Bahrain accused of 'serious rights violations' after death sentences

Bahrain has been accused of "serious and persistent" human rights violations underlying the death sentences of eight men, rights groups said on Monday.

Bahraini courts have convicted and sentenced defendants to death after "manifestly unfair trials based… on confessions allegedly coerced through torture", Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy said in a joint report.

The men are among 26 who are currently on death row in Bahrain with their appeals exhausted, according to HRW.

Courts have routinely violated defendants' rights to a fair trial by denying them legal counsel during interrogation and the right to cross-examine prosecution witnesses, the rights group said.

"Bahraini officials routinely proclaim that the government respects fundamental human rights, but in case after case, courts relied on coerced confessions despite defendants’ credible claims of torture," Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch said.

"The many human rights violations that underlie these death sentences reflect not a justice system but a pattern of injustice."

Despite "credible" allegations in the report - which is primarily based on court records and official documents - courts have concluded that no abuse had occurred in summary rulings "replete with inconsistencies and… contradicted by undisputed evidence".

All 26 men can be executed once King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa ratifies their sentence, joining the fates of six people executed since 2017, when Bahrain ended a de facto seven-year moratorium on the death penalty, according to HRW.

Under Bahraini law, after a death sentence is confirmed, the decision is sent to the king who has the power to ratify the sentence, commute it, or grant a pardon.