11 December 2019 – Yesterday, two members of the French National Assembly, Mr. Pancher and Mr. Hammouche, tabled two questions to draw the attention of the French Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs to human rights violations in Bahrain.
In his question, Mr. Pancher expressed his concerns over the executions that took place in July 2019, as well as the torture of human rights defenders and political activists, and the denial of medical care for political prisoners. He raised the cases of Hassan Mushaima and Dr. Abduljalil AlSingace, who are suffering from serious pathologies but have not access to medical care in prison, and of the other 4.000 political prisoners, including Nabeel Rajab and Abdulhadi Alkhawaja. He called for “strong diplomatic pressure” to persuade Bahrain to immediately release the prisoners, to end the crackdown of democratic movements and to respect Bahrainis’ human rights. He asked the Minister of Foreign Affairs to issue a public statement and to start diplomatic negotiations to ask for the immediate release of prisoners in Bahrain.
Mr. Hammouche tabled a question to draw the attention of the Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs to the serious violations of human rights and the situation of human rights defenders. He mentioned the attempts of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the local organizations to raise public opinion’s awareness of repressions, human rights violations and the denial of medical care in prison. He asked the Minister, in the name of France which is “the country of human rights” to take concrete diplomatic actions to encourage political dialogue between the royal family and the political opponents so that democratic reforms and a Constitution respecting human rights can be implemented.
Previously, on 3 December, French MP Clémentine Autain tabled a written question on human rights violations in Bahrain and the condition of political prisoners, including women. On 29 October, MP Jean François Mbaye tabled a question to the Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs on the deteriorating human rights situation in Bahrain, highlighting the cases of Sheikh Ali Salman, Hassan Mushaima, Abdulwahab Hussain, Nabeel Rajab, and Dr. Abduljalil Al-Singace.
