A Spanish parliamentarian questions his government about what it did about the dire human rights situation in Bahrain

Spanish parliamentarian Juan Baldovi described the human rights situation in the Kingdom of Bahrain as horrific and continues to deteriorate, wondering what his country’s government has done about this situation.

This was published today, Wednesday, "Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain" in a long report in its newspaper, which also bears the name of the association, and monitored in detail what the Spanish Parliamentarian said about the situation of detainees and detention centers in Bahrain, the violations they are exposed to and the people who committed These violations.

Baldovi’s report stated that the human rights situation in Bahrain has been continuously deteriorating since 2017 as King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa re-worked in military courts to try civilians, explaining that five people were executed since that year and eight were facing imminent execution, despite the European Union’s call to the Bahraini government To stop the executions, release all political detainees and stop the trial of civilians before military courts.

Baldovi said that many Bahraini citizens are punished for daring to break the silence against the increasing violations of human rights that occur in Bahrain without impartial investigations and without any criminal responsibility being charged against the perpetrators by human rights monitoring bodies.

The driving force of the police state
He explained that the security apparatus in Bahrain is the driving force behind the human rights crisis in the Kingdom, saying that the internal composition of the "police state" in which the Ministry of Interior conducts systematic repression and brutal practices.

A report by Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain was reported that more than a thousand cases of violations that included more than three thousand specific human rights violations attributed to the Ministry of the Interior since 2011 to this day, including arbitrary detention, torture, rape and extra-judicial killings. Elimination.

He said that Bahrain's alleged efforts to investigate and prosecute security personnel and officials were seriously inadequate. As noted in an undeclared assessment of the US State Department in 2013, other than the failed prosecution of Colonel Mubarak Abdullah bin Hawail al-Marri and Lieutenant Sheikha Noura bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa, "There is no indication that any officials are held accountable or tried for supervising or committing acts that lead to Abuse, ill-treatment, torture, or death. "

Laws do not apply and it
should be noted, according to the report, that while Lt. Col. Mubarak Abdullah bin Hawil Al-Marri and Syndicate Sheikha Nora bint Ibrahim Al Khalifa were tried on violations committed against medical personnel, the court acquitted the defendants of all charges. After his acquittal, Bin Huwail met with Prime Minister Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa. As shown in a video of the meeting, which was posted on YouTube, Al-Marri told the Prime Minister: "If the problems are significant, then you are the owner of the solution." In response, the Prime Minister said: "You know, those laws ... no one can apply them to you. No one can touch this link between us. Whoever applies these laws to you applies them to us. We are one body."

Baldovi drew attention to the situation of thousands of former and current political prisoners in Bahrain, especially the four women human rights activists, Najah Yusuf, Ibtisam al-Sayegh, Medina Ali, and Hajar Mansour, who were subjected to ill-treatment at all stages of criminal proceedings, including unlawful detention, enforced disappearance, and physical and sexual torture Psychological support for confessions, denial of access to legal representation, unfair trials and inhumane prison conditions. These violations included the threat of rape, murder or imprisonment against women themselves and their relatives alike.

Prince of Torture The
deputy asked his government a question about Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the son of the King of the Kingdom, nicknamed "Prince of Torture", and accused him of serious acts of torture in 2011. He also touched on arrested opposition leaders, demanding and working to release them.

He asked whether Madrid would open an investigation into Bahraini officials involved in torture under universal jurisdiction, especially about Sheikh Nasser, who has a high position in the Supreme Council for Bahrain Defense?

He said that evidence had emerged that Sheikh Nasser supervised the arbitrary detention and torture of protesters, opposition activists and athletes, after the violent crackdown by the Bahraini government of the pro-democracy movement in 2011, adding that due to his role as president of the Olympic Committee, Sheikh Nasser created a special committee to target and prosecute more than 150 members The sports community who participated in peaceful protests.

A chilling statement
attributed to Sheikh Nasser affirming that the Special Committee is specifically designed to carry out reprisal government actions, calling publicly in a "chilling statement" to avenge the demonstrators, even if they are athletes, saying that "Bahrain is an island and there is no place to escape."

Baldovi said that two government opposition leaders, members of Bahraini human rights organizations and a group of prominent prisoners of conscience imprisoned by military courts in 2011, reported that Sheikh Nasser had personally tortured them in the facilities of the Ministry of Interior in Manama (such as the Qalaa Prison).

He added that Muhammad Habib al-Miqdad, a prominent dissident and critic of the regime, accused the prince of his skin and beat him and others throughout their bodies for nearly 12 hours in addition to other violations, and Baldovi described the evidence against Sheikh Nasser so strong that in 2014, the London Supreme Court ruled to suspend his immunity The property after a Bahraini refugee named "FF" sued him, accusing him of torture.

MP Baldovi also focused on the issue of denial and abuse of medical concerns related to political prisoners imprisoned in the kingdom, saying that these prisoners face difficulty in maintaining and treating their health because guards often act with gross neglect towards their needs, medical clinics suffer from acute staff shortages, and routine medication does not Properly managed, it is difficult to schedule access to external medical facilities, and drinking water is scarce. Baldovi provided many accurate details of detainees and detainees.

Establishing a culture of impunity
Since 2011, the report says, the Bahraini government has consistently maintained that there is no kind of accountability for human rights violations by the authorities and senior officials. This, in turn, has helped to entrench the culture of impunity in the country within the security forces. Despite the recommendations of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry, the creation of national human rights oversight bodies and statements by the system that those responsible for the atrocities in February 2011 have been held accountable, not much has been done to achieve justice for those who committed violence And torture against peaceful demonstrators.

The recommendations of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry were largely ignored or insufficiently implemented, and the country's human rights monitoring bodies were a front that was supported to deceive the international community that the country was taking steps to reform.

Moreover, high-ranking individuals - such as Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa - are still rewarded for committing human rights violations rather than punishment for their actions.