European Parliament – Bahrain halt the violence and release the prisoners
European Parliament: Human rights resolutions: Tibet, Bahrain, Syria
27 Oct 2011 – BCHR
Bahrain: halt the violence and release the prisoners
Parliament condemns the repression of citizens in Bahrain, which has led to dozens of deaths and injuries, and urges the immediate and unconditional release of all peaceful demonstrators, political activists, human rights defenders, doctors and paramedics, bloggers and journalists. It also expresses its solidarity with the families of all the victims.
The Bahraini security forces and authorities should stop violence, repression and detention of peaceful demonstrators and show the utmost restraint when attempting to control protests, say MEPs, who urge the authorities to act in strict accordance with their legislation and international obligations.
MEPs also reiterate their view that demonstrators in Bahrain have expressed their legitimate democratic aspirations and call on the government there to engage in a genuine, meaningful and constructive dialogue with the opposition, without further delay or additional preconditions, in order to bring about the necessary reforms, encourage national reconciliation and restore social consensus in the country.
EU Press Release
The European Parliament,
1. Condemns the repression of citizens in Bahrain which led to dozens of deaths and injuries and urges the immediate and unconditional release of all peaceful demonstrators, political activists, human rights defenders, doctors and paramedics, bloggers and journalists and expresses its solidarity with the families of all the victims;
2. Calls on the Bahraini security forces and authorities to stop violence, repression and detention of peaceful demonstrators and to show the utmost restraint when attempting to control protests; urges the authorities to act in strict accordance with their legislation and international obligations;
3. Reiterates its view that demonstrators have expressed their legitimate democratic aspirations and calls on the Bahraini Government to engage in a genuine, meaningful and constructive dialogue with the opposition, without further delay or additional preconditions, in order to bring about the necessary reforms, encourage national reconciliation and restore social consensus in the country;
4. Expresses its grave concern at the presence of foreign troops under the GCC banner in Bahrain and calls for their immediate withdrawal; reiterates its call on the GCC to contribute constructively and mediate in the interest of peaceful reforms in Bahrain;
5. Condemns the use of special military courts to try civilians, as it is a violation of international fair trial standards, and stresses that civilians must be tried in civilian courts and that every detained person deserves a fair trial, with adequate access to a lawyer and sufficient time to prepare a defence; calls for an immediate cessation of mass trials of civilians in the military court, the Court of National Safety;
6. Welcomes the decision to retry doctors and nurses in civil courts but considers that all charges against them should be dropped, and calls on the civil courts to release the doctors and medical staff unconditionally and immediately, as they were acting in accordance with their professional duty and have been accused of tending to the medical needs of those who oppose the regime, as well as of serious criminal offences which seem to be of a political nature and for which credible evidence has not been put forward, as well as to release all other political activists, journalists, teachers, bloggers and human rights defenders due to the arbitrary nature of the charges and of the entire proceedings; expresses its strong concern about the life sentences handed down to at least eight opposition activists and at least 13 people who were sentenced to up to 15 years in prison;
7. Underlines that providing impartial treatment for the wounded is a basic legal obligation under humanitarian law, and urges Bahrain, as a party to the Geneva Conventions, to respect its obligations regarding the provision of health care to the sick and injured;
8. Calls on the Kingdom of Bahrain to allow all medics to resume their jobs and allow all medics and their defence teams access to the medical examination reports from the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry’s examination of the detained doctors;
9. Cautions against the abuse of national security laws;
10. Calls on the authorities to restore and respect all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including pluralism in the media, both online and offline, freedom of expression and assembly, freedom of religion, women’s rights and gender equality, and measures against discrimination, and to put an end to the censorship; calls on the Bahraini authorities to accept the requested visit by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights;
11. Notes that thousands of employees have lost their jobs for their participation in the peaceful anti-government protests; calls on the national authorities as well as the European enterprises involved to order the immediate reinstatement of these individuals and to ensure that they are compensated for their lost income;
12. Takes positive note of King Hamad’s decision to set up an independent commission to investigate the human rights violations by the security forces during the government crackdown on peaceful pro-reform protesters; urges full impartiality and transparency for the commission and calls on the Bahraini Government not to interfere in its work and to ensure that perpetrators of crimes and all persons responsible for the violent crackdown are brought to justice and tried by due process;
13. Welcomes the setting-up of a Ministry for Human Rights and Social Development in Bahrain, and calls on that ministry to act in accordance with international human rights standards and obligations;
14. Calls for the admission of international observers to the trials of political prisoners as well as for them to be allowed to monitor the work of the independent commission investigating human rights violations to ensure objectivity according to international standards;
15. Calls on the Bahraini authorities and the King of Bahrain to commute the death sentences of Ali ‘Abdullah Hassan al-Sankis and ‘Abdulaziz ‘Abdulridha Ibrahim Hussain; reiterates its strong opposition to the use of the death penalty and urges the Bahraini authorities to declare an immediate moratorium;
16. Considers that the investigation which has been launched into the death of a 16-year-old boy, Ahmed al-Jaber al-Qatan, during an anti-government protest must be independent, that the findings must be made public and that those responsible must be brought to justice;
17. Underlines the importance of reconciliation as an essential part of reform and stability in Bahrain’s diverse society in which the rights of each citizen should be equally guaranteed in both the letter and the practice of the law;
18. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the governments and parliaments of the Member States and the Government and Parliament of the Kingdom of Bahrain. …source
