Respect privacy, says Bahrain's NIHR

Manama : Publishing images or videos against the will of individuals by breaching their privacy is human rights violation, a leading human rights watchdog stated. 

“Privacy represents a fundamental human right and essential foundation for any democratic society,” the National Institution for Human Rights (NIHR) said in a statement yesterday.

In its statement, NIHR also paid tribute to Prime Minister HRH Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa for issuing directives to protect people’s privacy from cyber abuse.

The PM’s statements on Monday came after the spread of the gory footage of a deadly accident that occurred in Al Areen area. 

The incident resulted in the death of a Bahraini man, while eight others sustained severe injuries.

The footage drew flak from the public as it showed the victims stuck under vehicles and soaked in pools of blood.

NIHR commended the Premier’s directives to pass adequate legislations that ban any encroachments on people’s privacy on social media websites and other means, unless approved and authorised in advance.

“The directives reflect the government’s keenness on affirming constant respect of human rights,” the human rights watchdog said in a statement.

It also cited article 26 of Bahrain’s constitution, which stipulates that “the freedom of postal, telegraphic, telephonic and electronic communication is safeguarded and its confidentiality is guaranteed.”

It states that “communications shall not be censored or their confidentiality breached except in exigencies specified by law and in accordance with procedures and under guarantees prescribed by law.”

NIHR statement came a few days after a public call was made to hasten the implementation of a law proposal that criminalises violation of an individual’s privacy, especially in the occurrences of accidents.