Mohamed Albuflasa

2010 Parliamentary Elections

During the October 2010 Bahraini parliamentary election, Albuflasa stood as an independent candidate calling for change. He publicly criticised the Bahraini parliament's neglect of its role as a monitoring and legislative body in favour of political conflicts between different political parties.

He subsequently withdrew in favor of the Al-Menbar Islamic Society's candidate, now MP, Mohamed Al-Emadi, saying that he considered Al-Emadi likely to make a better MP. Although military personnel are not allowed to stand for election, Albuflasa has not been subjected to disciplinary action as a result.

Speech

On 15 February, the second day of Bahrain Arab Spring protests, Albuflasa addressed the crowd of protestors assembled at Pearl Roundabout. In what was described as a balanced speech Albuflasa, wearing a traditional Arab thawb, pointed to the need for genuine political reform and expressed support for protestors' demands including calls for an end to sectarian discrimination against the Shia majority and the "political naturalization of Sunnis". He made no mention of being a retired military officer.

Significance

Albuflasa's speech was noteworthy because he is a religiously conservative Sunni while the protesters were mostly Shia or secular Sunnis. According to his brother Rashed, Mohamed's speech was intended to calm the flames of anger caused by efforts to create disagreement between Shiites and Sunnis. He wanted to show there was no difference between them and that both were Bahraini. While the government was surprised and regarded the speech as an attack on them, for which Mohamed was paying the consequences, he was not against the royal family and government.

Arrest and detention

After leaving the assembly that evening, Albuflasa disappeared. Three weeks later, the government acknowledged that he had been arrested by security forces, was in custody, and would stand trial for "breaching the Bahrain Defense Force law."

Albuflasa alleged that he was mistreated while in detention. He was reportedly subjected to humiliation, deprived of sunlight and adequate ventilation, and refused the health care he requested for his depression. On Albuflasa's blog, his family described his solitary confinement in a cell 1 meter by 1 meter and signs of exhaustion as a result of torture and a hunger strike.

Trial and sentence

Albuflasa was tried, without legal representation or any access to witnesses, by a military court on his own in secret on 27 February. In mid-March, he was sentenced to a two-month prison term.

Although he had completed his sentence by 15 April, Albuflasa's detention was extended for 45 days by a military prosecutor. On 1 June, Albuflasa began a hunger strike in protest against his continued detention without charge.

Local and international responses

On 28 February, former Al Wefaq MP Hussain Jassim called for Albuflasa's immediate release, declaring that it was unacceptable for any citizen, civilian or military, to be arrested for expressing his political opinion. "Keeping Albuflasa in jail damaged Bahrain's reputation," Jassim said.

Release

Mohamed Albuflasa was released on July 24. Greeted by a crowd of hundreds of Sunna and Shia chanting "Brothers Sunna and Shia" on his return home, he gave a brief speech warning against the threat to prospects of political reform posed by sectarianism and reminded Sunna and Shia of their common demands. The crowd was dispersed by riot police using tear gas.

Role in reducing sectarian conflicts

Mohamed Albuflasa played an important role in reducing sectarian conflict as a Bahraini Salafist Sunni supporting the mainly Shia-led calls for political reform and advocating equality and unity between Shia and Sunna. Nabeel Rajab, the president of Bahrain Centre for Human Rights described him as a symbol for unity and tolerance.