Bahrain: Political Prisoners

(asked on 21st January 2020) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the UN expert report to the Bahraini Government on the cases of Nabeel Rajab, Hajer Mansoor and Medina Ali, what assessment he has made as to whether the Bahraini Government discriminates against political prisoners when granting alternative sentences; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of study visits for Bahraini delegations to the UK on alternative sentencing as part of the technical assistance provided by the Government to its Bahraini counterparts.


Answered by
Andrew Murrison Portrait
Andrew Murrison
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
This question was answered on 27th January 2020

​Bahrain has brought in new legislation related to alternative sentencing and has started to implement provisions under this new legal framework. British expertise has supported this process, and we welcome this positive move in reforming the judicial system. There are clear provisions in place regarding eligibility of detainees for alternative sentencing. We continue to follow the cases of Nabeel Rajab and Hajer Mansoor. Medina Ali received a Royal pardon in December 2019.

Reticulating Splines