Human Rights Groups Urge Pope Francis to Denounce Bahrain Rights Record

ROME — Nine human rights organizations, led by the George-Soros-funded Human Rights Watch, have called on Pope Francis to press Bahrain to end its human rights abuses when he visits the country from November 3 to 6, 2022.

In light of the pontiff’s landmark trip, the first of any pope to Bahrain, “he should publicly and privately call on King Hamad and the Bahraini authorities to commute the death sentences for everyone sentenced to death in the country and to impose a moratorium on death sentences and executions,” the groups said in a joint statement Tuesday.

“He should also urge Bahraini officials to issue a decree reiterating the prohibition in Bahrain’s constitution and laws of all forms of torture and ill-treatment,” they added.

According to Vatican News, Francis will address the Bahrain Forum for Dialogue, a government-led interfaith forum, after which will meet with Sheikh Ahmad Muhammad Al-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, and hold an audience with the members of the Muslim Council of Elders.

The pope will also take part in an ecumenical meeting and prayer for peace with members of various Christian denominations at the Our Lady of Arabia Cathedral in Awali.

In their declaration, the rights groups also asserted that Pope Francis “should press King Hamad to free everyone imprisoned for exercising their right to freedom of association, peaceful assembly, and expression, including rights defenders, opposition activists, and journalists.”

“He should press Bahraini authorities to end abuses against migrant workers,” they said.

While other organizations have highlighted Bahrain’s ill treatment of Shiite Muslims, Wednesday’s joint statement focused on the fact that Bahrain has not abolished the death penalty, noting that twenty-six people are currently on death row in the country.

The Catholic Church has stated that “the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person” and the Church “works with determination for its abolition worldwide,” the statement recalled.

“Pope Francis should heed his own call and publicly demand that Bahrain halt all executions, abolish the death penalty, and seriously investigate torture allegations and violations of the right to a fair trial,” the organizations said.

In 2017, Human Rights Watch pressed the European Union to strip Poland of its voting rights in the European Council because of the country’s restrictions on abortion.

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