As concerned global citizens we are extremely troubled by the disappearance of more than 400 citizens in Bahrain and urge the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights, the UN, the US State Department and the Obama Administration to bring all political, diplomatic and financial pressure to bear on the Kingdom of Bahrain to stop intimidating the people of Bahrain with brutal force, unwarranted arrests and detentions. We are further urge the Government of Bahrain to immediately reveal detainees’ whereabouts, allow them access to their lawyers and families, protect them against torture or other abuse and immediately release all who are being held illegally.

According to Human Rights Watch, arbitrary detention appears rampant under Bahrain's state of emergency, with numerous cases in which authorities have abused people they detained or stopped.

The government has issued no registry of detainees since anti-government demonstrations erupted on February 14, 2011. Over the past weeks, and especially since the main protests were crushed on March16, relatives and friends of the missing have reported to the Wifaq National Islamic Society, an opposition political society, the names of 430 people they say are held by police and military authorities. Wifaq depends on victims, relatives, or witnesses to inform it of detentions.

A dozen members of families of the missing told Human Rights Watch that contact with their relatives had been limited to one extremely brief phone call to request fresh clothing. Authorities have not permitted families to visit their detained relatives. Freed detainees told Human Rights Watch of beatings and physical abuse.

Amnesty International on April 12, 2011, is urging the Bahraini authorities to reveal the whereabouts and legal status of more than 400 mostly Shi’a opposition activists detained in recent weeks. Amnesty International said today that reports indicate that at least three have died in custody.

Security forces detained leading human rights defender ‘Abdulhadi Alkhawaja and his two sons in law in a raid on his daughter’s home, where they were staying, Saturday April 9, 2011. He was assaulted before being taken away barefoot and denied access to his medication.  Alkhawaja’s and his sons in law’s whereabouts remain unknown. One of Alkhawaja’s daughters has launched a hunger strike to demand her relatives’ release.

Again, we strongly urge that all political, diplomatic and financial pressure be brought to bear on the Kingdom of Bahrain to immediately reveal detainees’ whereabouts, allow them access to their lawyers and families, protect them against torture or other abuse and to immediately release all who are being held illegally.