Pucciarelli calls on the King of Bahrain to abolish death sentences against citizens

The head of the Human Rights Committee in the Italian Senate, Stefania Pucciarelli, sent a letter to the King of Bahrain, Hamad Bin Isa, urgently requesting to save the lives of Bahraini citizens

The head of the Human Rights Committee in the Italian Senate, Stefania Pucciarelli, sent a letter to the King of Bahrain, Hamad Bin Isa, urgently requesting to save the lives of Bahraini citizens, Muhammad Ramadan and Hussein Musa.

On January 8, 2020, the Bahrain Supreme Criminal Court of Appeal upheld and approved death sentences against Muhammad Ramadan and Hussein Musa, who in December 2014 had been charged with killing a security officer, after they had been convicted under torture.

Pucciarelli’s message highlighted that Italy and Bahrain enjoy excellent and friendly relations, as evidenced by increased economic and trade cooperation.

Pucciarelli’s message highlights that Italy and Bahrain are signatories to several core international human rights treaties including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention against Torture and Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and accordingly this letter calls on Bahrain to abide by its obligations Internationalism and “joining the international community in respecting the founding values  of each society and in respecting the right to life.”

She called for the death penalty provisions to be commuted, and also stressed the provision of alternative sentences, which are prison terms, for both Ramadan and Moses.