Iran, intl. community condemn Bahrain’s execution of three activists

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has lashed out at the Bahraini government for executing three anti-regime Shia activists, saying the Manama regime is liable for any consequences of its action.

Bahrain on Sunday executed three anti-regime Shia activists - Sami Mushaima, Abbas Jamil Tahir al-Sami’ and Ali Abdulshahid al-Singace - over their alleged role in a 2014 bomb attack, amid widespread public anger against the death verdicts.

“Through this injudicious measure, the Bahraini government once again demonstrated that it does not seek a peaceful solution to and a way out of the Bahraini crisis," Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said on Sunday.

He added that the Bahraini government is insisting on the use of security and oppressive approaches and the brutal killing of defenseless protesters.

International and human rights bodies and all popular organizations across the world have attested to the lack of transparency in the unfair trial proceedings of the three Bahraini citizens, the Iranian spokesperson said.

He expressed regret that the Bahraini government is blocking any path to political dialogue and negotiations and is leading the country to a “complete political impasse” by intensifying political approaches, imposing restrictions and exerting pressure on leaders of the opposition as well as executing political prisoners.

Qassemi said the executions come as Bahraini people and the country’s political and religious leaders as well as international circles have been underlining the importance of resolving the crisis through dialogue and interaction.

The Manama regime’s execution of the death verdicts triggered angry demonstrations in the villages of Diraz, Bani Jamra and Sanabis.

Regime forces tried to disperse the protesters by firing pellets and tear gas canisters and injuring a number of the demonstrators. Manama’s troops also prevented people from holding a funeral procession for those executed.

On January 9, Bahrain’s Court of Cassation upheld the death penalties given to the three men over allegations of killing a member of Emirati forces, who had been assisting Manama in its suppression of Bahraini protesters, in the northern village of al-Daih back in March 2014. Seven other convicts have also been sentenced to life in prison in the case. The defendants had denied the charges.

Bahrain’s execution of activists clear violation of human rights

Meanwhile, Iranian Parliament speaker's special advisor on international affairs, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, said on Sunday that the Manama regime’s execution of the three young Bahraini activists, who had been “democratically crying out popular demands, is a clear violation of human rights.”

He added that global silence in the face of the executions and Bahrain’s complicity with the oppressive and meddlesome policies of Britain and Saudi Arabia have exposed the duplicity of the so-called advocates of human rights in the West and Riyadh.

“Instead of relying on foreigners, the Bahraini government must rely on the wise people of its country,” the senior Iranian official said.

He emphasized that Iran is not meddling with Bahrain’s internal affairs, saying, “We politically and spiritually support the Bahraini people’s legitimate demands, which are in accordance with the United Nations Charter and pursued through the recognized democratic approach.”

Bahrain, Arabs, West responsible for crime against activists: Hezbollah

In a related development, the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement has also denounced the killing of three young activists in Bahrain.

In a statement on Sunday, Hezbollah said the Bahraini regime and its Arab and Western supporters are responsible for this crime.

The execution of the three men would result in the failure of all political solutions to the Bahraini crisis, it added.

The movement said the Bahraini people would continue their struggle to achieve all their legitimate rights and demands in defiance of the regime's crackdown.

Bahraini activists’ execution extrajudicial: UN Special Rapporteur

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Extra-Judicial Executions Agnes Callamard described as extrajudicial the Bahraini regime's execution of the three political detainees.

Callamard said on her official Twitter account that the three Bahraini activists were subjected to torture, terming their trial as unfair and based on flimsy evidence.

On Saturday, she had urged the Bahraini officials to stop the executions.

Activists’ execution closed all doors to political settlement

Head of Bahraini Forum for Human Rights, Youssef Rabih, said execution of the three activists had closed all doors to a political settlement of the conflict in the country, warning that such executions would further complicate the situation in Bahrain.

Rabih also said Al Khalifah is responsible for the current crisis in Bahrain.

Dark day for human rights in Bahrain: Amnesty International

Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Campaigns in Beirut, Samah Hadid, also reacted to execution of the young Bahraini activists.

“This is a dark day for human rights in Bahrain. These executions – the first to be carried out since 2010 - are a deeply regressive step for a country whose authorities have repeatedly trumpeted their commitment to human rights,” Hadid said.

“Instead of stepping up executions, Bahrain’s authorities should establish an immediate moratorium on executions,” he said.

Manama has given a heavy-handed security response to peaceful popular protests, which first began in early 2011. The clampdown has cost scores of lives. Later during the popular uprising, the regime called in Saudi and Emirati reinforcements to help it muffle dissent.

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