Bahraini Refugee imprisoned for life following Dutch violation of international law

In 2017, Bahraini national Ali Mohammed al-Showaikh fled Bahrain due to rumours that he may be wanted for various crimes. He ended up in the Netherlands where he immediately sought asylum, which was subsequently denied. Because of this denial, the Netherlands bears a significant level of responsibility for the treatment Al-Showaikh experienced after he was deported back to Bahrain. The actions of the Dutch government are in clear violation of international law, as well as Dutch national law.

Al-Showaikh fled Bahrain for fear of persecution for his participation in the peaceful pro-democracy marches and protests in 2011. After the government denied his asylum request, Al-Showaikh pleaded with the government to deport him to any country other than Bahrain out of fear of being subjected to torture, forced to sign a false confession, or subjected to an unfair trial.  Following his deportation from the Netherlands to Bahrain, Al-Showaikh was arrested at the airport and was disappeared for 11 days. He was interrogated by the Bahraini authorities who used torture techniques to extract a false confession from him. al-Showaikh was then sentenced to life imprisonment in an unfair trial with no proper legal representation. His Bahraini citizenship was revoked, and he received a fine of 500 Bahraini dinars. He was tried under the Protecting Society from Terrorist Acts Law which has been criticized for being too broad and for being used extensively by Bahraini authorities to target human rights activists.

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Jaafar Husain Isa

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