The founding principles of the European Union (EU) are “human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities.” In 2012, the EU adopted its strategic framework on Human rights and Democracy, this has resulted in a more coordinated and effective engagement with and in third countries. The framework defines the principles, objectives, and priorities for improving the effectiveness and consistency of EU policy. This includes the mainstreaming of human rights into all EU policies as a “silver thread,” and adopting a more tailored approach to both internal and external policies.

ADHRB welcomes the latest development of the European Parliament, namely its adoption of Resolution 2578 titled “The human rights situation in the Kingdom of Bahrain, in particular the cases of death row inmates and human rights defenders.” However, this is not enough. To meet the expected outcome of this Resolution, the EU needs to use all possible means to demonstrate that it will not tolerate the current status quo of human rights abuses in Bahrain.

However, much remains to be done so every human being can enjoy their fundamental rights. The EU’s longstanding commitment to human rights and democracy must be translated into a renewed operational agenda for preserving the EU’s image and credibility as a normative power based on democratic values.

Read the full article 

Ebrahim Mohamed Ismaeel was 26 years old, working as an accountant, when he was arrested by officers in civilian clothing from his car without a warrant. He was then subjected to physical and psychological torture and forced to confess. He is currently held at Jau Prison where he is serving his life sentence.

On 14 December 2017, Ebrahim and his fiancé were about to get into the car when they were stopped by a number of officers in civilian clothing. They asked who was driving the car, and Ebrahim’s fiancé said that it was Ebrahim. They claimed that there was a car accident that had taken place and that they were suspected to have been involved in this accident. However, Ebrahim and his fiancé denied such claims. Nevertheless, one of the officers confirmed that based on the type and color of the car, he was sure that it was them who caused the accident. Thus, they said that they wanted to take Ebrahim to the police station and that his fiancé should drive behind them, but Ebrahim and his fiancé refused to do so. After some arguing, one of them said that he was still talking in a calm manner and that if they keep on resisting they will take Ebrahim by force. It was at that point that Ebrahim and his fiancé realized that these individuals were in fact from the Civil Intelligence.

His fiancé asked why Ebrahim was being arrested but they refused to provide her with a reason. They only said, “go look into what he has done”. They searched the car and confiscated a mobile phone. They placed Ebrahim in a civilian car and ordered his fiancé to take the car and leave the site immediately. She drove away without knowing where they took Ebrahim. Hours later, the family got a call from the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID) informing them that Ebrahim was there.

Read the full article here