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Bahrain Rejects UN Call to Free Death Row Convicts Mohammad Ramadan and Hussein Mousa

2021-06-22 - 8:41 am

Bahrain Mirror: Bahrain on Sunday rejected a UN report calling for the release of two men facing the death penalty, which cited claims their murder convictions were based on confessions extracted by torture.

A Bahraini government spokesperson told AFP in a written statement that Ramadan and Mousa were convicted of serious criminal offences.

He noted that Bahraini authorities said it was "disappointing ...  that (the working group) saw fit to publish such a one-sided and misinformed report".

The men "received fair trials with full access to an appeals process, which they have now exhausted", the spokesperson added.

In a report on Thursday, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention cited allegations that the two men had been "tortured during their interrogations and forced to sign confessions."

"The appropriate remedy would be to release both men immediately and accord them an enforceable right to compensation and other reparations," it said.

Rights group Amnesty International has also said the trial relied on "confession extracted through torture".

In July last year, Bahrain's top court upheld a death sentence against Mohamed Ramadhan and Hussain Moosa, convicted of killing a police officer in a 2014 bomb attack. 

The kingdom rejects allegations of human rights violations and denies discriminating against its Shia citizens.

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