22 January 2020 – On 8 January 2020, Bahrain’s High Criminal Court of Appeal upheld the convictions and death sentences of Mohammed Ramadhan Issa Ali Hussain and Hussain Ali Moosa, which had initially been overturned by Bahrain’s Court of Cassation in October 2018, and the case was returned to the Court of Appeals for re-examination, resulting in the confirmation of the death sentences.
On 17 January, Italian Senator Valeria Fedeli published a press release highlighting the human rights violations that both men have faced, saying “[t]he kingdom of Bahrain sentenced Ramadhan and Moosa January 9th after five years of legal procedure where the two men were subject of violence, torture and deprivation and released coerced “confessions.”
Senator Fedeli expressed concerns regarding Bahrain’s “repress[ion of] political opposition, torture, and [the] sentenc[ing] to death [of] its citizens” as being in violation of criminal law.
As such, Senator Fedeli urged European countries and European institutions to “urge indignation and condemnation” of this sentencing. Further, as Senator Fedeli noted, there are currently 22 people on death row in Bahrain, eight of whom are facing imminent execution – this is contrary to multiple international treaties, acts, and conventions that Bahrain is a signatory.
Senator Fedeli underscores the European Union’s core beliefs in regard to human rights, stating “A country with meaningful economic and trading relations with EU that claims to be inspired by the principles of the international community cannot repress the political opposition, torture and sentence to death its citizens, and violate the basic norms of criminal law”.
For an English translation of the press release, click here.
Staesha Rath and Jonathan Miseroy are Advocacy Volunteers with ADHRB.
