Landslide Call by 60 MEPs to the King of Bahrain to Release All Political Prisoners
On the 17th of June 2020, 60 MEPs sent a letter to the King of Bahrain demanding the release of the rest of political detainees in Bahrain, who had been left out of the prior prison release on March 17th 2020.
The Bahraini government cited that the reason for the original release of 1,486 prisoners on March 17th was because of the threat posed by the spread of coronavirus amongst the prison population. The release of notable human rights defenders such as Nabeel Rajab is a welcome sight yet many other regime political opponents remain behind bars, despite the increasing number of coronavirus positive cases.
The letter explicitly states concern for the cases of:
“ […] Mr. Hassan Mushaima and Mr. Abdulwahab Husain, the leaders of the opposition in Bahrain. We also are concerned about reports of lack of medical care to Professor, blogger, and human rights defender Dr. Abduljalil Alsingace and political prisoners Shaikh Abdulla Isa Al-Mahroos also known as Shaikh Mirza Almahroos. Some other important political prisoners include Shaikh Abduljalil Almiqdad and Shaikh Ali Salman. Among these prisoners are leading and prominent human rights defender Mr. Naji Fateel, in addition to other imprisoned EU nationals Mr. Abdulhadi Alkhawaja and Shaikh Mohammad Habib Almiqdad.”
Read the full article here.
Spanish MP Joan Baldoví tables a second set of Parliamentary questions relating to Bahrain’s record of Human Rights Abuses
On the 27th of May, MP Joan Baldoví, member of the Coalició Compromís, tabled a series of questions to the Spanish parliament in relation to the state of political prisoners and reports of grave human rights violations committed by the regime. This was a follow-up session, a second time that his concerns were raised in the chamber. This is due to the unsatisfactory government response that Mr Baldoví had received from the initial time his concerns were raised.
As part of a renewed push to shed light on the crimes committed by Bahrain’s own Minister of Interior, Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, MP Baldoví posed three specific questions demanding answers as to how the Spanish government has taken steps to condemn such atrocities. The MP opened the session my maintain that Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa “has not been held accountable for the crimes of torture and extrajudicial killings that took place under his command”. Baldovì explicitly mentioned that another authority figure of the regime, Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, had been directly accountable for torture and had not been charged or reprimanded by the regime. This reconfirms the deep-rooted culture of impunity in Bahrain, that even grave crimes such as torture are permissible at the highest echelons of power.
Read the full article here.
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