Amnesty, Human Rights Watch slam sentences passed on Bahraini activist's family

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have strongly condemned the jail terms handed down to three family members of a prominent activist living abroad, stating that the verdicts are clearly indicative of the extremes, which the Al Khalifah regime is prepared to go in order to crush political dissent in the tiny Persian Gulf kingdom.

“The sentences against Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei’s family members on trumped-up charges and following a grossly unfair trial are a blatant scheme by Bahraini authorities to punish the prominent Bahraini activist, and pressure him to stop his peaceful criticism of the government,” Samah Hadid, the director of Campaigns at Amnesty International’s Beirut regional office, said.

She added, “This is a clear attempt to muzzle Alwadaei from afar. It sends a chilling signal that no one is out of Bahraini authorities’ reach, and demonstrates that they are prepared to use whatever means necessary to crush the dissent.”

“These sentenced should also be a wakeup call for the UK government … it can no longer stay silent over the abuses being committed in Bahrain,” Hadid pointed out.

Separately, Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said the court rulings handed down to Alwadaei’s relatives is an evidence of Bahrain regime’s heavy-handed crackdown on the dissent, and an attempt to silence pro-democracy activists with collective punishment.

Stork added that Bahrain courts, instead of ensuing justice, have turned into a political tool to “persecute critics of the government and the ruling family.”

The Human Rights Watch said Alwadaei’s family members have been ill-treated during investigation, forced to stand for long painful periods and repeatedly been beaten.

It stressed that confessions have been drawn under duress, and Bahraini security forces have resorted to “secret sources” in order to implicate the three defendants.

On Monday, a Bahrain court sentenced three family members of Alwadaei, who is a member of the rights group the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD), on the charge of planting a "fake bomb" in January 2017.

Alwadaei's 49-year-old mother-in-law, Hajer Mansoor, and 18-year-old brother-in-law, Sayed Nizar Alwadaei, were each sentenced to three years in jail.

His 30-year-old cousin Mahmood Marzooq was also sentenced to one month and a half for carrying a knife.

Thousands of anti-regime protesters have held demonstrations in Bahrain on an almost daily basis ever since a popular uprising began in the country in mid-February 2011.

They are demanding that the Al Khalifah dynasty relinquish power and allow a just system representing all Bahrainis to be established.

Manama has heavily clamped down on any sign of dissent. On March 14, 2011, troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were deployed to assist Bahrain in its crackdown.

Scores of people have lost their lives and hundreds of others sustained injuries or got arrested as a result of the Al Khalifah regime’s crackdown.

On March 5, Bahrain’s parliament approved the trial of civilians at military tribunals in a measure blasted by human rights campaigners as being tantamount to imposition of an undeclared martial law countrywide.   

Bahraini monarch King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifah ratified the constitutional amendment on April 3.

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