UK’s tear gas supplies to Bahrain, Saudi Arabi challenged: morally wrong
Bahrain’s Khalifi regime has imposed 15 years prison sentence on a juvenile for a trivial “crime”. Sayed Reda Sayed Baqir Sayed Mahdi, 15, from Duraz was accused of raising about $75 dollars for “a banned group”. He was severely tortured and abused to force him sign a false confession which was subsequently used to indict and imprison him for a jail sentence equivalent to his age. What a travesty of justice.
A native Bahraini political prisoner has apparently been forcibly disappeared with no news about him for over two weeks. Mustafa Khatam has not spoken to his family who are worried that his health may have deteriorated following his infection with Covid-19 in May. At first his health improved but he suffered further deterioration. In August a doctor said he needed surgery but that was not done. In the last contact with him he complained of severe pains in his body. He has spent eight of his ten-year prison sentence, but the khalifis refuse to release him despite his adverse health conditions.
The director of the notorious Jaw Prison has ordered his staff to extend the punishment of native Bahrainis for one more week. Their crime this time? They had recently marked their religious rituals including the demise of Prophet Mohammad. This “criminal act” merited revenge.
On 14th October Protesters gathered outside Bahrain’s embassy in London in solidarity with Bahraini academic and political prisoner Dr Abduljalil AlSingace, who had completed 100 days on hunger strike the following day. The speakers included Lord Scriven, Amnesty International and English PEN. They called on Bahrain to end their ill-treatment of AlSingace and return his academic research which was confiscated by prison guards in April. The Bahrain Institute for Democracy and Human Rights organized the event. The international support to this Bahraini hero is widening as politicians, human rights activists, intellectuals and artists rally in his support.
Four members of the French Parliament have raised human rights abuses, including arbitrary detention, repression of free speech and torture in Bahrain, with the French foreign minister. They urged him to speak out over these abuses. The four lawmakers – Gerard Leseul, Jean-Christophe Lagarde, Isabelle Rauch, and Dominique Potier – highlighted several cases with Le Drian, including that of academic and blogger Abdul Jalil al-Singace.
The UK government has authorised tear gas exports to a third of the countries of the world, including one in five of the nations listed on the UK’s own human rights concern list. Tear gas sales to six (Bangladesh, Bahrain, Egypt, Maldives, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka) of the 30 nations on the UK Foreign Office’s own list of ‘Human Rights Priority Countries’ were rubber-stamped by the Government. However, due to the opaque UK export system the value of these deals cannot be calculated. Reflecting on Action on Armed Violence (AOAV) findings, Shadow Minister for Peace and Disarmament Fabian Hamilton MP said: “The UK Government must consider the impact that the sale of this equipment has on human rights around the world and MPs on the Committee on Arms Export Controls must be permitted to undertake appropriate scrutiny.” He added: “It is vital that the Government is not granting licenses for arms sales to countries where there are legitimate concerns that equipment may be used for internal repression or in violation of international law.”
Three human rights organisations have called for an independent international investigation into the death in Saudi custody of a senior opposition figure. Musa al-Qarni was beaten around the head and face with sharp objects, causing facial injuries and fractures to his skull that led to his death. The signatories, ALQST for Human Rights, Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) and MENA Rights Group said: Al-Qarni’s killing is a stark illustration of the violations suffered by the majority of prisoners of conscience in Saudi jails, including torture, lack of medical treatment, and denial of family contact.
The wife of Saudi Professor Muhammad Kadwan Al-Almai has been arrested. Muhammad Al-Almai is one of the detainees of the Abha campaign in July 2021. Nothing has been heard of her since the arrest two days ago.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has questioned the Premier League’s silence on human rights issues following the Saudi Arabian-backed takeover of Newcastle. The Premier League approved the takeover after receiving “legally binding assurances” that the Saudi state would not control the club. Saudi Arabia has been accused of human rights abuses and women’s rights campaigners have been imprisoned and Amnesty International described the takeover as a “bitter blow for human rights defenders”. Klopp was expecting more leadership from Premier League chief executive Richard Masters on the subject. “I actually was waiting for some official statements about it. Like from Richard Masters or somebody else,” he said. “We all know there are obviously some concerns over human rights issues. That’s clear. We all think the same there.”
Bahrain Freedom Movement
20th October 2021