John Halligan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Tánaiste for his detailed answer. The case, which has drawn international criticism, saw nine doctors convicted for their roles in last year's pro-democracy uprising in Bahrain. The uprising did not seek the violent overthrow of the regime but demanded democratic constitutional monarchy and recognition of human rights. Three of those sentenced were doctors trained by the RCSI and were given outrageous sentences, ranging from one month to 15 years, by a military tribunal. A Bahraini independent commission of inquiry later found that, in many cases, those arrested were subjected to serious human rights abuses. These included beatings, blindfolding, handcuffing and beating with wooden planks. The hospital was under lockdown, with nurses beaten. While I commend the RCSI in Ireland on supporting the recommendation for the development of a national reconciliation programme in Bahrain and for offering to assist in every possible way to advance the building of the programme, the question remains why the RCSI and the Royal College of Physicians stood apart from international human rights organisations such as Front Line Defenders, Médecins Sans Frontières, Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights when they condemned the Bahrain authorities. A legal team of Irish human rights lawyers, Ceartas, is examining the RCSI involvement with the Bahraini Government during the 2011 uprising, following claims that the RCSI college in Bahrain, in which the RCSI has invested €60 million, interrogated their students and asked some to sign a pledge of allegiance to the regime. I have spoken to Médecins sans Frontières and human rights groups and it seems this did happen. Does the Tánaiste have any comment?

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