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B8-0154/2017
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MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on executions in Kuwait and Bahrain

14.2.2017 - (2017/2564(RSP))

with request for inclusion in the agenda for a debate on cases of breaches of human rights, democracy and the rule of law
pursuant to Rule 135 of the Rules of Procedure

Ignazio Corrao, Fabio Massimo Castaldo, Isabella Adinolfi, Beatrix von Storch on behalf of the EFDD Group

See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B8-0150/2017

Postupak : 2017/2564(RSP)
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B8-0154/2017
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B8‑0154/2017

European Parliament resolution on executions in Kuwait and Bahrain

(2017/2564(RSP))

The European Parliament,

 

¾Having regard to its previous resolutions on Bahrain

 

¾having regard to the statement of 5 July 2016 by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy on recent developments in Bahrain

 

¾having regard to the EU Guidelines on the Death Penalty, on Torture, on Freedom of Expression and on UN Human Rights Defenders

 

¾having regard to the EU Strategic Framework and the Action Plan on Human Rights, which aims to place the protection and surveillance of human rights at the heart of all EU policies,

 

¾having regard to the 1966 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Arab Charter on Human Rights, to all of which Bahrain is a party,

 

¾having regard to the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, particularly Article 15 thereof,

 

¾having regard to the Statement by the EEAS spokesperson on the recent executions in the State of Kuwait of 25 January 2017

 

¾having regard to the Statement by the EEAS spokesperson on the executions carried out in Bahrain of 15 January

 

A. Whereas on 9 January 2017 Bahrain's Court of Cassation in Bahrain upheld death sentences for Ali Abdulshaheed al-Sankis, Sami Mirza Mshaima’ and Abbas Jamil Taher Mhammad al-Samea and life sentences against seven other individuals in relation to March 2014 killing of three policeman; whereas there are serious doubts about the fairness of the trial that lead to these executions as both men reported that they were violently tortured and sexually assaulted until they agreed to confess and later retracted their confessions; whereas Bahrain’s courts failed to consider their claims or even open an investigation and these confessions were used as the main evidence in the trial;

 

B. Whereas Mr. Mushaima, Mr. al-Samea and Mr. al-Singace were executed by firing squad on 15 January 2017, less than a week after their death sentences were confirmed; whereas the families of all three men were not notified at any time that their executions would be carried out; whereas these death sentences were the first to be carried out in Bahrain since 2010;

 

C. Whereas two Bahraini Men, Mohamed Ramadhan Issa Ali Hussain and Hussain Ali Moosa Hussain Mohamed, are also at imminent risk of execution, after their death sentences were upheld by the Court of Cassation on 16 November 2015 and have been passed to the king who has the authority to ratify them; whereas they claim they were tortured into falsely confessing and whereas their death sentences were handed down largely based on these confessions; whereas Mr. Ramadan and Mr. Moosa have exhausted all rights of appeal and may be executed at any moment;

 

D. Whereas Bahrain’s Interior Ministry Ombudsman allegedly initially refused to investigation Mr. Ramadan and Mr. Moosa’s allegations that they were tortured; whereas their torture allegations were finally investigated by Bahrain’s Interior Ministry Ombudsman in 2016;

 

E. Whereas on January 25, 2017, Kuwaiti authorities hanged seven prisoners - four men and three women-, the first executions carried out since 2013; whereas those executed included a Bangladeshi, a Filipina, an Ethiopian, two Kuwaitis and two Egyptians;

F. Whereas human rights organisations have documented due process violations in Kuwait's criminal justice system that have made it difficult for defendants to get a fair trial;

 

G. Whereas the European Union considers the death penalty a cruel, inhuman and irreversible punishment which fails to act as a deterrent to criminal behaviour; whereas the abolition of the death penalty is essential for the enhancement of human dignity and for the progressive development of human rights;

1. Condemns Bahrain and Kuwait’s decision to resume the practice of executions; recalls that the death penalty is incompatible with values such as respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights; reiterates its supports for the introduction of a moratorium on the death penalty, as a step towards abolition; emphasises once again that the abolition of the death penalty contributes to the enhancement of human dignity and that the EU’s ultimate aim is universal abolition;

2. Condemns the executions of Mr. Mushaima, Mr. al-Samea and Mr. al-Singace that were based on implausible forensic evidence and forced confessions extracted under torture

 

3. Calls for a full re-trial of Mohamed Ramadhan Issa Ali Hussain and Hussain Ali Moosa Hussain Mohamed that complies with international fair trial standards, which excludes the use of evidence obtained under torture;

 

4. Calls on Sheik Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to commute the death sentences of Mr. Ramadan and Mr. Moosa or to grant them a royal pardon; call on Bahrain to establish an official moratorium on death penalty;

 

5. Reminds the Bahraini authorities that Article 15 of the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment prohibits the use of any statement made as a result of torture as evidence in any proceedings;

 

6. Calls on the Bahrain Ombudsman to release the results of its investigation into Mr Ramadan and Mr Moosa’s allegations of torture to the lawyers for both men

 

7. Calls on Bahrain authorities to investigate the allegation on the use of torture used to coerce suspects to confess and on the Government of Bahrain to issue an immediate and open invitation to the UN Special Rapporteur on torture to conduct a country visit, and to allow unfettered access to detainees and to all places of detention;

 

8. Is deeply worried over the large number of offences for which the death penalty is imposed in Kuwait, such as those relating to perjury or “forced perjury” and drug-related crimes, which do not meet the threshold of most serious crimes;

9. Calls on Kuwaiti authorities to follow the current international trend on death penalty and consider revising its legislation with a view to abolishing it and commuting death sentences to prison sentences;

10. Urges the Bahraini and Kuwaiti authorities to consider signing and ratifying the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty; strongly urges Kuwait and Bahrain to comply with international minimum standards, and to reduce the scope and use of the death penalty

11. Urges the EEAS and the Member States to continue fighting against the use of the death penalty and to consider the death penalty abolition as a core issue within its dialogue with Bahraini and Kuwaiti authorities;  

12. Insists that any future trade negotiations and deepening of cooperation with GCC countries need to be conditional with the respect for human rights and preceded by an establishment of formal requirements in this regard.

 

13. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Vice‑President of the Commission / High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the Government and Parliament of the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Government and Parliament of the State of Kuwait and the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council.