As security forces in Bahrain continue to kill protesters while enjoying official impunity, Khalil Almarzooq, the Political Assistant to Secretary-General in Al Wefaq National Islamic Society, is being prosecuted solely for expressing his opinion.
On Wednesday 21st April, the eve of Almarzooq’s hearing session, the security forces killed 15 year old Sayed Mahmood Sayed Mohsin in Sitra island, south of Manama. The teen was fired at to the chest with buckshot in a dramatic violent scene that sparked wide anger the country.
This is not the first time a minor is killed in the same brutal manner, however, the killers, who serve at the security forces, were either acquitted or given very light sentences each time.
In September 2013, 47 member States in the UN Human Rights Council said “the human rights situation in Bahrain remains an issue of serious concern”.
Today, Bahrain continues to be criticized by national and international rights NGOs for its appalling human rights situation. A few days ago, Amnesty International released a statement on its week-long visit to Bahrain. “ Amnesty International also urges the members of the Human Rights Council to address the human rights situation in Bahrain robustly at the Council’s upcoming 26th session in June 2014 to ensure Bahrain’s full implementation of the recommendations it accepted during its Universal Periodic Review in 2012″, it said in the statement.
All this goes on as the architect of the Nonviolent Declaration, Khalil Almarzooq, is facing a sham trial. Almarzooq is being tried for his peaceful political activism for democratic transition. According to the Bassiouni report, the Bahraini judiciary is used to attack the opposition.
“If the Authority is serious about reform, it must stop trials aggressive to the freedom of expression and release all prisoners of conscience in Bahrain”, Al Wefaq said.
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