Pope Francis on Thursday condemned the death penalty and defended religious freedom in a speech in Bahrain. The Arab country, ruled by a Sunni monarchy since the 18th century, is accused of persecuting Shiites and circumventing the human rights of prisoners.
“I think first of all about the right to life, the need to guarantee that right always, including for those who are being punished, whose lives must not be taken,” the pontiff said alongside King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa at the royal palace. from the Sakhir region.
This is the second trip by a pope to the Arabian Peninsula – the first, also made by Francis, was in 2019, to the United Arab Emirates. The pontiff’s current visit has drawn attention to conflicts between the Bahraini government and the country’s Shia community, responsible for leading major pro-democracy protests during the Arab Spring. At the time, the demonstrations were canceled with the help of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Since then, the monarchy has arrested and sentenced thousands of protesters, journalists and activists. Furthermore, in recent years, the country has reignited its strict death penalty policy; since 2017, according to the NGO Human Rights Watch, six prisoners have been sentenced to death and another 26 are awaiting confirmation from the king to carry out the sentence.
In recent days, by the way, the families of these prisoners and human rights defenders have appealed to the Pope to speak out against the death penalty. After the pontiff’s speech, Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, director of the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, said Francis’ speech was a “historic moment” and urged the king to release those he said were unjustly imprisoned.
For Alwadaei, the release of these convicts would be the “beginning of the healing of the country after years of violence and oppression”. The fact is that Bahrain rejects the United Nations’ criticism of the conduct of trials and says it follows international law in all cases.
Also on Thursday, the pope said that the country’s Constitution must be put into practice so that “religious freedom is complete” and equality of dignity and opportunities “concretely recognized for each group”. “These are commitments that need to be put into practice so that religious freedom is full and is not limited to freedom of worship,” he added – a mention, albeit veiled, of accusations of persecution against Shiites, the majority group in the nation.
About 70% of Bahrain’s population is Muslim, but unlike Saudi Arabia, for example, the country allows its community of about 80,000 Catholics – made up mostly of foreign workers – to pray in churches. The Arab nation, incidentally, is home to the first Catholic church built in the Gulf area in modern times.
After the pope’s speech, King Hamad defended that his country protects the freedom of all faiths and condemned religious discrimination. “Bahrain seeks to strengthen our common purpose towards a world where tolerance prevails, as we fight for peace,” he said.
It was still up to Francis to defend “safe and dignified working conditions”. The declaration comes a few days before the start of the World Cup in the neighboring emirate of Qatar, the target of complaints about the treatment given to foreign workers. “Dehumanizing work” represents “an attack on human dignity,” the pope said, urging Bahrain to be “a beacon that promotes, throughout the region, fair and better rights and conditions for workers.”
Francis will stay in the country until Sunday (6) and will also participate in a religious forum and a council with authorities of Islam.
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