The United States on Monday voiced its concern over a Bahraini appeal court confirming the jail sentences of 13 Opposition activists for participating in the 2011 anti-government protests, and said it “further restricts freedom of expression and compromises the atmosphere within Bahrain for reconciliation.”
Expressing regret over Monday’s ruling by the Bahraini Court of Cassation, State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland said at a press briefing that Washington had “repeatedly voiced our concern about these cases both publicly and privately and at the highest levels, and urged the Government of Bahrain to abide by its international obligations, and we have also had Embassy observers at the trial.”
She called on the Bahraini government to “investigate all reports of torture, including those made by the defendants in this case, as it has pledged to do, and to hold accountable any who are found responsible.”
Separately, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the military court ruling “appears to confirm the inability of Bahrain’s judicial system to protect basic rights,” as the “court had convicted the dissidents solely for exercising their rights to free expression and peaceful assembly.”
HRW investigation has found that the evidence against the convicts consisted of public statements advocating reforms to curtail the power of the ruling Al Khalifa family and confessions that appeared to have been coerced while the defendants were in incommunicado detention, the New York-based rights watchdog said in a statement.
“The mind-boggling verdicts in these cases did not mention a single recognizable criminal offense, instead pointing to speeches the defendants made, meetings they attended, and their calls for peaceful street protests in February and March 2011,” said Joe Stork, HRW Deputy Director for Middle East. “Bahrain’s Cassation Court has proven its inability to protect the most basic rights guaranteed in Bahrain’s Constitution and the international treaties it has signed,” he added.
The defendants who lost the appeal include prominent human rights activist Nabeel Rajab, who was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment, and fellow human rights defender Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, who has been jailed for life along with six others. Al-Khawaja last year staged a 110-day hunger strike in protest against his detention.
by RTT Staff Writer
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com