John Legend urged to meet Bahrain's human rights campaigners

The veteran human rights campaigner Nabeel Rajab has told al-Araby al-Jadeed that it would be a "positive step" if American singer John Legend would meet with the victims of what he called government repression when he visits Bahrain this week.

Speaking on Sunday from his home in the town of Bani Jamrah, Rajab said that he would welcome a meeting with Legend, who won an Academy Award last week for his song Glory, written for the film Selma - the story of Martin Luther King's historic march to secure equal voting rights in the face of violent opposition.

On accepting his Oscar, Legend spoke movingly about the fight for human rights: "Selma is now - because the struggle for justice is now."

He is scheduled to perform on Monday night in the Bahraini capital, Manama, at the government-sponsored Spring of Culture festival.

I will tell [protesters] directly that I stand with them - John Legend

 
Responding to worldwide criticism of his decision to perform in Bahrain, a country with a widely criticised human rights record, Legend released a statement in which he argued that "the solution to every human rights concern is not always to boycott".

"I hope to meet the many people who are peacefully struggling for freedom, justice and accountability," he said, adding "I will tell them directly that I stand with them."

Bahrain's human rights violations in the wake of a peaceful pro-democracy protest in 2011 were documented in a damning report commissioned by the regime, the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry. 

Human rights organisations say that, despite claims of reform, abuse continues with an estimated 3,000 people jailed for protesting against the government and the ruling al-Khalifa family.

I will be happy to have him for coffee in my house or his hotel - Nabeel Rajab, human rights campaigner

Rajab said that Legend "should meet with the victims who have lost an eye because of being hit in the face with a teargas canister". 

"He should talk to those who have been tortured," said Rajab. "He should talk to the families of those who are in jail and those who have been killed. That would be a positive step."

The veteran human rights campaigner is himself being investigated on a charge of inciting hatred against the government and expects to be arrested "at any time".

If convicted, he faces a three-year jail term.

He is already appealing against a six-month sentence he received for posting a message on Twitter last year suggesting that the security institutions in Bahrain were "ideological incubators" for extremism.

Rajab who has served several jail terms for his dissent, most recently for two years, told al-Araby that he had not heard from John Legend, but was hopeful the singer would contact him.

"We can ask him, while he is performing onstage, to ask the Bahrain government to release all the children, the women and political prisoners and I will also be happy to have him for coffee in my house or his hotel."