Bahrain Mirror: The University of Melbourne hosted on Friday (March 31, 2017) the a conference entitled, "Human Rights Abuses in the Gulf States," which discussed the human rights situation in the Gulf States, with a focus on Bahrain and Yemen.

During the conference, which was organized by the Gulf Institute for Democracy and Human Rights (GIDHR), the latest GIDHR report into the recent executions and rising religious discrimination in Bahrain was introduced.

The head of the reports and studies committee at the Gulf Institute for Democracy and Human Rights, Fatima Yazbek, stressed that the death penalties executed against three activists in Bahrain were not based on fair trials, noting that the report highlighted the "human rights violations committed by the Bahraini government since the launch of its investigations, during the trial and after the executions."

For her part, Diana Sayed, the head of the campaigns department at Amnesty International Australia, addressed the major human rights abuses continuously taking place in Bahrain since February 2011. She further stated that the weapons purchased by the Bahraini government in arms deals are later used in the crackdown on peaceful protestors.

President of Reprieve Australia and criminal law barrister, Julian McMahon, described the judicial system in Bahrain as unfair, stressing that it uses the law to commit violations. He further noted that the latest executions in Bahrain are deemed extrajudicial killings, since there are allegations that the three defendants were subjected to torture and were deprived of their right to a fair trial.

Concluding the first session, President of SALAM for Democracy and Human Rights and former MP, Jawad Fairooz, spoke of the religious persecution in Bahrain practiced against the Shiite majority on all levels, underlining the need to implement the issued recommendations for respecting the rights of all citizens and defenders of human rights and freedoms, particularly freedom of expression and religious liberties.

The second session was dedicated to addressing the war crimes committed by Saudi Arabia in Yemen. Ibrahim Al-Mahdi, a Yemeni academic and activist, shed light on the human rights crisis caused by the current war in Yemen, stressing that the Saudi-led coalition forces are directly targeting Yemeni citizens and infrastructures, highlighting that the death toll and number of people suffering from malnutrition reached catastrophic levels, with many civilians and children among the dead and injured.

Moreland City Councillor and Socialist Alliance member, Sue Bolton, also discussed the humanitarian crisis caused by the war on Yemen, emphasizing the significance of the West's role in putting an end to the deteriorating situation in the country.

Arabic Version