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Joi, 4 februarie 2016 - Strasbourg Ediţie revizuită

7.2. Bahrain: cazul lui Mohammed Ramadan
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  President. – The next item is the debate on seven motions for resolutions on Bahrain: the case of Mohammed Ramadan (2016/2557(RSP)).

 
  
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  Alyn Smith, author. Madam President, there has been genuinely good cooperation across the House in the production of this really very solid resolution and, bluntly, I would hope so too. If we cannot unite on something like opposition to the death penalty, I do not think there is much hope for us. There are those in Bahrain who do feel that we focus too much upon the Kingdom; we criticise too much the lack of progress in Bahrain that we have seen in parts, and since there are other abuses in the region, why not focus upon them? Firstly, we do focus on other abuses in the neighbouring countries in the wider region, and secondly, in many ways it is a compliment, because there is a feeling within this House that there is scope for a dialogue with Bahrain that is actually going somewhere. There is actually a process towards reform that we can assist, and there are useful discussions to be had.

It is important that we recognise the progress that Bahrain has made in a reform programme. There has been institutional reform; we have seen steps towards an independent judiciary; we have seen the establishment of ombudsmen; we have seen the establishment of the Prisoners’ Rights Commission and the special investigations unit; and there have been a number of declarations which have been really very positive. But that progress has stalled, and we need to see that progress continue. We can assist in that process by being vocal in our criticism but also constructive in our willingness to help. We must be vocal about our criticism of the sentencing to death of Mr Ramadan along with nine other individuals presently on death row within the Kingdom, and I hope we will be unanimous in our condemnation of those sentences.

I would also, in a very solid resolution, pick out in particular paragraph 3: ‘Stresses the obligation to ensure that human rights defenders are protected and allowed to conduct their work without hindrance, intimidation or harassment’. Internal dialogue within Bahrain is vital for underpinning progress. We can assist with that process, and I hope we will unite around this resolution today.

 
  
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  Ignazio Corrao, Autore. Signora Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, è impossibile negare il fallimento degli Stati membri e dell'Unione europea sulla questione Bahrein. Che cosa è stato fatto in concreto e quali saranno i prossimi passi per il rilascio di attivisti imprigionati, sottoposti a torture e maltrattamenti? Fino ad oggi si è assistito ad una meravigliosa attività per procura tra Stati, a cui chiediamo amicizia e con cui proviamo ad intrattenere sempre dei meravigliosi rapporti. Dal canto nostro non siamo assolutamente riusciti a proteggere e tutelare gli attivisti e i difensori dei diritti umani.

Oggi altri fatti mettono in luce gli abusi che continuano nel paese, come la limitazione del diritto di espressione e quello di protesta pacifica. Il caso di Mohammed Ramadan, Husain Ali Moosa e Nabeel Rajab, arrestati arbitrariamente e torturati solo per aver esercitato i loro diritti, ne è una prova palese. Alla luce di tali fatti, è opportuno che l'Unione europea e gli Stati membri lavorino a fondo su una strategia, soprattutto sui grandi player stranieri che operano in Bahrein, per esercitare pressione economica e diplomatica al fine di ottenere il rilascio degli attivisti e dei prigionieri incarcerati illegittimamente.

 
  
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  Pier Antonio Panzeri, Autore. Signora Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, nel drammatico scontro che infiamma l'area del Golfo e che vede contrapporsi due potenze regionali come Iran e Arabia Saudita, impegnate ad imporre la propria egemonia, si inserisce il Bahrein, dove si segnalano ripetute violazioni dei diritti umani nei confronti della dissidenza politica. Mohammed Ramadan, di cui ci occupiamo oggi, è solo l'ennesimo attivista nel mirino per aver avuto il coraggio di denunciare le politiche governative in totale contraddizione con i diritti umani.

Tra l'altro, un altro caso di cui ci siamo recentemente occupati è quello dell'attivista Nabeel Rajab, al quale è tuttora vietato lasciare il paese nonostante la scarcerazione. La situazione è resa ancora più allarmante dai numerosi casi segnalati di utilizzo della pratica della tortura da parte delle forze di polizia. Tutto questo si inserisce in una logica diffusa che tende a ridurre lo spazio per la società civile e a intensificare il controllo statale sui media. Allora esprimiamo questa profonda preoccupazione e vogliamo chiedere alle autorità del Bahrein di rispondere positivamente alle nostre sollecitazioni.

 
  
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  Tomáš Zdechovský, Autor. Paní předsedající, já bych chtěl nejprve říci, že toto usnesení je velikánským kompromisem a je kompromisem všech stran. Evropská lidová strana ho nakonec podpořila, nicméně musím na začátku hned uvést, že jsme měli řadu výhrad k tomuto textu a že jsme nebyli úplně jednotní v tom, jak se ten text vytvářel. A tento text taky ukazuje další věc, jak je nutné si informace ověřovat. Do textu se snažily některé skupiny dát informace, které se ukázaly nakonec jako nepravdivé a které není možné ověřit z neutrálních zdrojů. Já bych chtěl tímto usnesením především apelovat na bahrajnskou vládu, aby přezkoumala případ Muhammada Ramadána spolu s ostatními případy, u kterých je podezření na porušování lidských práv, a také chci ocenit určitý pokrok Bahrajnu, který za poslední roky třeba udělal v trestu smrti.

 
  
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  Charles Tannock, author. Madam President, there are clearly legitimate concerns surrounding the arrest and trial of Mohammed Ramadan, and my group calls on the Bahraini authorities – and His Majesty in particular – to carry out a full investigation into the allegations of torture, suspending any convictions, particularly the death penalty, until this process has taken place, and to review the sentences where appropriate, following the conclusions that have been made.

Nevertheless, the proposed joint text today, in our view, is far too strong in its general condemnation of this fragile island state, which is making huge efforts to improve its governance and human rights situation, for us to support it and to sign it. It fails to recognise the security risks that Bahrain faces, including external interference by neighbouring Iran.

My country, the United Kingdom, has a tradition of strong ties with the Kingdom of Bahrain, dating right back to the foundation of the modern state – when it was its initial protector – to today, when construction is commencing on a Royal Navy base, as agreed between United Kingdom and Bahrain in 2014, which serves to remind us of the close security ties we have and the important role that Bahrain and its tolerant, multi-confessional state plays in the region’s security.

 
  
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  Marie-Christine Vergiat, auteure. Madame la Présidente, à l'occasion du printemps de la paix en l'an 2011, près de la moitié de la population bahreïnienne est descendue dans la rue. Ils étaient surtout chiites, une majorité opprimée, mais leurs revendications étaient démocratiques et sociales. Elles n'ont pas trouvé d'écho, et l'Arabie saoudite est intervenue pour rétablir l'ordre. Les ONG estiment à 3 000 le nombre de prisonniers politiques. Ce pays détient la seconde place en matière de population carcérale dans les États arabes.

L'ensemble de la population voit ses libertés restreintes. La lutte contre le terrorisme est, ici aussi, instrumentalisée. Ce pays semblait sur la voie de l'abolition de la peine de mort, mais dix condamnations viennent d'être prononcées. La déchéance de la nationalité est également instrumentalisée, plus de 208 en quelques mois.

Si les autorités bahreïniennes sont vraiment prêtes à s'engager sur la voie de la réforme, il est temps qu'elles mettent en œuvre les 26 recommandations de la commission d'enquête indépendante et qu'elles fassent cesser la pratique de la torture et les condamnations obtenues sur cette base.

Les progrès sont jugés sur les faits et, en ce moment, le moins que l'on puisse dire est qu'au Bahreïn, on ne va pas dans le bon sens.

 
  
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  Marietje Schaake, author. Madam President, this week many of the people here – just like I did – heard from the authorities in Bahrain. Those authorities would like to focus on energy, security and other issues of mutual concern, and I too would prefer not to have to ask the Bahraini authorities again to stop torture, to stop repressing minority opinions, to stop revoking people’s citizenships, and now – the worst punishment of all – to stop the death penalty. Mohammed Ramadan is one of 10 people on death row in Bahrain, but he is the first to have exhausted all legal appeal mechanisms. We urgently call on the Bahraini authorities to reinstall the moratorium on the death penalty. More broadly, the best way – and in fact the only way – to develop fruitful and deep cooperation between Bahrain and the European Union is for them to unequivocally respect the rights of all people in Bahrain, to grant the Special Representative of the UN access to the country and full access to detainees at facilities, and to make sure that it respects the rights of people.

 
  
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  Ramona Nicole Mănescu, în numele grupului PPE. Doamnă președintă, sunt categoric împotriva pedepsei cu moartea și a utilizării torturii și cred că nimic nu poate justifica utilizarea acestor măsuri de către orice guvern. Sper ca și guvernul Bahrainului să reconsidere aceste măsuri și cred că pot face acest lucru, pentru că au dovedit implicare și o traiectorie foarte bună, pozitivă în acest sens.

Cu toate acestea, consider că, oricâte rezoluții vom face în Parlamentul European împotriva unor state mici din Golf, atâta timp cât vom continua să folosim un dublu standard în dialogul nostru și în relația noastră cu state terțe, vom eșua în a fi cu adevărat apărători ai drepturilor omului. Un recent raport al Amnesty International ne arată un Iran care conduce în topul statelor care utilizează pedeapsa cu moartea și executările foarte frecvente, o frecvență de aproximativ două-trei execuții pe zi.

Doamnă președintă, cred că, atunci când vom înceta să ne exprimăm selectiv în privința acestor abuzuri împotriva drepturilor omului, vom reuși cu adevărat să sprijinim oamenii acolo unde au ei nevoie, inclusiv în Iran.

 
  
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  Ana Gomes, em nome do Grupo S&D. Senhora Presidente, cinco anos depois das primeiras manifestações pró-democracia no Bahrein, continuam a chegar-nos relatos de intensa repressão política, incluindo prisões arbitrárias, tortura, violência contra manifestantes e opositores políticos e outras violações direitos humanos, como sentenças judiciais contra ativistas, como Nabil Rajab, ainda no mês passado condenado a seis meses de prisão por um tweet.

O recurso a lei antiterrorismo para silenciar ativistas e opositores políticos é prática comum de regimes repressivos, mas estamos particularmente preocupados com uma lei deste tipo que foi utilizada para a condenação à pena de morte de Mohamed Ramadan que foi torturado, alegadamente.

É urgente a reintrodução da moratória sobre a pena de morte como um primeiro passo no sentido da sua abolição no Bahrein, e desde já apelamos ao perdão real para comutar a pena de Mohamed Ramadan. Espero que os Estados-Membros e a Alta Representante também se façam ouvir neste pedido. É urgente que o relator especial da ONU sobre a tortura possa visitar o Bahrein e lhe seja dado acesso irrestrito a todos os detidos e a todos os locais de detenção.

Finalmente, aproveito para deixar a minha solidariedade com todos os ativistas do Bahrein que estão presos injustamente, nomeadamente aqueles que eu conheço, como Ibrahim Sharif, Abduladi al Khawaja, Mohamed Al-Mokhtar e o Sheikh Ali Salman.

 
  
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  Seán Kelly (PPE). A Uachtaráin, tá áthas orm labhairt ar an ábhar tábhachtach seo, ach cosúil le Feisirí eile, ba mhaith liom ar dtús a rá go bhfuil a lán dul chun cinn déanta ag Bairéin, agus tá comhoibriú maith idir an tAontas agus Bairéin maidir le trádáil agus a lán áiteanna eile.

Ach ní hé sin le rá nach ceart dúinn féachaint ar na rudaí atá mícheart agus go háirithe go bhfuil rudaí imithe ar gcúl maidir leis an bpionós báis ó 2011. Níl sé sin ceart agus téann sé i gcoinne coinbhinsiúin idirnáisiúnta. Dá bhrí sin caithfimid brú a chur orthu deireadh a chur leis sin, go háirithe mar a bhaineann le Mohammed Ramadan agus an tslí gur éirigh leo teacht ar an gcinneadh sin: triail mhífhéaráilte agus foréigean á fhulaingt aige.

Ach ag deireadh ba chóir dúinn grúpa oibre a bhunú idir an tAontas agus Bairéin chun caint ar na rudaí seo agus chun cearta daonna a chur chun cinn.

 
  
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  Julie Ward (S&D). Madam President, I would like to express my heartfelt solidarity with Mohammed Ramadan and with his family and loved ones. It is the responsibility of all conscientious citizens in this world to stand up against arbitrary arrest, brutal torture and the death penalty, no matter where they take place.

I also wish to use this opportunity to speak about the unfounded arrest and ill treatment of children in Bahrain: 237 cases of children detained by Bahraini authorities were reported in 2015 alone. Many are subject to ill treatment and beatings and made to confess to crimes they did not commit. The cases most recently reported are those of: Sayyid Ali Abbas Mohammed, the brothers Jassem and Hassan Mohammed Hassan, Fadhel Mohammed Hassan, Sayyid Fadhel Saeed Shams and Sayyid Mohammed Hashem – all teenagers who have been arrested in recent months who must be returned safe and sound to their families.

In 2013 this Parliament issued a resolution calling on Bahrain to apply the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which it is a party. I would like to reissue that call here: the Bahraini authorities must release Mohammed Ramadan and all child prisoners.

 
  
 

Catch-the-eye procedure

 
  
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  Pavel Svoboda (PPE). Paní předsedající, v současné době jsme v mnoha zemích svědky diskuse o tom, jak dosáhnout žádoucí rovnováhy mezi svobodou a bezpečností. I když Bahrajn jde dobrým směrem, nemůžeme přehlédnout případ Muhammada Ramadána a dalších lidí odsouzených na smrt. V tuto chvíli výkonu trestu smrti v jeho případě může zamezit pouze milost hlavy státu. Připojuji se proto k apelu na bahrajnské úřady, aby znovu obnovily moratorium na trest smrti jako krok, který povede v budoucnu ke zrušení trestu smrti, aby pokračovaly v reformách justičních a policejních předpisů v duchu dodržování lidských práv.

 
  
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  Nicola Caputo (S&D). Signora Presidente, onorevoli colleghi, desta preoccupazione la regressione del Bahrein verso la pratica della pena di morte. In questo paese sono negati i diritti fondamentali ad un equo processo e molte persone sono sottoposte a torture durante la detenzione e gli interrogatori. È spaventoso che queste pratiche siano perpetrate in modo sistematico e su larga scala, nonostante le numerose promesse di riforme. Il 29 dicembre 2014 un tribunale penale del Bahrein condannò a morte Mohammed Ramadan e Husain Ali Moosa per il loro presunto coinvolgimento in un attacco bomba nel febbraio 2014. Entrambi gli imputati affermano di essere stati sottoposti dalle autorità a torture per indurli a confessare il crimine. Vanno fatte pressioni economiche e diplomatiche sul governo del Bahrein per una moratoria sulla pena di morte, orientata verso l'abolizione di questa pratica, e avviate indagini sulle denunce di tortura da parte dei condannati a morte. Va chiesto infine che la pena di morte a Mohammed Ramadan e Husain Ali Moosa e a tutti i condannati a morte sia commutata.

 
  
 

(End of catch-the-eye procedure)

 
  
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  Corina Crețu, Member of the Commission. Madam President, let me first stress that since the events of 2011 the EU has been closely monitoring the situation in Bahrain. The EU has been consistently engaging with local authorities at all levels, maintaining constant contacts with a wide range of Bahraini stakeholders and activists.

Bahrain is an important partner in the Gulf region and has an important role to play in ensuring the stability of the Gulf region, which can best be achieved by strengthening the existing framework for the protection of human rights and individual freedoms. The EU will therefore continue to maintain an active dialogue with the country and its government and support Bahrain’s stability and development. We consider that this objective can be best achieved through a process of inclusive national reconciliation, leading to gradual political and socio-economic reforms based on dialogue and tolerance.

Like many in Europe, we have been concerned by the death penalty sentence imposed on Mr Mohammed Ramadan and Mr Husain Ali Moosa for their alleged involvement in the February 2014 bomb explosion which killed a police officer, a sentence upheld by the Bahraini Court of Cassation on 16 November 2015. The EU is unreservedly opposed to the use of capital punishment under all circumstances, and its universal abolition will continue to remain a cornerstone of the EU’s foreign policy. Allegations regarding their possible mistreatment in detention, as well as the basis for their conditions, should also be fully investigated. The EU, both in Brussels and through its delegation in Riyadh, accredited to Bahrain, will continue to liaise with the Bahraini authorities to advocate the protection and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms, as per Bahrain’s international commitments, the recommendations set out by the Bahraini Independent Commission of Inquiry and the recommendations made during Bahrain’s universal periodic review process.

The EU will continue to call on the Bahraini Government to act proportionately in all cases to protect the rights of individuals indicted as a result of criminal charges, as was done during the second visit of the EU Special Representative for Human Rights, Stavros Lambrinidis, in May 2015. On this occasion, the EU conveyed again its preoccupation as to the imposition of the death penalty, recalling its principled opposition to this inhumane and degrading punishment.

The EU, in close coordination with the EU Member States represented in Manama, has been closely following developments related to these individual cases and to the overall human rights situation in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The European Union has expressed formally on many occasions that violence is not justified in any circumstances. The EU has also constantly called for transparent and due process and for the proper investigation of all alleged cases of ill-treatment and of torture. Bahraini human rights institutions should effectively tackle these matters in a transparent way, while the robust recommendations stemming from the National Human Rights Institution should be implemented in the interest of all the citizens.

In this regard, the many steps taken by the Bahraini authorities to implement the recommendations of the Bahraini Independent Commission of Inquiry are positive and have the potential to improve the human rights situation in the country, but more is needed. The Ministry of the Interior’s ombudsman, the Prisoners and Detainees Rights Commission and the National Institution for Human Rights have an important and pro-active role to play by fulfilling their mandate in full independence and transparency.

Let me once again assure you that we will continue to remain seized with the case of Mr Mohammed Ramadan and Mr Husain Ali Moosa, and to voice the EU’s concern through appropriate channels.

 
  
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  President. – The debate is closed.

The vote will be held at the end of the debates.

Written statements (Rule 162)

 
  
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  Ivo Vajgl (ALDE), in writing. I did not support the urgency resolution concerning the human rights situation in Bahrain and the case of Mohamed Ramadan. Although it is important that the European Parliament attaches a high priority to the human rights situation in every country with whom it develops cooperation, I nevertheless consider Bahrain a country which, in the difficult overall situation of the Middle East and Persian Gulf, represents a good example of how a small country with a complicated ethnic and religious background can preserve its stability and maintain a constructive role in regional and international relations. It calls for a sensitive political approach, with no less importance of human rights and human dignity, but has to be put in the context of the overall situation in the wider region and of the standards of democracy and respect for human rights in this region. I consider that the European Parliament and European institutions have enough capability to observe and influence the political process of democratisation in Bahrain without portraying the country as a specific case of violation of human rights. We should stand for the respect of the rule of law and human rights in Bahrain and at the same time support its stability.

 
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