Parliamentary question

Written question to the European Commission

There are currently 12 Bahraini citizens on death row who have exhausted all legal remedies and are now awaiting only the King’s ratification of their execution. The trials of these individuals did not guarantee their right to due process and clear evidence of coerced confessions and torture were ignored. The human rights situation in Bahrain is highly concerning, as officials who commit the heinous crime of torture enjoy a culture of impunity and face no accountability whatsoever. 

1. What is the current policy of the Vice-President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (VP/HR) to put pressure on the Bahraini Government to commute these death sentences and pardon all Bahrainis who are facing the death penalty?

2. Is the VP/HR willing to impose sanctions against Bahraini officials who have committed severe human rights violations against Bahraini activists and human rights defenders?

Answer given by High Representative/Vice-President Borrell on behalf of the European Commission

The EU systematically raises its concerns related to fair trial, prohibition of torture and the use of death penalty with Bahraini authorities through regular political contacts, including the human rights dialogue, most recently held on 7 November 2019. These exchanges cover also individual cases. In the same vein, the EU Special Representative for Human Rights raised the cases of Bahraini death row inmates Zuhair Ibrahim Jassim Abdullah and Abdullah Kalil Rashid, as well as Mohamed Ramadan and Husain Al Moosa, whose death sentences were upheld on 14 June and 13 July 2020 in final rulings, with his counter-parts.

The EU has also repeatedly expressed its principled position against the death penalty. In several statements, it called on the Bahraini authorities to halt pending executions and establish a moratorium on executions as a first step towards the abolition of the death penalty and to commute all pending death sentences. The EU is committed to promoting efficient, transparent, independent, open and accountable justice systems that are compliant with human rights standards and ensure due process of law. It also encouraged Bahrain to ensure that retrials would be held in accordance with international law and standards.

Regarding EU restrictive measures, it is re-called that any new sanctions regime has to be adopted by the Council by unanimity.

On 6 October 2020, the Commission published its 2020 report providing inter alia for a detailed assessment of Montenegro’s respect of fundamental rights. The Commission will continue to regularly monitor the fulfilment of Montenegro’s commitments in this area.