For the first time in many years, the family of Shiite activist Mohammed Ramadhan was allowed to come into physical contact with him during a visit. His case was one of those raised on the occasion of the pontiff’s trip. The death sentence would be the result of a confession obtained under torture. His wife is still worried about his health.
Manama ( / Agencies) – Mohammed Ramadhan – a Shiite activist held on death row since 2014 for a murder whose confession was allegedly obtained under torture – was given permission to have physical contact with his wife Zainab and their children during the visit to jail this week. A small gesture when the issue of human rights in the country has once again attracted world public attention on the occasion of the visit of Pope Francis. For the first time in years, the meeting could take place without the glass barrier that normally separates Mohammed from his family. The change came as a surprise to his wife Zainab, although she remains concerned about her health and believes she is not receiving the medical attention she needs.
Mohammed Ramadhan’s family was one of those who appealed to Pope Francis on the occasion of the pontiff’s visit to the country. They asked him to intervene on the death penalty and to defend political prisoners. During the pope’s visit, relatives of prisoners awaiting the death penalty had gathered, displaying banners as the pontiff’s motorcade passed as he headed to a school in Isa Town. In the first speech of his four-day trip, Francis addressed the authorities expressly raising the issue of human rights and respect for detainees.
For years, international associations for the defense of human rights have denounced the practice in Bahrain of arrests based on violations of freedom of expression, as well as the exclusion of any political opposition by the authorities. In particular, the criticism is directed at the special laws passed in 2018, discriminatory and retroactive, whose objective, in fact, has been to suffocate what was left of civil society in the country.
