Human rights activists have criticised an honorary knighthood given to King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain, who visited the UK earlier this week.
In a letter to Buckingham Palace, three Bahraini activists now dwelling in exile referred to as on King Charles to rescind the Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, describing the award as a “betrayal”.
They cited what they referred to as the “arbitrary imprisonment, brutal torture, unfair trials, and arbitrary executions of harmless people”.
A spokesman for Bahrain’s authorities mentioned it “firmly rejects these baseless claims which overlook the substantial progress the Kingdom has achieved in advancing particular person rights and the rule of regulation”.
“We stay dedicated to continued reforms and welcome constructive dialogue to handle any official issues pretty and transparently,” they added.
Amnesty Worldwide and Human Rights Watch have each additionally expressed concern.
“You must marvel what sign this sends when the Bahraini authorities are unjustly prosecuting their critics, when human rights defenders are languishing in Bahraini jails and when the Manama authorities refuse to reinstate the citizenship of individuals rendered stateless on politically motivated expenses,” mentioned Allan Hogarth, Amnesty Worldwide UK’s head of presidency and political relations.
The award given to King Hamad in addition to King Abdullah of Jordan – who’re each marking silver jubilees this yr – was introduced on Wednesday by Buckingham Palace.
It’s not commenting on the criticism.
Bahrain and the UK have sturdy diplomatic, political and army relations.
On Monday, King Hamad arrived in a horse and carriage at Windsor Fort, receiving a Royal Salute from a Guard of Honour.
A “spectacular night” adopted which ended with pipers marching across the dinner desk, in accordance with the British ambassador to Bahrain, Alastair Lengthy, on Instagram.
He mentioned that King Charles, addressing the Bahraini monarch, had praised him for being “guided by his concern and look after his individuals.”
King Hamad, a Sunni Muslim, guidelines a rustic with a Shia majority, and members of his household maintain the primary political and army positions.
In 2011, pro-democracy protests have been crushed, with the assistance of troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Earlier this yr, lots of of political prisoners have been freed after they have been granted a royal pardon to mark 25 years of King Hamad’s rule.
However many stay in jail, together with human rights activist Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, 63, and 76-year-old opposition chief Hassan Mushaima, the fathers of two of the signatories to the letter to King Charles – Maryam Al-Khawaja and Ali Mushaima.
The third signatory, Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei – who’s now a British citizen – mentioned he had been crushed, tortured and jailed for calling for peaceable change.
“All through King Hamad’s rule, scores of Bahrainis have been arbitrarily detained and tortured, and a few have even been killed on account of exercising their rights to meeting and free expression,” Niku Jafarnia of Human Rights Watch instructed the BBC.
“The current pardons he’s given don’t make up for these abuses, and it’s a shame that he has been granted this award whereas many nonetheless stay wrongfully detained,” she mentioned.
