Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 2 and 5 together.

I have made clear to the House on numerous occasions that all charges against the medical professionals should have been dropped. Given the great concerns and doubts that surrounded the case of the medics from the start, and particularly in light of the well-documented reports of ill-treatment to which many of those originally detained were subject, the Bahraini Government should consider exercising clemency and releasing those medical professionals who have now been imprisoned. Such an act of clemency would also be very much in the wider interests of promoting urgently needed reconciliation and national dialogue within Bahrain. I urge King Hamad and the Bahraini Government to take account of the widespread international concerns that exist and to agree to release those now imprisoned following the verdict in the Court of Cassation.

On a more general level, the Government has repeatedly conveyed its concerns at every suitable opportunity to the Bahraini authorities about the human rights situation in Bahrain, including our concerns about the case of the medical professionals as well as that of the respected human rights defender, Abdulhadi Al Khawaja. We have repeatedly raised these cases with the Bahraini ambassador in London and through our ambassador in Riyadh who is accredited to Bahrain. Officials in my Department again conveyed our strong concerns to the Bahraini authorities through diplomatic channels after the Court of Cassation's decision on 1 October upholding the prison sentences against the medical professionals.

The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, RCSI, the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland and the Medical Council are independent organisations involved to varying degrees in the education of medical professionals in Bahrain. It is important to distinguish between the involvement of Irish institutions in the education and training of Bahraini medical personnel, which is entirely positive both for this country and Bahrain, and the case of the imprisoned Bahraini doctors.

The RCSI, in particular, felt its efforts would be more effective if it engaged in private dialogue with the Bahraini authorities rather than in the public sphere. All the organisations concerned kept my Department informed of their efforts and views on Bahrain. I met the chief executive of the RCSI to discuss political developments and the college's role in Bahrain. I note the RCSI has commented publicly on numerous occasions about the case of the Bahraini medics and urged the Bahraini Government to withdraw the sentences and release the medics. The RCSI has also written to the King of Bahrain asking him to drop the charges against the medics.

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