Bahrain lawmakers address letters to European Parliament on human rights situation

Manama, May 2 (BNA): A group of Bahraini lawmakers have strongly condemned the allegations by members of the European Parliament about cases of Coronavirus in the Correction and Rehabilitation Centre. In their letter to their European counterparts, the eight lawmakers stressed there were no cases in the centre and that all inmates without discrimination are periodically examined and that vaccines are available to all free of charge, which confirms Bahrain's commitment to providing full health care for all. The lawmakers representing different electoral districts in Bahrain said that such issues should be addressed within their proper context without any attempts to politicize them. Reform and rehabilitation centres in Bahrain are open to all human rights organizations and welcome any visit by a European Parliament delegation to witness the situation and to learn more about the human rights law in Bahrain, they said. The letter was signed by MPs Mohammed Al Sisi Al Buainain, Isa Yousif Al Dosari, Bader Saud Al Dosari, Ghazi Faisal Al Rahma, Fatima Abbas Al Qatari, Ammar Ahmed Al Bannai, Yousif Ahmed Al Thawadi and Sawsan Mohammed Kamal. Hereafter is the letter addressed to the European Parliament: “Fellow Parliamentarians - Members of the European Parliament, We have closely followed your statement issued on April 22, 2021, in which you expressed your deep concern regarding the Government of Bahrain’s management of what you described as an outbreak of COVID-19 in prisons, namely Jau prison. While we appreciate your follow up on Bahraini affairs, and all matters pertaining to the protection of human rights, we, as elected members of the Bahraini parliament, would like to highlight the following issues for your consideration: First: The foreign affairs, defence, and national security committee at the Council of Representatives, in addition to some of council members visited the reformation and rehabilitation centre at Jau and took note of the general conditions and services provided to inmates. This inspection included an assessment of COVID-19 precautionary measures implemented at the centre and how they contributed significantly to the swift containment of the virus. Second: Precautionary measures had been proactively implemented by the reformation and rehabilitation centre and across the prison and reformation estate for over a year, and were effective in containing the situation. This was confirmed by our field visit. Third: The health condition of inmates was generally very good. Any positive COVID-19 cases were transferred promptly outside the reformation and rehabilitation centre to receive adequate medical care in a specialised medical quarantine centre. Fourth: There are currently no positive cases in the reformation and rehabilitation centre, and its administration carries out periodic testing on all inmates without discrimination, while offering COVID-19 vaccinations free of charge to all willing inmates, reflecting the Kingdom’s commitment to providing comprehensive healthcare for all. Fifth: The situation described above and observed by our colleagues is markedly better in many regards to the COVID-19 positive case rates in almost all penal systems across the European Union. Perhaps it might be worth a similar review of the position across member states. Sixth: We reaffirm that the sources you rely on for information to build an image of the situation in Bahrain are inaccurate, considering the volume of discrepancies in your statement, including allegations of wide-spread demonstrations in the country, which can be refuted by any citizen, let alone Members of Parliament. Seventh: It is prejudicial of the European Parliament to claim, in its statement, that our reformation and rehabilitation centres have inmates who were convicted without trial. We, as representatives of the people, deny such allegations, as we have the best interests of our people at heart and work relentlessly to promote our constitutional principles, and activate mechanisms that protect and safeguard human rights. All the facts disprove those allegations, as all defendants, in all cases, receive a fair trial and full legal guarantees. The judicial system in Bahrain is independent and cannot be influenced by the executive authority, nor the legislative authority, to ensure its independency and integrity. In addition, there are internationally recognized avenues of redress and appeal for any allegations raised. In most, if not all, cases that you raise these avenues have been used and exhausted. We would appreciate recognition of these facts in your statements. Eighth: We would expect the European Parliament and our fellow parliamentarians, to respect a sister Council of Representatives elected by popular will, in free and transparent elections. We are the sole entity that represents all segments of the Bahraini population. No other voice, whether internal or external, should overshadow that of the elected Council of Representatives. We have and will continue to invite the European Parliament and its members to engage in true and genuine communication with our Council, to appreciate the true position within the Kingdom of Bahrain rather than solely relying on purely politically driven sources in isolation. We have been disappointed with the engagement from the European Parliament to date but we will continue to offer ongoing engagement in the future. Ninth: We would like to remind the European Parliament that the elected Council of Representatives, which represents all segments of the Bahraini society did indeed send a statement clarifying the situation in Bahrain using facts and real life experience to illustrate our points and yet this statement was rejected and the points made simply cast aside. These are not the acts of a responsible committee seeking the truth. And lastly, we as members of the Bahraini Council of Representatives look forward to collaborating in the future. We want to establish the right non-politicised framework to do this and wish to highlight that all reformation and rehabilitation centres in Bahrain are open to all human rights organisations. We welcome any future visits by the European Parliament, to see first-hand the situation in reformation centres and with regards to human rights in Bahrain more broadly. We would like to emphasise that the relationship between our Council and the European Parliament is that of mutual respect, and we look forward to enhancing this relationship; however, this should be done on the basis of engagement, facts and the truth rather than politicised briefing taken as truth without challenge or assessment. Our door is open and we look forward to some of you coming to the Kingdom of Bahrain to understand better how far from the truth what you have been told really is.”