Representative Zahra Sultana of Britain’s House of Commons has urged Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government to hold a debate with Bahraini dissidents residing in the United Kingdom.
This call came in the wake of the brutal attack on dozens of political prisoners in Jau Central Prison by Bahraini officials, a few days ago.
Representative Zahra Sultana of the opposition Labor Party directed two written questions to the Ministry of State for British Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs regarding her discussions with the Bahraini opposition.
She asked whether the ministry met with activist Ali Mushaima, son of detained Bahraini opposition leader, Hassan Mushaima, and whether her government had met representatives of the Bahrain Freedom Movement.
On the other hand, British Minister of State for Foreign Affairs James Cleverley denied holding any meetings with the Bahraini opposition, without confirming his ministry’s intention to hold a meeting of this kind in the future.
Bahraini opponents keep organizing events and protests in front of the Bahraini regime’s embassy in London to denounce the regime’s policies and the ongoing crackdown on political prisoners.
Participants in the protests display photos of the victims of the ongoing popular protests in Bahrain, and they demand effective British pressure on the Bahraini regime to stop its violations.
The United Kingdom maintains close ties with the ruling family in Bahrain, which is considered Britain’s most prominent ally in the region.
The UK’s policies are facing criticism from Bahraini opponents for turning a blind eye to violations of the system.
This week,
Member of the British House of Commons, Ben Lake, called on the UK government to pressure the Bahraini regime’s authorities to reveal the fate of the political detainees forcibly disappeared.
Representative Lake posed a question to the Minister for Middle East and North Africa at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office James Cleverley about the brutal assault on prisoners inside Jau Prison on April 17th.
The British MP criticized the continued disappearance of 33 political prisoners since the attack.
He further stressed the need for prisoners to receive full care and to ensure that victims of the assault receive adequate and timely medical care.
Bin Lake asked another question about enabling the UN Special Rapporteur on torture to visit Bahrain’s prisons, and allowing international organizations to inspect prisoners.
On top of those organizations are Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.
In a tweet, Amnesty International asked about the reason for the interruption of communication between the families of political prisoners and their families detained in Bahrain’s Jaw Prison.
According to international human rights organizations, many political prisoners at Jaw Central Prison are incommunicado and are unable to contact their families, after they were attacked by police on April 17th.
The Bahraini Salam Organization for Democracy and Human Rights monitored 90 detainees deprived of communication in Jau Central Prison.
“This denial constitutes a clear violation and raises concern to the families of the detainees,” said Salam in a tweet.
