By Maya Foa, Director at Reprieve
On Sunday 15th January 2017, Bahrain executed three men – the first executions in the country for six years
No we’re issuing an Execution Alert for Mohammed Ramadan, another Bahraini man and father of three whose execution is imminent.
Mohammed, just like the three men executed in January 2017, is a victim of horrific human rights abuses. He was badly tortured. His death sentence was handed down in a sham trial. He was told explicitly that he was being punished as a traitor for attending pro-democracy demonstrations.
The UK government has provided 5 million pounds over 4 years to the system that made these executions possible – training police officers, prosecutors, and even the death row guards. In Mohammed’s case, Bahrain’s UK-trained torture investigator refused to investigate his torture allegations for two whole years. During that period, he was sentenced to death in a trial that relied on torture confessions.
The close ties between Britain and Bahrain mean that action from our government is vital if we’re going to save Mohammed’s life and prevent further executions.
The UK government has already been urged to act, but they have so far refused to speak out against Mohammed’s death sentence.
Stop Bahrain executing its political opponents – call on the UK Government to end its assistance to Bahrain’s death penalty system and take steps to prevent Mohammed’s execution.
Mohammed could be executed because he stood up for things we all care about – democracy and human rights. Now it’s our turn to stand up for him.