Friday 30 September 2011

Letter from Marian Harkin to EU High Commissioner Catherine Ashton


30/09/11

Dear High Commissioner Ashton,

Following my previous letter to you concerning the arrest of medics in Bahrain, and the false hope inspired by the release of a number of these, the situation has yet again deteriorated. As you are no doubt aware, 20 Bahraini doctors were this week sentenced to between 5-15 years imprisonment by Military Court for treating injured protesters. The aforementioned sentenced doctors were detained for 5+ months, reportedly tortured, deprived from access to legal advice and kept away from their families most ofTHE  time. It is important to note that some of these doctors are married, hence leaving their children with no parents at home.

The savage sentences imposed on medical personnel in a Bahrain Military Court flies in the face of any fair and democratic system of justice.

To sentence doctors to 15 years imprisonment for treating those wounded in demonstrations against the Bahrain regimes is a travesty.  I would ask you to use the influence of your office to strongly impress on the Bahraini authorities that the absence of justice involved in these sentences is totally unacceptable to the European Union.

I would greatly appreciate your strongest possible representations in this matter, and would be pleased to discuss the matter further with you and your services.

Kind Regards, 
Marian Harkin