EUU, Alm.del - 2024-25 - Bilag 296: Henvendelse af 18/2-25 fra FreeAlKhawaja-kampagnen om opfordring til EU-ledere til at arbejde for løsladelse af menneskerettighedsforkæmperne Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja og Mohammed Habib Al-Muqdad

Europaudvalget 2024-25
EUU Alm.del Bilag 296
Offentligt

To:

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission

António Costa, President of the European Council

Kaja Kallas, High Representative for Foreign Policy / Vice-President of the European Commission

CC:

Mette Frederiksen, Prime Minister of Denmark

Ulf Kristersson, Prime Minister of Sweden

Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Denmark

Maria Malmer Stenergard, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden

Brussels, 14 February 2025

Dear President von der Leyen,

Dear President Costa,

Dear High Representative / Vice-President Kallas,

RE: Urgent, high-level outreach to the King of Bahrain to release EU nationals Abdulhadi

Al-Khawaja and Mohammed Habib Al-Muqdad

We, the undersigned human rights groups, are writing to request your urgent and robust intervention

with the Bahraini authorities to secure the release of two arbitrarily detained EU nationals,

Danish-Bahraini

Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja

and Swedish-Bahraini

Sheikh Mohammed Habib

Al-Muqdad.

Mr Al-Khawaja and Mr Al-Muqdad were arrested in the aftermath of the 2011 uprising in Bahrain,

which occurred between 14 February and 18 March 2011 and was

crushed by the Bahraini authorities,

who unlawfully killed and beat protesters, and arrested, tortured, and prosecuted opposition activists,

human rights defenders, lawyers and journalists.

The EU has repeatedly raised these cases privately during human rights dialogues with Bahrain, and

encouraged Bahrain to uphold its human rights obligations in two recent short statements at the

Human Rights Council.

In February,

the High Representative

reiterated the EU’s commitment to “call

for the release of Mr Al-Khawaja and other human rights defenders in Bahrain through available

diplomatic channels”. But these efforts have ostensibly been insufficient, with the two remaining in

jail for nearly 14 years at the time of writing.

We are also concerned that the EU’s latest Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy 2023

paints a misleading and one-sided picture of the human rights and democracy situation in Bahrain.

The report

claims

that

'Bahrain has continued to improve its human rights record, notably in the area

of social and economic rights and women’s rights',

but the report fails to mention the

torture

and

denial

medical care

for members of Bahrain’s political opposition.

We also note that the EU and Bahrain signed a cooperation arrangement in 2021 to enhance bilateral

relations. The agreement was signed despite the continued unjust imprisonment of two EU nationals,

Mr Al-Khawaja and Mr Al-Muqdad. Both Mr Al-Khawaja and Mr Al-Muqdad have been subjected to

torture and other ill-treatment, including by the Bahraini military, as documented by

the Bahrain

Independent Commission of Inquiry,

and they have been deprived of their fair trial rights such as

EUU, Alm.del - 2024-25 - Bilag 296: Henvendelse af 18/2-25 fra FreeAlKhawaja-kampagnen om opfordring til EU-ledere til at arbejde for løsladelse af menneskerettighedsforkæmperne Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja og Mohammed Habib Al-Muqdad

attending court hearings, legal representation, and access to health care, in violation of both

international human rights law and Bahrain's constitutional obligations to uphold and respect human

rights. Furthermore, in 2012, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention

concluded

that Mr

Al-Khawaja’s detention was arbitrary and in contravention of international law and called for his

‘immediate release’ and ‘enforceable right to compensation’.

Bahrain continues to unjustly detain others for politically motivated reasons – amongst them those

advocating for human rights, including Dr Abduljalil Al-Singace, Hassan Mushaima and Sheikh Ali

Salman. According to documentation by Human Rights Watch, there are also

26 people on death row

facing imminent execution, many of whom allege torture and unfair trials. These include Mohammed

Ramadan and Hussain Moosa, who have now spent over a decade in arbitrary detention and were

sentenced to death in 2014 in an unfair trial marred by allegations of torture.

In 2024, Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa issued four royal pardons, resulting in the

unconditional and immediate release of an estimated 810 political prisoners,

according

to the Bahrain

Institute for Rights and Democracy. Regrettably, 2024 also saw the deaths in custody of two prisoners

held for political reasons,

Hussain Khalil

and

Hussain Aman,

in March and December 2024

respectively, who died of cardiac arrest, raising deep concerns about the adequacy of healthcare in the

prison. The deaths triggered

prisoner strikes,

which were met with disproportionate and unlawful

response by prison authorities, including the

use of force

and collective punishment, according to the

Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR). The undersigned remain concerned over conditions in Jau

Prison,

amid reports

from the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) of prolonged

confinement, unhygienic conditions, lack of adequate health care, and punishment for congregational

prayers and rituals.

Following the first EU-GCC summit in October 2024,

both parties committed

to respecting,

protecting, and promoting universal human rights and international law. As such, it is vital for the EU

to emphasize these aspects of the relationship with Bahrain.

In the light of the above, we respectfully call on the EU to do the following:

●

Make urgent high-level outreach to the King of Bahrain to secure the immediate and

unconditional release of EU nationals Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja and Mohammed Habib

Al-Muqdad;

In line with the EU Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders, the EU should meet with Mr

Al-Khawaja and Mr Al-Muqdad during country visits to Bahrain and, if this is not possible,

consider meeting with the family of Mr Al-Khawaja and Mr Al-Muqdad instead;

Work closely with the governments of Denmark and Sweden to coordinate joint efforts in the

case of Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja and Mohammed Habib Al-Muqdad, a Danish-Bahraini and a

Swedish-Bahraini national, respectively;

Ensure more accurate and balanced reporting on the human rights and democracy situation in

Bahrain in the EU Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy, including by increasing

consultation with civil society, including those in exile, and international human rights

organisations; and guaranteeing that human rights defenders can carry out their peaceful work

without fear of reprisals against them and their families;

Publicly urge the Bahraini authorities to end the use of the death penalty in Bahrain, calling

on Bahrain to commute all outstanding death sentences, and to establish an official

moratorium on executions;

●

Carry out independent human rights impact assessments before signing any future agreements

with Bahrain, and use the ongoing negotiations for partnership agreements to secure concrete

and measurable human rights progress through reforms and the release of unjustly jailed

individuals.

We trust that the EU will show the solidarity and determination necessary to secure the release of two

EU nationals and allow them to finally reunite with their families after 14 years of unjust

imprisonment, and we hope that these releases can be secured well before Denmark takes over the EU

Presidency in July 2025.

Thank you for your attention and we remain ready to discuss this urgent matter with you at any time.

Sincerely,

1. Access Now

2. ALQST For Human Rights

3. Amnesty International

4. ARTICLE 19

5. Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR)

6. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)

7. CIVICUS

8. DAWN

9. FairSquare

10. Front Line Defenders

11. Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR)

12. Human Rights First

13. Human Rights Monitor (HRM)

14. Human Rights Watch

15. HuMENA for Human Rights and Civic Engagement

16. IFEX

17. International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), within the framework of the Observatory

for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders

18. International Media Support

19. International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT)

20. International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)

21. Martin Ennals Foundation

22. Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke / ActionAid Denmark

23. MENA Rights Group

24. Middle East Democracy Center (MEDC)

25. REDRESS

26. Reprieve

27. Sentinel for Human Rights

28. The Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD)

29. The FreeAlKhawaja Campaign

30. The Rafto Foundation for Human Rights

31. World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), within the framework of the Observatory for

the Protection of Human Rights Defenders