Bahrain Crown Prince meets with Secretary Blinken and Defense Secretary Austin, Absence of Condemnation on Human Rights Record

This week, the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Bahrain, Sheikh Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince has already met with senior officials, including the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, the Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senior Members from Senate Foreign Relations Committee, including Senator Bob Menendez. It is his first visit to the US since becoming Prime Minister in November 2020.

The Crown Prince’s visit is the first since the start of the Biden administration and coincides with the Strategic Dialogue between the US and Bahrain, which began on Tuesday, and is scheduled to continue until tomorrow. The Crown Prince last met with President Trump in November 2017 and September 2019.

Dispatch: A Review of Bahrain’s Human Rights Record by the United Nations (UN) Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

In February 2022, the United Nations (UN) Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) conducted a review of Bahrain’s human rights practices as part of its 71^st session. The CESCR is the UN body which monitors and oversees implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), one of the most important human rights treaties. The ICESCR is the legal framework establishing the right of people to be free from discrimination that is motivated by race, color, sex, language, religion, political or expression of opinion, national or social origin, property, or birth. A state can choose to voluntarily join the ICESCR as Bahrain did in 2007.

18 independent experts in the field of human rights are elected to the committee and carry out monitoring and oversight duties. States must submit a report to the committee every 5 years detailing its progress on the implementation of rights outlined in the ICESCR and also, in implementing recommendations from the committee which address deficiencies in the state’s human rights record. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights exists to protect all peoples in the pursuit of liberty and allow for affected individuals and allies to hold their governments accountable.

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Sadeq Majeed Thamer and Jaafar Mohamed Sultan

Sadeq Majeed Thamer and Jaafar Mohamed Sultan are two Bahraini nationals who were recently sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia. Sadeq was a 26-year-old employee at Thamer Commercial Company at that time and Jaafar was a 23-year-old who participated in several religious and social activities. Accused of transporting and possessing explosive materials, they were both arrested without a warrant and subjected to enforced disappearance for 115 days while suffering from physical and psychological forms of torture. As the Saudi Court of Appeals upheld their death sentence, they now await the decision of the Supreme Court. If this is upheld, they will be at imminent risk of execution.

On 8 May 2015, King Fahd Causeway Customs Saudi authorities arrested both Sadeq and Jaafar and seized their car without presenting an arrest warrant or providing a reason for their arrest. In the beginning, they were transferred inside Saudi Arabia, and 25 days after their arrest, there was a transfer operation to Bahrain. During their transfer, and while they were on the bus with a Bahraini officer, the latter received a call and went off the bus; when he returned, he began to insult and threaten them with reprisals. They were consequently returned to Saudi Arabia.

Sayed Ali Moosa Jaafar Husain

Sayed Ali Moosa Jaafar, was a 34-year-old court porter when he was arrested without a warrant in October 2014. He was consequently tortured and convicted in an unfair trial. Sayed Ali is currently serving his sentence in Jau Prison.

On 25 October 2014, at around midnight, officers in civilian clothing and riot police broke into Sayed Ali’s house, taking him out of his room and beating him. He was taken to the bus, where he was subjected to electric shocks. Officers returned to his house and confiscated two phones. This was all done without any warrant and without indication of a reason. Sayed Ali was not summoned prior to his arrest.

Sayed Ali was forcibly disappeared for a week, during which he was being interrogated at the 17th Roundabout Police Station, and after that, he was transferred to Dry Dock Detention Center, where he called his family to tell them he was arrested. His family was able to visit him a month after his arrest, he couldn’t walk normally or sit. His face was discoloured as a result of torture.

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Bahrain and the US