MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on executions in Kuwait and Bahrain
14.2.2017 - (2017/2564(RSP))
pursuant to Rule 135 of the Rules of Procedure
Alyn Smith, Barbara Lochbihler, Ernest Urtasun, Igor Šoltes, Davor Škrlec, Bronis Ropė, Bodil Valero on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group
See also joint motion for a resolution RC-B8-0150/2017
The European Parliament,
– having regard to its previous resolutions on Bahrain, notably of 3 February 2016 on the case of Mohammed Ramadan and of 7 July 2016 on Bahrain, and on Death penalty in October 2015,
– having regard to the statement of 15 January 2017 by the Spokesperson of Vice-President/High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini on the execution carried out in Bahrain and the one of 25 January on the recent executions in the State of Kuwait,
– having regard to the statement of 25 January by the UN Special Rapporteur on summary executions, Agnes Callamard, and on Torture, Nils Melzer urgently calling for the government of Bahrain to stop new executions, and the statement of 17 January by the spokesperson of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Rupert Colville on Bahrain,
– having regard to the EU Guidelines on the Death Penalty, on Torture, on Freedom of Expression and on Human Rights Defenders,
– having regard to the new EU Strategic Framework and Action Plan on Human Rights, which aims to place the protection and surveillance of human rights at the heart of all EU policies,
– having regard to United Nations General Assembly Resolutions, in particular the one of 18 December 2014 on the moratorium on the use of the death penalty
– having regard to the Safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty, approved by Economic and Social Council resolution 1984/50 of 25 May 1984
– having regard to 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 Kuwait and Bahrain are a party,
– having regard to the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, particularly Article 14 and 15,
– having regard to Rule 135 of its Rules of Procedure,
A. whereas on 25 January, Kuwait's authorities executed seven people, Mohammad Shahed Mohammad Sanwar Hussain, Jakatia Midon Pawa, Amakeel Ooko Mikunin, Nasra Youseff Mohammad al-Anzi, Sayed Radhi Jumaa, Sameer Taha Abdulmajed Abduljaleel, Faysal Abdullah Jaber Al Sabah mostly convicted of murder, including a member of the royal family; whereas five of the prisoners were foreign nationals: two Egyptians, one Bangladeshi, one Filipino and one Ethiopian and three of them women; whereas the executions were the first in the country since 2013, when Kuwaiti authorities executed five people after a six-year moratorium;
B. 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 and whereas foreign domestic worker are particularly vulnerable and dependent of the employer, lacking legal and social protection;
C. whereas on 15 January, Bahrain executed Ali Al-Singace, Abbas Al-Samea and Sami Mushaima by firing squad, ending a six-year moratorium; whereas one of the convicts was under the age of 18 when he was arrested for his alleged crime;
D. whereas the executions took place in serious violation of fair trial standards; whereas the three men were accused of a bombing in Manama in 2014, which killed several people, including three police officers, however all three claimed to have been tortured into confessions which were then used as principle evidence for their conviction; whereas they were stripped of their nationality, refused access to a lawyer and were executed less than a week after the verdict without any prior information given to their families and no chance to apply for pardon;
E. whereas two other persons, Mohammad Ramadan and Hussein Moosa, are still at imminent risk of execution in Bahrain following the confirmation of their sentences in late 2015 which have been passed to the King who has the authority to ratify the sentences, commute them or grant a pardon; whereas both have been accused of a bombing in February 2014 which killed 1 security officer and wounded several others; whereas both men were allegedly equally tortured while in prison, which the authorities have failed to investigate, coerced to confess their crime and prevented to have proper legal assistance; whereas their convictions have equally been based almost exclusively on these confessions;
1. Deeply deplores Kuwait and Bahrain’s decision to return to the practice of capital punishment; reiterates its condemnation of the use of the death penalty and strongly supports the introduction of a moratorium on the death penalty, as a step towards abolition;
2. Expresses its concern that the Bahraini authorities failed to investigate allegations that the confessions which served as the basis for the convictions were extracted under torture;
3. Calls on the Bahraini authorities to halt the executions of Mohammad Ramadan and Hussein Moosa and to ensure a re-trial in compliance with international standards; reminds the Bahraini authorities that all allegations of human rights violations committed during the proceedings, including torture by security forces during interrogations have to be duly investigated;
4. Stresses that the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on Civil and Political rights expressly prohibit the death penalty for offences committed by persons below 18 years old;
5. Reminds that the EU opposes capital punishment and considers it to be a cruel and inhuman punishment which fails to act as a deterrent to criminal behavior and is irreversible in case of error;
6. Calls on Kuwait and Bahrain to sign and ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights aiming at the abolition of the death penalty;
7. Urges the EEAS and the Member States to continue fighting against the use of the death penalty; strongly urges Bahrain and Kuwait to comply with international minimum standards, and to reduce the scope and use of the death penalty; urges the EEAS to remain vigilant with regard to developments in these two countries and in the gulf region in general, and to use all means of influence at its disposal;
8. Expresses its concern about the shrinking space for human rights defenders in Kuwait and Bahrain and recalls notably the cases of the Founding Directors of the the Gulf Center for Human Rights, the Bahraini-Danish citizen Abdulhadi al-Khawaja and Nabeel Rajab, who are facing long prison terms as well as Kuwaiti blogger Sara Al-Drees and human rights defender Abdulhakim Al-Fadhi who are under arrest on charges related to free speech; reiterates its call for their release as well as for the release of all those who are solely imprisoned for the peaceful expression of their opinion and urges the governments of Bahrain and Kuwait to consider the work of human rights defenders as a positive contribution towards achieving a more rules-based and just society;
9. Reminds also of the fate of the Bahraini democracy activist Khalil Al Halwachi, a mathematics teacher from Sweden, who has been imprisoned since September 2014 on trumped-up charges and calls on the Bahraini authroties to release him from prison and to allow him to return to Europe;
9. Urges the EEAS and the member states to intervene with the Bahraini government in order to appeal for the release of Nabil Rajab and all those solely held on the basis of peaceful exercise of freedom of expression and to urge the government to stop excessive use of force against demonstrators and to fully implement the recommendations of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) report;
10. 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.