Bahrain Crackdown: Pursuits beyond the Border

By Staff, Agencies

A study issued by the Gulf Institute for Democracy and Human Rights [GIDHR] shed light on one of the methods the Bahraini government uses to target opponents abroad.

The GIDHR study read the following:

“We sought to document this danger that threatens individuals even after they obtain asylee status that secures them protection.

GIDHR believes this danger has been exacerbated following the appointment of Emirati Major General Ahmed Naser Al-Raisi as the head of INTERPOL. This position grants a unique degree of authority to dictatorial governments, such as the one in the UAE, with Al-Raisi at the helm. Al-Raisi is accused of overseeing the arrest and torture of detainees in Emirati prisons. His victory threatens the credibility of INTERPOL and its ability to adhere to its policies of impartiality and respect for human rights and to perform its mission effectively and objectively.

GIDHR condemns the practices of Bahrain and other repressive states, their targeting of activists and opponents, and the endangerment of their lives. GIDHR calls on the countries that these government critics turn to fulfill their legal and international obligations and grant them the protection they seek.

It also calls on these countries to consider the cases of asylum seekers from a human standpoint before deporting them to their countries from where they are fleeing the risk of torture and persecution...”