1GOAL believes that everyone has the right to learn free from the fear of persecution. In Bahrain, teachers and students who have done nothing more than express their opinions peacefully have been victimised and, in some cases, been imprisoned.

• On 29th March, Jaleela al-Salman, Vice President of the Bahrain Teachers Association, was arrested at gunpoint in her bedroom in front of her children. Many of her colleagues have since been arrested and released but are still awaiting trial on the claims of having illegal messages on their BlackBerrys and ‘inciting hatred towards the regime’.
• On 12th June, 63 students of the Bahrain University and Polytechnic were expelled following peaceful demonstrations and updates on Facebook. They have also been banned from enrolling in other universities in Bahrain, effectively ending their academic future in Bahrain.
• On 2nd August Jaleela went on hunger strike along with the President of the Bahrain Nursing Society, in protest at their illegitimate detention.The Bahrain Teachers’ Union has been dissolved and a new one put in place with teachers ‘more amenable to the regime’.
• A 20-year-old student teacher at the Bahrain University, Ayat al-Gormezi, was imprisoned and tortured by the Bahraini security forces for nine days after reading a pro-democratic poem on Pearl Roundabout in March this year. Her case became high profile, and international media support has helped lead to her release. By taking action we can give other victims of the current persecution a public voice.

Give a voice to Bahraini teachers and students and take action now .

You can help these victims by demanding that the King of Bahrain and the Bahraini government immediately address this issue and enable everyone to learn free from fear of persecution in Bahrain.

We are calling for:

• the immediate release of all teachers, students and activists detained in Bahrain
• the reinstatement of the students expelled from their learning institutions
• the reinstatement of dismissed teachers and their salaries, and the reinstatement of the scholarships of the persecuted students
• the enablement of every person to learn free from fear of persecution in Bahrain
• the fundamental rights and dialogue of teachers and students to be respected.

You can find out more about the situation in Bahrain at www.campaignforeducation.org/bahrain