Reprieve Calls for Signing Petition Raised to Boris Johnson to Re-Try Torture Victim Maher Al-Khabbaz
2019-08-07 - 5:22 p
Bahrain Mirror: Reprieve called on its supporters to sign a petition raised to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson demanding him to interfere and call Bahrain to re-try the torture victim and death convict Maher Al-Khabbaz. The organization said that Johnson can ask the Bahraini authorities to ensure that any retrial is not built on false truths and torture.
There is no justice in Maher's story right now - but his story is not over yet. The UK could use its relationship with Bahrain to make sure Maher's unfair conviction is overturned.
Reprieve asked its supporters to add their names and sign the petition to make sure Bahrain doesn't execute torture victims like Maher.
It indicated that Maher said his confessions under torture, adding that the so-called confessions given under torture are by law not reliable and should never be used in court.
Maher's story is not an isolated one. On the morning of July 27, 2019, three men were executed and at least two show signs of being tortured to confess.
Maher Al-Khabbaz was beaten, whipped and electrocuted before he was forced at gunpoint to ‘confess' to killing a police officer in 2013. But Maher has an alibi. He was working a shift as a bellboy at the Golden Tulip hotel when his alleged crime took place.
Reprieve said that "there is always hope though". Last year, two other victims of torture - Mohammad Ramadan and Hussein Mousa - had their death sentences overturned after Reprieve helped expose their mistreatment and wrongful convictions. They are now both subject to a retrial which is underway.
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