Dear President von der Leyen,
Dear Vice President / High Representative Kallas,
Dear Special Representative for Human Rights Ollongren,
We are writing to you regarding the ongoing war and conflict in the Middle East, with particular reference to the situation in Bahrain and our concerns regarding two EU citizens considered prisoners of conscience by Amnesty International.
We acknowledge that various EU countries already made evacuation plans and operations for EU citizens in the Middle East. We urge you to include an evacuation plan for Danish-Bahraini human rights defender Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja and Sheikh Mohammed Habib Al-Muqdad, a dual Swedish- Bahraini national. Both were arbitrarily and violently arrested in 2011 during the pro-democracy protests in Bahrain.
Al-Khawaja and Al-Muqdad are both in their sixties and have severe health issues after being subjected to torture and long-term imprisonment. Al-Khawaja has a serious heart condition, glaucoma (which causes permanent blindness without proper treatment) and chronic pain following the torture the Bahraini government subjected him to in 2011. Sheikh Mohammed Habib al-Muqdad experienced sudden, seizure-like episodes accompanied by vomiting and visible physical distress. At times, his condition is so severe that he is unable to walk. Despite years of symptoms and repeated medical interventions, he has never received a clear diagnosis or appropriate treatment.
Both prisoners are in need of urgent medical treatment. The undersigned organizations express grave concern regarding their ability to receive adequate treatment under the present circumstances. According to the latest incidents and eyewitnesses in Bahrain, airstrikes have damaged residential areas as well as aluminum smelter ALBA, which is located only 11 kilometers from the Jaw prison in Bahrain, where Al-Khawaja and Habib Al-Muqdad are being detained.
Prisoners should be treated as a vulnerable group under the present circumstances. A worst-case scenario would resemble the recent situation in Evin prison in Iran, where prisoners were allegedly denied access to food, water, medical care, and means of communication. This would be particularly devastating for the two prisoners, given their vulnerability and medical conditions.
We take note of several European States having launched evacuation operations - the Czech Republic, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom. We urge the EU to include these unlawfully detained prisoners in EU evacuation operations. The lives of Al-Khawaja and Al-Muqdad should be protected as soon as possible as we do not consider them to be safe in Jaw prison.
Apart from the urgent situation and ongoing war, the Bahraini authorities are scheduled to release several prisoners at the upcoming Eid al-Fitr on the 20th of March. This is an important window of opportunity. While the Bahraini King has pardoned many prisoners within the past years, some of the most prominent human rights defenders and political activists, including Al-Khawaja and Al-Muqdad have been overlooked.
This spring, three other prominent members of the human rights activists detained in 2011 will have completed their sentence and be released (Al-Mukhodher, Al-Mahroos and Mohammed Ali). This creates a unique opportunity for Bahrain to release the remaining political prisoners and close the dark chapter of 2011 once and for all.
We acknowledge that the EU has repeatedly raised the cases of Al-Khawaja and Al-Muqdad in human rights dialogues and through other mainly private diplomatic channels. In the present situation of conflict and war, we urge EU and the member States to highlight to the highest levels of Bahraini authorities that Abdulhadi al-Khawaja and Sheikh Mohammed Habid Al-Muqdad should be evacuated and released as soon as possible.
We hope that under the current circumstances, the EU and member states will show the solidarity and determination needed to secure the release of the two ill EU citizens who are in urgent need of treatment and protection.
We stand ready to discuss this pressing matter with you any time.
Yours sincerely,
Måns Molander, Nordic Director, Human Rights Watch, Sweden
Vibe Klarup, Secretary General, Amnesty International, Denmark
Maryam Al-Khawaja, Executive Director, The Free Al-Khawaja Campaign, Denmark
