Head of Bahraini
Nurses’ Association freed, but faces trial before military-run “Special
Tribunal”
The President of Bahrain Nursing Society Mrs Rula Al
Saffar and her health care colleagues have been released from prison, but she
and her colleagues still face trial and sentencing. Working with other health and human rights
organisations, the International Council of Nurses and RCN’s work to raise the
issue, may have contributed to her release.
A number of medics and colleagues arrested
by the Bahraini authorities were sentenced on 29 September by the type of
military-run “Special Tribunal” Mrs Rula Al Saffar is expected to face.
Commenting on what have been called apparently disproportionate sentences by
the Bahrain, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague said that he is “…deeply
concerned, that after the briefest of hearings, a Bahraini Special Tribunal has
sentenced a group of medics to between 5 and 15 years in prison, upheld life
sentences against Bahraini opposition leaders and passed one sentence of the
death penalty. These sentences appear disproportionate to the charges
brought…..I call on the Bahraini judicial authorities to follow due process
carefully and transparently, and to revoke the decision to impose the death
penalty. Cases before the Special Tribunals should be transferred to
regular civilian courts. This would help the Bahraini authorities demonstrate
their commitment to upholding civil liberties, including the right to appeal
and equal access to justice”. http://ukinbahrain.fco.gov.uk/en/
RCN CEO and Dr Peter
Carter calls for fair trial and call for them to respect human rights
commitments
RCN CEO Dr Peter Carter said,
“The RCN, nurses, medical and human
rights organisations around the world are deeply concerned by the sentences
handed out to medical staff and others by a military-run Special
Tribunal. As UK Bahrain
Further information
The RCN believes it is essential that Mrs Al Saffar and her colleagues face a fair trial. The medics sentenced on 29 September are
permitted to appeal. Organisations
including Amnesty International, Médecins Sans Frontières, the International Council of
Nurses, the Irish Nurses’ Association, the BMA and a
number of governments are also monitoring the situation.
Mrs Al Saffar was one of 24
nurses, 23 physicians and other health care workers who were arrested when
government authorities entered several hospitals in February 2011. They have
allegedly been subject to torture and Mrs Al Saffar had begun a hunger strike.
Bahraini letter from
their UN Representative on their commitment to human rights: http://www.un.org/ga/60/elect/hrc/bahrain.pdf
Read the International Council of Nurses and the World Medical Association joint
statement, which called for fair trials for the health workers in
Read the RCN news article, RCN expresses
concern over health care staff on trial in Bahrain
