Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards

A JOINT STATEMENT by the following 6 international NGOs: Front Line Defenders, Gulf Center for Human Rights (GCHR), Human Rights Watch (HRW), International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR), World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) urge the EU to call for the release of human rights defenders and peaceful protest leaders in Bahrain in the context of EU-GCC ministerial meeting in Manama of 30 June.

A year ago, on 25 June 2012, the EU adopted its Strategic Framework on Human Rights and Democracy, in which it pledged to “place human rights at the centre of its relations with all third countries, including its strategic partners” and “to throw its full weight behind advocates of liberty, democracy, and human rights throughout the world.”

The organisations deplore that the EU has failed to make explicit calls for the immediate and unconditional release of the human rights defenders, twitter activists and bloggers, and leaders of peaceful protests – several of those hold EU citizenship – who have been jailed in recent months in Bahrain solely for peacefully exercising and promoting human rights. They call on the EU to turn the abovementioned important pledges into concrete action. The EU should act in line with the European Parliament resolution of 17 January 2013 on the human rights situation in Bahrain which called on the EU Member States and the EU High Representative to “actively push for the release of the imprisoned activists” and in this connection “to ensure the adoption of Foreign Affairs Council conclusions on the human rights situation in Bahrain, which should include a specific call for the immediate and unconditional release of the imprisoned activists.”  The NGOs specifically like to highlight the cases of human rights defenders Naji Fateel, Zainab Al-Khawaja, Nabeel Rajab, and Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja.

In the meantime – to underline the need for action – on 25 June 2013, human rights defender Ms Zainab Al-Khawaja was sentenced to two additional months in jail on charges of assaulting two policewomen inside the prison.  She was due to be released at the end of 2013, but the new sentence means she will remain in detention until February 2014.

This entry was posted on June 27, 2013 at 20:39 and is filed under FIDH, Front Line, HRW, human rights, Human Rights Defenders.

Tags: Abdulhadi Al Khawaja, Bahrain, bloggers, European Union, freedom of expression, Front Line (NGO), Gulf Centre for Human Rights, human rights, Human Rights Defenders, illegal detention, International Federation for Human Rights, International Partnership for Human Rights, Manama, Nabeel Rajab, Naji Fateel, torture, twitter, World Organisation Against Torture, Zainab Al-Khawaja