Alwaght - Lars Adaktusson, the Swedish member of the European Parliament, slammed Al Khalifa, Bahrain's Ruling dynasty, for sentencing leader of the country's main opposition movement to four years in prison saying that the regime "is on the wrong track".
"The judgment reflects the escalating pressure by the government to try to silence dissident voices in the island. The leader of the Shiite opposition party al-Wefaq was arrested in December after a speech calling for political reforms," Bahrain Mirror cited Adaktusson as saying.
Referring to the Islamic Awakening in Bahrain in 2011, member of EU Parliament said "The development in the small gulf state of Bahrain has been on the wrong," noting that "Sunnis and Shiite marched on the streets together," demanding political rights and democratic reforms".
Adaktusson further added that the tiny Persian Gulf Island's regime responded to people's peaceful demonstrations "with brutal force," as upon Al Khalifa call " Saudi troops were called in and thousands of dissidents were imprisoned, killed and forced into exile. Several critics of the regime have been deprived of their citizenship and made stateless (approximately 150, including ex-MPs, religious clerics, journalists, bloggers, human rights defenders and political activists) ".
Lars Adaktusson referred to Nabeel Rajab, the most famous Bahraini human rights activist, as well as Mohammed Habib Al-Muqdad who in 2011 was sentenced to 46 years in prison as the individual examples whose lives were affected by Bahraini regime's brutality. Nabeel Rajab's crime was a post on Twitter, where he commented on the fact that members of the Bahraini security forces have joined the Islamic State. The well-known dissident Al-Muqdad, Swedish citizen who had often been critical of the regime, is also silenced as a prisoner of conscience under difficult circumstances.
The Swedish MP further rebuked "The Western world" double standards in its relations with the Persian Gulf Arab States, saying "It must be possible to criticize human rights violations wherever these take place …We should always stand up for human rights".
Adaktusson urged the Swedish government to intensify its efforts to have Mohammed Habib Al-Muqdad released. "Sweden and Europe must raise their voices for the vulnerable minorities in the Middle East. Whether they happen to be Christian, Yazidi, Jews, Kurds, Sunni or as in this case Shiite Muslims. Stability and human rights are not opposites," he concluded.
