EU Urged to Free Activists in Bahrain Partnership Talks
Human Rights Watch urges the EU to make freeing Danish and Swedish activists jailed for 15+ years in Bahrain a condition for a new strategic partnership.
The European Union is being urged to demand the release of two imprisoned activists as a condition for its new partnership talks with Bahrain. Danish human rights defender Abdulhadi al-Khawaja and Swedish activist Mohamed Habib al-Muqdad have been detained for over 15 years, with their governments and the EU failing to secure their freedom from what critics call unjust imprisonment.
According to Human Rights Watch, both men were jailed following the Bahraini government's crackdown on mass protests during the 2011 Arab Spring. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found al-Khawaja's detention to be arbitrary in 2012 and called for his immediate release. He is among hundreds imprisoned by the Gulf state for peaceful dissent.
Escalating Repression in Bahrain
Bahraini authorities have intensified their crackdown in recent months. The government has carried out widespread arrests targeting people for exercising freedom of expression. Dozens of Bahrainis, including children, have been stripped of their nationality.
Despite issuing mass pardons that included prisoners held on political grounds, Bahrain's king has consistently excluded al-Khawaja and al-Muqdad from these lists. Other prominent jailed critics also remain imprisoned, including opposition leaders Hassan Mushaima and Sheikh Ali Salman, and academic Abduljalil al-Singace.
EU's Diplomatic Approach Criticized
The EU launched negotiations for a Strategic Partnership Agreement with Bahrain in July. Human Rights Watch argues the bloc has chosen "silent diplomacy" over more robust measures. Concerns have been relegated to fruitless human rights dialogues and ineffective mentions at the UN Human Rights Council.
This approach persists despite Bahrain's human rights record. The Gulf kingdom is the first in its region with which the EU has chosen to launch such partnership negotiations.
Demands for Tangible Action
The likely inclusion of human rights clauses in the agreement will mean little without enforcement measures, the organization states. Human Rights Watch calls for tangible steps before negotiations progress.
The EU, Denmark, Sweden, and all other member states should make clear that partnership talks depend on concrete human rights improvements. The immediate release of al-Khawaja, al-Muqdad, and others jailed for peaceful dissent is a central demand. Their families continue to wait for reunification after 15 years of separation.
