Unic Press UK: Amnesty International, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) warns that Bahrain is on the precipice given a series of human rights abuses being unleashed on the populace by the authorities in Bahrain.
The NGO is worried about the high-handed approach, particularly the use of “excessive force against protesters”, saying that a human rights crisis is inevitable, save the authorities in Bahrain refrain from “repression – including violence against protesters, executions, arbitrary detentions and a crackdown on freedom of expression.”
“Bahrain is at a tipping point. The first six weeks of 2017 alone have seen an alarming upsurge in arbitrary and abusive force by security forces as well as the first executions since the uprising in 2011. For six years, the Bahraini government has been claiming that it has taken meaningful steps towards reform and upholding its human rights obligations, including by prosecuting those who were responsible for the violations that took place during the 2011 uprising. But the past few weeks have seen a very concerning renewed pattern of violations, including arbitrary detention and torture, facilitated by a continuing climate of impunity. The authorities must rein in the security forces, respect the rights to peaceful assembly, association and expression, and stop executions, otherwise a full-blown human rights crisis risks breaking out.” (Lynn Maalouf, Deputy Director at Amnesty International’s Beirut office: 14/02/2017)
The crisis escalated after the execution of three Shia Muslim men in mid-January 2017, leading to a series of protests. The three men had been convicted of murder/killing two Bahraini police officers and an Emirati police officer in a 2014 bomb attack.
Unrest, tensions has led to casualties – including the killing of some protesters and policemen.
