FairSquare has today joined with the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Development, Human Rights Watch, and Reprieve to call on the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to use his government’s deepening links with Bahrain to advocate for the release of the country’s political prisoners.

In a letter sent on 9 July, sent after a meeting between the Prime Minister and Bahrain’s Crown Prince, the organisations state that “the UK holds meaningful influence over Bahrain and should use this opportunity to press for the release of political prisoners, including those sentenced to death following torture and unfair trials.”

The full text of the letter reads as follows:

Dear Prime Minister,

We are writing following your recent meeting with Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, during which you discussed a new Defence Cooperation Accord and announced a bilateral agreement involving £2 billion of Bahraini investment in the UK economy. This meeting took place amid heightened tensions in the Gulf region, as the Israeli-Iranian conflict threatens to escalate into a broader regional confrontation.

It is our view that the UK holds meaningful influence over Bahrain and should use this opportunity to press for the release of political prisoners, including those sentenced to death following torture and unfair trials.

According to research by the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD), there are currently an estimated 320 individuals who’ve been arbitrarily detained for political reasons in Bahrain, many of whom have been imprisoned since the 2011 pro-democracy uprising. Among them are some of the country’s most prominent human rights defenders and opposition figures, including Hassan Mushaima (78), Dr Abduljalil Al-Singace (63), Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja (63), and Sheikh Ali Salman (59). In addition, twelve political prisoners remain on death row, including Mohamed Ramadhan and Husain Moosa, whose imprisonment was declared arbitrary by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which also called for their immediate and unconditional release.

We strongly believe that human rights should not be reduced to slogans. They must be central to the UK’s engagement with Bahrain, especially in matters of security and investment. The UK should not enter economic partnerships in a moral vacuum that legitimizes authoritarianism and political imprisonment.

We urge you to use this moment to advocate for the release of Bahrain’s political prisoners, and we look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely,

Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei
Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD)

Niku Jafarnia
Human Rights Watch

James Lynch
FairSquare

Chai Patel
Reprieve