Decent people of the world have been enraged by the khalifi attempts to snatch the presidency of the UN Human Rights Council to represent the Asian group. They are competing with Fiji for the post. With its disastrous human rights record Bahrain must not only be denied this post but sacked from the Council. Nicholas Kristof, winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, a regular CNN contributor and an op-ed column writer for The New York Times tweeted: “For Bahrain, which tortures dissidents, opened fire on peaceful protesters during Arab Spring, then beat doctors trying to save protester lives, to lead the UN Human Rights Council would be a mockery.” David Kaye, is a Canadian-American voice actor best known for his roles in animation, including Megatron in five of the Transformers TV series, Optimus said: “For years UN Special Procedures Experts have called out the significant human rights violations by Bahrain. for it to hold the presidency of the UN Human Rights Council would be, to put it mildly, inconsistent with the basic norms that should guide the UN system.”
The head of Formula One has enraged the human rights world to proclaim that the organization is “proud to be partner with Bahrainis” as he responded to criticism about the country’s human rights record ahead of the first race in the Bahrain Grand Prix double header which was held at the weekend. Last week, 30 British lawmakers said in a letter addressed to Carey that they were concerned the Bahrain GP was being “exploited” by the Bahraini government to “‘sportswash’ their human rights record.” The cross-party group of MPs urged the organization to “use maximum leverage to compel Bahrain to: end suppression of protests against the race, secure redress for victims and ensure the rights of Bahraini citizens are defended.” Rights groups have repeatedly criticized Bahrain for stamping out dissent, arresting critics of the government and violently quashing protests. In 2011, a popular uprising against the tribal khalifi regime prompted a wave of arrests. Andy Slaughter, a Labour Party MP, said F1’s “long silence … on the appalling human rights record of countries like Bahrain, which host lucrative races and sportswash their reputation while clamping down on their own citizens for the race period, becomes more noticeable and less defensible.” Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in its 2020 report that Bahrain’s human rights situation “remained dire” and “worsened” in 2019 compared to 2018. Amnesty International said that in 2019 “authorities escalated their efforts to stifle freedom of expression.”
The racing champion, Lewis Hamilton said: “Naturally, the human rights issue in so many of the places that we go to is a consistent and a massive problem,” He added: “We are probably the only ones who go to so many different countries and I do think as a sport we need to do more.” Hamilton’s comments were prompted by letters from human rights activists passed to him by Sayed Alwadaei, director of the London-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD).
Native Bahraini Abdul Nabi Al Sammak, has been sentenced to one year jail for reciting a religious prayers in line with the religious belief of the 70 percent of the native population. The khalifis have consistently persecuted these natives, attacking their beliefs, detaining their religious leaders, demolishing their mosques and waging media wars against them.
The mother of Ahmad Hubail who is suffering from scabies called 999 to ask them to save her jailed son after his condition had worsened in the past few days. Despite repeated requests for treatment the regime’s prison officials failed to provide Ahmed with the necessary medication,
Twenty-nine arms control and human rights organizations have signed a letter opposing the sale of $23 billion worth of missiles, fighter jets and drones to the United Arab Emirates and asking the U.S. Congress to block the deal. “The hope is to stop these sales altogether,” said Seth Binder, advocacy officer at the Project on Middle East Democracy, who spearheaded the effort. “But if that is not possible in the short term, this sends an important signal to the incoming Biden administration that there is a diverse group of organizations that oppose delivery of these weapons.” Three U.S. senators earlier this month proposed legislation to halt the sale, which includes drones from privately held General Atomics, Lockheed Martin Corp F-35s and missiles made by Raytheon, setting up a showdown with President Donald Trump weeks before he is due to leave office. The letter from the rights groups, sent to lawmakers and the State Department, said the planned arms sale would fuel continued harm to civilians and exacerbate humanitarian crises due to conflicts in Yemen and Libya. Signatories include human rights organizations from the region, including the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies and Mwatana for Human Rights.
Bahrain Freedom Movement
