AWALI, Bahrain (AP) — Pope Francis suggested Thursday that Bahrain’s government renounce the death penalty and guarantee the fundamental human rights of all citizens upon arrival in the Sunni-ruled kingdom, accused through human rights teams of systematically discriminating against the Shiite majority.
With King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa at his side, Francis also suggested the Persian Gulf country ensure “safe and dignified” operating situations for its migrant workers, who have long been victims of abuse and exploitation in the island’s construction, oil extraction and domestic facilities sectors.
Though a diplomat, Francis did not hesitate to address some of the contentious social issues in Bahrain at the start of his four-day trip to attend a government-sponsored interfaith convention on East-West discussion and deal with the country’s small Catholic community. .
Francis, 85, who has been in a wheelchair for several months due to stress on knee ligaments, said he was in “a lot” of pain as he flew into the Gulf. For the first time, he greeted the hounds traveling with him sitting than walking. down the aisle of the plane.
Human rights teams and relatives of Shiite activists sentenced to death suggested Francis use his stopover in Bahrain to call for an end to capital punishment and protect political dissidents, many of whom have been detained since Bahrain violently suppressed protests from the 2011 Arab Spring. with that of Saudi Arabia and the neighboring United Arab Emirates.
In the following years, Bahrain jailed Shiite activists, expelled others, stripped many of their nationalities, banned the largest Shiite opposition group, and shut down its main independent newspaper.
The Bahraini government maintains that it respects human rights and freedom of expression. Before the trip, the government told The Associated Press it had a “zero-tolerance policy toward discrimination, persecution or promotion of the department on ethnic, cultural or religious grounds. “
Francis indirectly referred to sectarian strife when he arrived in the desert city of Awali and met with al Khalifa at the Royal Palace in Sakhir, the first papal stop in Bahrain. Addressing government officials and diplomats from the palace’s gleaming courtyard, Francis praised Bahrain’s culture. and cited Bahrain’s constitution, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of religion, as a stated commitment to be implemented.
This, he said, would ensure “that equivalent dignities and equivalent opportunities are concretely identified for each and every organization and for each and every person; that there is no form of discrimination and that basic human rights are not violated. “
Referring to the death penalty, Francis said the government must above all guarantee the right to life, and “wants to guarantee this right, adding to those who are punished, those who must not have their lives taken away. “
According to Bahrain’s Institute for Rights and Democracy, Bahrain ended a de facto moratorium on the death penalty in 2017 and has since executed six prisoners. The organization and Human Rights Watch have documented a “dramatic increase” in the number of death sentences handed down. Since 2011, with another 26 people recently on death row, some of them for political activities. The teams said some had been convicted after “grossly unfair trials based solely or basically on confessions allegedly received under duress through torture and ill-treatment. “
The human rights organization Array Bahrain published a letter from the relatives of some of those sentenced to death in which Francis is asked to lift the point and the Jau prison, where many political prisoners are held.
“Members of our family circle remain in detention and are under threat of execution despite the manifest injustice of their beliefs,” the letter said.