(Beirut) – Bahraini Authorities cancel entry visas issued to two Human Rights Watch staffers on January 30, 2023, to attend the 146th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) on March 8, 2023 MeetingHuman Rights Watch said today.
Human Rights Watch has permanent observer status with the IPU, which gives Human Rights Watch access to the Parliamentary Organization’s Assembly. In light of Bahrain’s most recent ban against rights groups, the members of the parliamentary group and its leadership should publicly demand that the Bahraini authorities unconditionally and immediately release all those imprisoned solely for peaceful speech. and call upon the government to immediately rescind its draconian crackdown.political secession law,
“Bahrain’s hosting of sporting and high-level international events is a transparent attempt to discredit a decades-old campaign to crush political opposition and strangle the country’s vibrancy. civil society,” Said tirana hassan, acting executive director of Human Rights Watch. “The unilateral reversal of Human Rights Watch’s access to the IPU conference is a clear example of its growing repression. Governments, organizations with influence and key officials must speak out against Bahrain’s abuses so that they do not become complicit in efforts to whitewash its appalling rights record.
Bahrain is hosting a global IPU meeting Organization of national parliaments, from 11–15 March. The slogan of the organization is “For Democracy. for all, ”and theme The theme of the 146th Assembly is “Promoting Peaceful Coexistence and Inclusive Societies: Fighting Intolerance”.
These statements are in stark contrast to the extensive record of serious human rights abuses in Bahrain by Human Rights Watch and other rights organizations Document, said Human Rights Watch. This includes the continued detention of Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, a prominent human rights activist and Danish-Bahraini dual citizen. Al-Khawaja reportedly suffers from serious health problems, despite denials Sufficient medical care.
bahrain official impose Restrictions on expression, association and assembly that violate the country’s international human rights obligations. Elections are neither free nor fair, opposition voices are systematically excluded and repressed, and independent media are effectively banned by country. a united 2021 reports Rights groups Bird and Reprieve found that at least 26 people are on death row in Bahrain, all of whom have exhausted legal remedies and are at risk of being executed. About half of those men were allegedly tortured into providing false confessions, later used against them in court.
of Bahrain “Political Secession Law”Introduced in 2018, former members of the country’s opposition parties are barred from running for parliament or sitting on the boards of governors of civil society organizations. These laws also target former prisoners, including those detained because of their political work. Those affected by these laws also regularly experience delays and denials when applying for the Good Conduct Certificate, which is required by Bahraini citizens and residents to apply for jobs or university admission, or even to obtain a job. Required to join sports or social clubs. Two former members of parliament from Bahrain in jail for exercising their freedom of expression, and the government has forced many more into exile and stripped them of their citizenship.
On 5 March, Bahrain hosted the inaugural Formula One (F1) Season Caste. twenty-one GroupIncluding Human Rights Watch sent a letter to the F1 president Raise “Serious concerns over F1’s ongoing role in ‘sportswashing’ amid deteriorating human rights situation in Bahrain”. Lewis Hamilton, an F1 driver, recently Said He is “not sure.” [the human rights situation] We’ve gotten better all these years when it comes to countries like Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
“With local civil society severely restricted by Bahrain’s autocratic government, IPU assembly members must live up to their organizational values and speak up on behalf of Bahrain’s victims of repression,” Hassan said.