The European Parliament on Thursday evening condemned in a resolution the death penalty, torture, and repression of human rights defenders in Bahrain.
The European Parliament (based in Belgium) voted in favor of the resolution with 633 votes out of 689, according to Russia Today. Preparations for the resolution were made a year ago at the initiative of Mark Tarabilla, a Belgian politician in the European Parliament, in collaboration with the European Center for Democracy and Human Rights, the Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain, and the Bahrain Foundation for Rights and Democracy. It was voted last night.
European envoys called on the Manama government to reconsider the death sentences of dissidents and to treat human rights victims in accordance with international standards. The resolution states that there are currently 26 prisoners awaiting execution in Bahrain and that the Bahraini government must suspend the executions. Mohammad Bahraini and Hussein Ali Musa, two Bahraini revolutionaries, have also been sentenced to death.
The resolution also names “Abdul Hadi Al-Khawaja”, “Naji Fetil”, “Abdul Wahab Hussein”, “Ali Haji”, “Sheikh Ali Salman” and “Hussein Mashima” who have been imprisoned in Bahrain since the beginning of the 2011 revolution. They are beheaded and all of them are prominent people in Bahrain. The need for freedom of the media, such as the Al-Wasat newspaper, which has been banned for years, and the political activity of parties, including the Al-Wefaq party, are other issues raised in the resolution.
But the Bahraini government reacted angrily to the European Parliament’s move, with the Foreign Ministry saying in a statement that everything in the resolution was a lie and that Europe should not politicize human rights.
The Arab Parliament (based in Egypt) also condemned the European Parliament resolution in a statement, arguing that Bahrain does not need the advice of other countries to respect human rights and that Europe should not interfere in these matters.
