UN slams Bahrain’s execution of dissidents

The United Nations strongly condemned the execution of two young activists in Bahrain, as the ruling Al Khalifa regime presses ahead with its heavy-handed crackdown on

The United Nations strongly condemned the execution of two young activists in Bahrain, as the ruling Al Khalifa regime presses ahead with its heavy-handed crackdown on political dissidents and pro-democracy activists in the Persian Gulf kingdom.

“We strongly condemn the execution on July 26 in Manama of two Bahraini citizens, Ali Mohamed Hakeem al-Arab, 25, and Ahmed Isa al-Malali, 24. The executions went ahead on Friday night, despite concerns expressed by the High Commissioner, following two earlier public statements by UN human rights experts … that the men’s “confessions” were obtained through torture, and about lack of due process and fair trial guarantees. A third man, a migrant worker, was also executed after being convicted of murder,” Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Rupert Colville, said in the Swiss city of Geneva on Tuesday.

He added, “We are also very concerned about the future of other detainees, who remain on death row in Bahrain and are at risk of imminent execution. We call on the Bahraini government to halt all pending executions, and ensure a re-trial of these and other defendants whose rights may have been violated.”

“We fully support the call by the UN experts for the Bahraini authorities to establish an official moratorium on all executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty,” Colville said.

Al-Arab and al-Malali were executed at the notorious Jaw Prison, south of the capital Manama, after private meetings with their families.