PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
Human rights violations in Bahrain (26 May 2021)

That this House regrets the 25 May 2021 meeting between the Home Secretary and Bahraini Minister of Interior Shaikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa; further regrets the fact that the meeting took place shortly after a violent attack against over 60 political prisoners by Bahraini police at Jau Prison on 17 April 2021; highlights other recent serious human rights abuses, including the detention of children as young as 13 years old, who were subjected to beatings and threats of rape and electric shocks to coerce confessions over charges linked to protest activity; expresses concern that Minister Al Khalifa has overseen the systematic persecution of human rights defenders, journalists, and activists in Bahrain and the terrorising of civil society since at least 2011; underlines that peaceful critics of the Bahraini Government are subjected to arbitrary imprisonment, torture and sexual assault; notes that despite ultimate responsibility for serious crimes perpetrated during the 2011 uprising, including the murder of several dissidents, Minister Al Khalifa remains in his role; expresses concern that high profile meetings between senior British Ministers and individuals deeply implicated in serial human rights abuses and violations of international law send a signal that the UK will lend unreserved support to its allies regardless of their non-compliance with international law; and calls upon the Government to apply Magnitsky Act sanctions to Minister Rashid Al Khalifa for his protracted role in overseeing a culture of abuse and a climate of impunity in Bahrain.

Sponsored by:
Andrew Gwynne (Labour)