Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I remain very concerned about the overall situation in Bahrain and the increasing divisions in Bahraini society. I condemn all acts of violence, including the recent bomb attack in Manama city which resulted in the deaths of two foreign workers. I urge the opposition to refrain from violent provocation of any kind. I have made clear in this House my view that all charges against the medical professionals should have been dropped. Given the great concerns and doubts which have surrounded the case of the medics from the start and particularly in the light of the well documented reports of ill-treatment to which many of those originally detained were subject, it is my view that the Bahraini Government should consider exercising clemency and releasing the imprisoned medical professionals. This would also be very much in the wider interests of promoting urgently needed reconciliation and national dialogue within Bahrain.

More broadly, 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, including after the Court of Cassation’s decision on 1 October upholding the prison sentences against the medical professionals.

Bahrain has implemented some of the recommendations of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry report, but renewed impetus in implementing the BICI recommendations is necessary. This would help to create an environment conducive to reconciliation and dialogue and enable reform and change to take place as a result of a consultative process. I strongly encourage the Bahraini authorities to focus on reconciliation and initiate a genuine process of dialogue and reform.

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