Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll and Bute)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the letter of the hon. Member for Argyll and Bute of 21 December 2020, what the most recent date was upon which the Government made representations to the Government of Bahrain on the cases of medical negligence against the Bahraini political prisoners Hasan Mushaima, Dr Abduljalil AlSingace and Sheikh AlMuqdad.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We continue to monitor and raise the cases of Hassan Mushaima, Dr Abduljalil Al Singace and Sheikh Abduljalil Al Muqdad.
The Government of Bahrain has been clear in public statements that access to medical care for those in detention is guaranteed by the Constitution of Bahrain. We welcome those assurances.
Those with concerns regarding the treatment of a prisoner should contact the relevant authorities as well as the appropriate national oversight body.
Asked by: Brendan O'Hara (Scottish National Party - Argyll and Bute)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of (a) torture allegations which include beatings, electric shocks, and sexual abuse against political prisoners at the Royal Academy of Policing in Bahrain and (b) reports that local oversight bodies have failed to credibly investigate those allegations.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The British Government's policy is clear - we condemn the use of torture or mistreatment in all circumstances. We take allegations or concerns of torture and mistreatment very seriously. We urge that all allegations of this nature are reported to the appropriate national oversight body and continue to encourage these bodies to carry out swift, transparent and thorough investigations into any such claims.
Asked by: Lord Collins of Highbury (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the meeting that took place between Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Ministers and the Bahraini Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 7 September, whether they discussed (1) the cases of death row inmates and torture victims Mohammed Ramadhan and Husain Moosa, (2) political prisoners in Bahrain, (3) medical negligence in Bahraini prisons, (4) prison conditions in Bahrain, and (5) the UK’s technical assistance programme to Bahrain.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I raised the cases of Mohammed Ramadhan and Husain Moosa during my recent meeting with Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani. The Minister for the Middle East and I raised the use of the death penalty in Bahrain with the Foreign Minister, reiterating that the UK opposes the death penalty, in all circumstances, as a matter of principle. The UK also provides technical assistance in support of Bahrain's ongoing reform agenda. Any technical assistance we provide is kept under regular review to ensure compliance with our human rights obligations and the Overseas Security and Justice Assistance process
The Government of Bahrain has made clear that access to appropriate medical care for those in detention continues to be guaranteed, which means under normal circumstances that any prisoner wishing to see a doctor is taken to the prison clinic, with referral to specialist facilities where required; but that as part of Bahrain's COVID-19 precautions, all initial medical consultations now take place via video calls. Where necessary, physical appointments with external medical specialists continue to be available, although, in line with guidance issued by the World Health Organization, prisoners seeing external specialists are required to isolate for 10 days in a separate detention facility before returning to prison ensuring the safety of both patients and medical staff. We welcome these assurances from the Government of Bahrain, urge continued transparency and would encourage those with any concerns about treatment in detention to raise them with the appropriate Bahraini human rights oversight body.
Asked by: Chris Law (Scottish National Party - Dundee West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the reported rise in the number of political prisoners at imminent risk of execution in Bahrain, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of UK Official Development Assistance provided to Bahrain to support human rights in that country.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The UK does not provide Official Development Assistance to Bahrain. The technical assistance we provide is kept under regular review to ensure compliance with our human rights obligations and the Overseas Security and Justice Assistance process.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to reports of the treatment of political prisoners (a) Sheikh Zuhair Ashoor, (b) Mohamed Sarhan,(c) Mohamed Fakrawi, (d) Ali Al-Wazir and (e) Sadiq Al-Qasra in Jau Prison, Bahrain, if he will make representations to his Bahraini counterpart on the (i) conditions in detention and (ii) treatment of those prisoners.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The Government of Bahrain has made clear that access to appropriate medical care for those in detention continues to be guaranteed, which means under normal circumstances that any prisoner wishing to see a doctor is taken to the prison clinic, with referral to specialist facilities where required; but that as part of Bahrain's COVID-19 precautions, all initial medical consultations now take place via video calls. Where necessary, physical appointments with external medical specialists continue to be available, although, in line with guidance issued by the World Health Organization, prisoners seeing external specialists are required to isolate for 10 days in a separate detention facility before returning to prison ensuring the safety of both patients and medical staff. We welcome these assurances from the Government of Bahrain, urge continued transparency and would encourage those with any concerns about treatment in detention to raise them with the appropriate Bahraini human rights oversight body.
Asked by: Wera Hobhouse (Liberal Democrat - Bath)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of (a) the article written by Bahraini political prisoner and rights activist Ali AlHajee, published by the Independent on 15 August 2020 and (b) Mr AlHajee’s request that the Government call for the release of all political prisoners in Bahrain.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We are aware of the allegations contained in Mr Al Hajee's article, which have been investigated by Bahrain's independent human rights oversight bodies. The UK Government takes note of a number of sources of information on Bahrain when making assessments. Our latest assessment was published as part of our Human Rights and Democracy Report in July 2020.
Asked by: Lord Judd (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they will make to the government of Bahrain about political prisoners at risk of execution, including the cases of (1) Mohamed Ramadan, (2) Husain Moosa, (3) Maher al-Khabbaz, (4) Salman Salman, (5) Hussein Ebrahim, (6) Mohammad Hassan, (7) Sayed Al-Abar, (8) Hussein Mohamed, (9) Hussein Marzooq, (10) Moosa Jafaar, (11) Zuhair Ibrahim, and (12) Husain Rashid.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are following these cases, all of whom have been convicted of the murder of police officers, civilians or both, and will continue to make the Government of Bahrain aware that the UK is firmly opposed to the death penalty, in all circumstances. I reiterated our long standing opposition to the death penalty in my meeting with the Bahraini Minister of Foreign Affairs on 7 September.
Asked by: Lord Scriven (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 17 July (HL6523), what assessment they have made of reports that political prisoner Hamad Al Mahfood has not yet received the urgent medical treatment required for an ongoing tooth infection despite the assurances they have received from the government of Bahrain about the access of prisoners to onsite dental treatment in Jau prison; and what representations they intend to make to the government of Bahrain about the provision of emergency treatment for Hamad Al Mahfood.
Answered by Baroness Sugg
I refer the Noble Lord to Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon's answer of 17 July (PQ HL6523). We encourage all individuals with concerns about access to medical, including dental, treatment in detention to raise them directly with the appropriate Bahraini human rights oversight body.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what representations he has made to the Government of Bahrain on the provision of appropriate medical care to (a) Dr Abduljalil Al Singace, (b) Hassan Mushaima, (c) Ali Al Hajee and (d) Naji Fateel; and if he will call for their release.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The Government of Bahrain has made clear in public statements that access to appropriate medical care for those in detention is guaranteed by the Constitution of Bahrain. These statements stated publicly that, under normal circumstances, any prisoner wishing to see a doctor is taken to the prison clinic, with referral to specialist facilities where required. However as part of COVID-19 precautions, all medical consultations now take place via video calls, ensuring the safety of both patients and medical staff. We welcome these assurances from the Government of Bahrain, urge continued transparency and would encourage those with any concerns about treatment in detention to raise them with the appropriate Bahraini human rights oversight body.
We continue to monitor the cases of Abduljalil al-Singace, Hassan Mushaima, Ali Al Hajee and Naji Fateel.
Asked by: Margaret Ferrier (Independent - Rutherglen and Hamilton West)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the Bahrain authorities' decision to release some prisoners during the covid-19 pandemic, if he will make representations to the Government of Bahrain on the release of (a) Sheikh Ali Salman, (b) Hassan Mushaima and (c) other imprisoned Bahraini political opposition leaders.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
From January to June 2020, 1,055 Bahraini prisoners have received royal pardons and been released from prison. In March, a further 585 prisoners received alternative, non-custodial sentences. We welcome the continued use of alternative sentencing in Bahrain, which was introduced with UK Government support for Bahraini-led reforms of the judicial system. The use of alternative sentencing is governed by clear eligibility guidelines. So far, over 1,700 alternative sentences have been handed down since 2017.
We continue to monitor the cases of Hassan Mushaima and Sheikh Ali Salman.