Alarmed by the deteriorating health of Nabeel Rajab, the Chair of the Subcommittee on Human Rights, Mr Pier Antonio Panzeri made the following statement:
“The President of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), Nabeel Rajab, has been held in pre-trial detention for over a year because he spoke out against human rights violations in Bahrain. During much of this year, he has been held in solitary confinement. The charges brought against him could incur up to 18 years in prison.
I am also alarmed at his state of health which has steadily worsened during his lengthy detention and especially after he underwent surgery in April. The fact that he has not been able to communicate with his family since last week is equally worrying”.
Speaking on behalf of the Subcommittee on Human Rights, Mr Panzeri therefore stated: “Nabeel Rajab’s detention violates his right to freedom of expression. I call on the Bahraini authorities to grant lawyers and family members access to Nabeel Rajab, to drop all charges against him and to free him immediately.”
