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EI has condemned the decision of Bahrain’s Ministry of Social Development to dissolve the Bahrain Teachers’ Association (BTA) and to prosecute its leaders in a military court on spurious charges of ‘leaving work on purpose, encouraging others to do so, and taking part in illegal gatherings.’

The government’s latest actions are a serious escalation of intimidation against BTA’s teacher members and follows on from the home of BTA President, Mahdi Abu Deeb, being raided by security forces in the middle of the night.

Mr Abu Deeb, and his Vice President, Jaleela Al-Salman, were both arrested and tried before a military court. Several other officials from the teachers’ association (Bahrain does not allow public employees to unionise) were also arrested and interrogated. All BTA leaders have rejected the serious charges they are accused of.

Members of the BTA and the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights have reported at least 66 serious infringements of their trade union rights in the troubled Kingdom since the uprisings for democracy began on 14 February. The harassment is a direct result of many teachers joining the pro-democracy movement against state repression of human and trade union rights.

The crackdown has seen many teachers and teacher trade unionists being harassed; arrested; tortured or suspended from their teaching duties. Punitive measures such as dismissal from their substantive posts and cuts in salary for taking part in pro-reform demonstrations have also been documented by the BTA.

EI General Secretary, Fred van Leeuwen, has repeatedly urged the Government of Bahrain to respect the fundamental human and trade union rights and freedoms of teachers, students and others: "We call on the authorities to engage in a respectful dialogue to bring about a peaceful solution and a fair resolution of the issues and legitimate claims of their peoples."

EI is continuing to monitor developments in the BTA leadership’s case.