President Macron’s Visit to Bahrain Amid an Escalating Human Rights Crackdown

His Excellency Emmanuel Macron
Élysée Palace, Paris

Dear President Macron,

We, the undersigned human rights organizations, write ahead of your visit to Bahrain, scheduled as part of your Gulf tour from October 19 to 21, to urge you to place human rights at the center of your discussions with King Hamad Al-Khalifa. Your visit comes amid Bahrain's most severe crackdown on dissent since 2011, raising serious concerns that closer political and security cooperation with France could embolden the Bahraini authorities at a time of escalating repression.

We recognize the importance of regional security and stability, particularly amid the ongoing conflict. However, these objectives should not come at the expense of fundamental human rights or overlook serious ongoing abuses.

Since the outbreak of the Iran–US–Israel war, the Bahraini authorities have intensified their crackdown on fundamental freedoms:

More than 700 people have been arrested, including children. Dozens have received lengthy prison sentences following unfair trials, including life sentences as documented by Al Amal Center for Human Rights and Justice and Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD).
In April, the authorities revoked the citizenship of 69 Bahrainis, including 33 children, the youngest just 19 days old, leaving the majority stateless.
In an unprecedented crackdown on Shia clerics, at least 37 were arrested on 9 May. Currently 69 defendants are facing a mass trial, 56 of whom are in custody, including 46 clerics. According to reports received by BIRD, defence lawyers have raised serious allegations of torture, coerced confessions, fabricated interrogation records and serious violations of fair trial rights.
In March, 32-year-old Sayed Mohamed Al-Mousawi died in custody after authorities forcibly disappeared him the previous week. His body was returned to his family bearing visible signs of torture.

These developments come amidst a longstanding pattern of arbitrary detention and impunity. Two European citizens, Danish-Bahraini human rights defender Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja and Swedish-Bahraini prominent dissident Sheikh Mohammed Habib Al-Muqdad, have remained wrongfully imprisoned for more than 15 years since their initial arrest, as have prominent political prisoners Hassan Mushaima and Dr. Abduljalil Al-Singace. Dr Al-Singace has been on a liquid-only hunger strike for more than five years protesting confiscation of his manuscripts. The four men, along with others in arbitrary detention, have been tortured and denied adequate medical care.

Bahrain also continues to impose the death penalty following proceedings riddled with serious fair trial concerns. There are currently 19 individuals facing the death penalty, 18 of whom have exhausted their legal remedies. We are particularly concerned about Mohammed Ramadhan and Husain Moosa, whose detention the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found to be arbitrary, and who called for their immediate and unconditional release.

In February 2013, France joined 43 other states at the UN Human Rights Council in raising concerns over political imprisonment, unfair trials and citizenship revocations in Bahrain. The European Union, including through its Special Representative for Human Rights and in human rights dialogues, has repeatedly called for their release, but more than 15 years after their arrest, some of those same prisoners, including EU citizens Al-Khawaja and Al-Muqdad, remain behind bars, and abuses continue.

President Macron, unless you formulate concrete calls to improve Bahrain’s human rights record, including chiefly the release of human rights defenders and political prisoners, your visit risks legitimizing Bahrain’s repression and sending a dangerous message to its rulers that they can continue imprisoning critics, persecuting religious leaders and stripping children of their citizenship without facing any consequences to their relations with France.

We therefore urge you to use your visit as an opportunity to press King Hamad to:

Immediately and unconditionally release Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, Sheikh Mohammed Habib Al-Muqdad, Hassan Mushaima, Dr Abduljalil Al-Singace and all others arbitrarily detained for exercising their fundamental rights to freedom of expression and assembly.
End the mass prosecution of Shia clerics, immediately and unconditionally release those arbitrarily detained and ensure independent investigations into allegations of torture, coerced confessions and serious violations of due process.
Restore citizenship to the 69 Bahrainis whose nationality was arbitrarily revoked in April 2026.
Commute all death sentences and establish an immediate moratorium on executions with a view to abolish the death penalty, and call for the immediate and unconditional release of Mohammed Ramadhan and Husain Moosa, in line with the findings of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.

We respectfully further ask that France should:

Ensure any further French security assistance is subject to effective and comprehensive human rights safeguards, and press Bahrain to grant UN human rights experts access to investigate serious violations.
Conduct independent human rights impact assessments before concluding any agreements with Bahrain, and use ongoing partnership negotiations to secure concrete, measurable human rights improvements, including meaningful reforms and the release of those arbitrarily detained.

We urge you to raise these concerns publicly and privately with King Hamad and make clear that France's commitment to regional security does not come at the expense of the fundamental rights of the Bahraini people.

We stand ready to provide further information and discuss these issues any time, and would welcome a response outlining what and how human rights issues were raised during your visit.

Yours sincerely,