#ThereIsNoUsandThem

Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain, in cooperation with the International Peace Bureau, has created a petition on the death penalty in Bahrain. The petition aims to urge the Bahraini King, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, to commute or pardon the death sentences of the twelve individuals who are at imminent risk of execution. Please click on this link to sign the petition.

Bahrain has ended a 7-year-long de facto moratorium on the use of the death penalty in 2017 when three individuals were executed by a firing squad. Since then, six people have been executed in cases of a political nature. As of now, there are twelve individuals at imminent risk of execution, having exhausted all their legal remedies. The death sentences involve several common traits that violate international human rights standards. The death penalty sentences usually are enacted against dissidents in Bahrain, additionally, they involve confessions coerced via torture and lastly, they are all ordered following unfair trials. The fate of these individuals is in the hands of the Bahraini King, who is responsible for giving his signature as symbolic ratification to carry out executions. Based on past experiences, the Bahraini authorities have carried out executions on dates of Western holidays, such as Christmas, New Years’ eve, or Summer holidays. Therefore, we must now push for international pressure on the King of Bahrain and stop the execution of these persons.

The #ThereIsNoUsandThem concept entails the responsibility of every human being to promote the universality of human rights all around the world and speak out on fundamental rights violations. Stepping away from the rhetoric of THEM and US, we would like to see a world where, we are all US, thus we are all treated with the same level of dignity and respect.