News / Foreign Policy

Activists urge Britain to arrest Bahrain prince over torture cases

Saturday, 21 March 2015 1:51 AM [ Last Update: Saturday, 21 March 2015 6:01 AM ]

Prince Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the son of Bahrain’s monarch, in Hyde Park, London, March 19, 2015

Human rights activists urge the British police to arrest a Bahraini prince accused of torturing political dissidents.

According to reports on Friday, campaigners offered new documents to Scotland Yard regarding the role of Prince Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the son of Bahrain’s monarch, in torturing prisoners.

The new call came a day after the Bahraini prince released a video of himself in Hyde Park in the British capital city of London.

Last year, a Bahraini refugee filed a lawsuit against Nasser in Britain’s High Court over torture cases after he found about the prince’s presence in the European country.

Though the court revoked the prince’s diplomatic immunity following the lawsuit, Scotland Yard refrained from detaining Nasser, citing a lack of sufficient evidence. The British government also announced that the prince is “welcome” in the country.

Campaigners said the new evidence is strong enough to convince the British police to probe Nasser’s notorious involvement in torturing and persecuting Bahraini opposition figures.

UN urged to help free Bahrain activists

Earlier in the day, the families of jailed political activists in Bahrain urged the immediate intervention of the United Nations to secure the release of the prisoners of conscience in the Persian Gulf country.

The al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, Bahrain’s main opposition group, said Thursday that the families of 1,100 dissidents voiced concern over the physical and psychological health condition of their imprisoned relatives.

Bahraini women attend a demonstration against the Al Khalifa regime in the village of Bilad al-Qadeem on the outskirts of the capital city of Manama, February 13, 2015. © AFP

Bahrain has been witnessing almost daily protests against the Al Khalifa dynasty since early 2011, when an uprising began in the kingdom. Since then, thousands of protesters have held numerous rallies in the streets of Bahrain, calling for the Al Khalifa royal family to relinquish power.

The Manama regime has been severely criticized by human rights groups for its harsh crackdown on anti-government protesters, which has claimed the lives of scores of people so far.

Hundreds of prominent opposition figures including Sheikh Ali Salman, the secretary general of al-Wefaq, have also been imprisoned by the Bahraini regime.

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