEA/ARP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM KWMN BA
SUBJECT: INDEPENDENT NGO PAYS FIRST VISIT TO WOMEN'S PRISON 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: The Bahrain Human Rights Society (BHRS) made 
a first-of-its-kind visit to Bahrain's women's prison on May 
¶11.  BHRS representatives met privately with female prisoners 
and examined the facility over the course of several hours. 
BHRS will issue a report on conditions at the prison in June. 
 End summary. 
 
¶2. (U) BHRS reached agreement with Interior Minister Rashid 
bin Abdullah Al Khalifa in April to allow the group to 
inspect conditions at Bahrain's only women's prison.  Local 
press reported on May 12 that 10 BHRS representatives visited 
the Isa Town Detention Center the previous day and met 
privately with 58 inmates selected at random by the BHRS 
team.  BHRS was the first human rights organization to be 
granted access to the women's prison.  In 2005, BHRS was the 
first human rights group to visit the men's prison at Jaw. 
 
¶3. (SBU) BHRS Secretary General Abdullah Derazi confirmed to 
poloff on May 13 that prison officials granted the 10 BHRS 
representatives unimpeded access to the prisoners and 
facilities.  He noted that one of the BHRS team members had 
over 20 years' experience working in women's prisons in the 
U.S.  Derazi praised the prison officials for their 
professionalism and said the inspection "went exactly as it 
should."  He explained that the team members had checklists 
for each of the 58 interviews and for the facilities' 
inspection.  Compiling this information and consulting with 
the Interior Ministry will take approximately one month, and 
Derazi anticipated that the report would be released in late 
June.  He would not speculate on the content of the final 
report because the data had not yet been analyzed, but Derazi 
was upbeat and allowed that he was "very pleased" with the 
visit. 
 
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Visit Embassy Manama's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/manama/ 
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ERELI