French President Emmanuel Macron met Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa on Tuesday with his authority at home in tatters and 32 human rights organisations calling on him to prioritise human rights concerns on his visit to the Gulf kingdom.
In a letter to Macron, groups including the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (Bird), Human Rights Watch and the International Federation for Human Rights (Fidh), urged the French president to confront Hamad over his administration’s escalating crackdown on dissent, mass arrests, torture and the stripping of children’s citizenship.
The letter warns that Bahrain is experiencing its most severe crackdown on dissent since 2011 and that “closer political and security cooperation with France risks emboldening the Bahraini authorities”.
“France must not sacrifice human rights for lucrative Gulf deals under the guise of regional security,” Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, advocacy director at Bird, said.
“Bahrain must not be allowed to buy France's silence. Those responsible for serious human rights abuses must face consequences, not rewards from France."
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Since the US-Israeli war on Iran was launched at the end of February, Bahrain has responded to any expression of perceived sympathy for Iran by arresting over 700 people and stripping citizenship from 69 citizens, including 33 children, the youngest of whom was just 19 days old.
A Sunni-ruled kingdom, Bahrain has long cracked down on its majority Shia population, with the Arab Spring uprisings of 2011 both a high point of dissent and repression, as authorities sought to quell democratic protests.
Two EU-citizen prisoners, Bahraini-Danish activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja and Swedish-Bahraini cleric Mohamed Habib al-Muqdad, have been in prison in Bahrain for 15 years, and the groups have called for them and other political prisoners to be released.
Protests at home, red carpet in the Gulf for Macron
In Manama on Tuesday, Macron was greeted by crowds of schoolchildren waving Bahraini and French flags. The French president, in his trademark dark-blue suit, was pictured walking with King Hamad, his sons and a military guard along a red carpet strewn with flower petals.
Macron’s visit forms part of a Gulf tour from 19 to 21 October, encompassing Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar.
With France on fire as an estimated 550,000 people took to the streets over the weekend to protest the rise in the cost of living and the widespread perception that the country’s social contract is broken, Macron has spoken from the Gulf about his scorn for “those who destroyed, looted and vandalised”, while acknowledging the “legitimate concerns” of others.
His trip, though, is directly connected to protests at home. The war on Iran has sent crude oil prices skyrocketing as the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked, leading to a sharp increase in the cost of energy in societies across the globe.
Macron’s tour of key energy suppliers in the Gulf has borne some fruit. The French president obtained commitments for around 100,000 tonnes of extra diesel per month from the UAE and 100,000 tonnes of extra diesel from Bahrain, the Elysee Palace said.
With the additions of deliveries from Saudi Arabia, France has commitments for 295,000 tonnes per month, representing just over 10 percent of its consumption, the French presidency added.
"The current crisis should remind President Macron that lasting energy security depends on respect for human rights and peace," Antoine Madelin, Fidh's advocacy director, said. "France must look beyond immediate supplies and support the open, democratic societies on which a stable future depends."
French troops redeployed to the Gulf
Macron is also expected to discuss defence deals and investment in Bahrain.
Intelligence Online reported that with French forces now fully withdrawn from Iraq, Macron is looking to announce the deployment of troops to Gulf countries to protect their airspace from Iranian missiles and drones strikes, which have been frequent since the war on Iran was launched in February.
'At a time when students are protesting for better conditions in France, Macron is in Bahrain, where two EU prisoners of conscience are still imprisoned after 15 years'
- Maryam al-Khawaja, Bahraini activist
France charges millions of dollars annually for its air defence teams, which are accompanied by trainers for the local armed forces. Abu Dhabi has, according to Intelligence Online, been receiving such support “for many months”.
But while Macron is looking to strike energy and defence deals as his second term in office nears completion – French elections are due in April 2027, with far-right leader Marine Le Pen promising to restore order – local activists and human rights groups are urging him and other European leaders to take Bahrain’s authoritarianism seriously.
Apart from the mass detentions and stripping of citizenship, the letter to Macron highlights the death in custody of 32-year-old Sayed Mohamed al-Mousawi, whose body was returned to his family bearing visible signs of torture, and the plight of 19 prisoners facing the death penalty, 18 of whom have exhausted their legal remedies.
“Since the outbreak of the Iran war, repression in Bahrain has intensified sharply. Bahrain's ruler is jailing critics, stripping children of their citizenship and presiding over widespread torture,” said Alwadaei.
In a statement, prominent Bahraini activist Maryam al-Khawaja said: “At a time when students are protesting for better conditions in France, President Macron is in Bahrain, where two EU prisoners of conscience are still imprisoned after 15 years.”
One of those prisoners is Maryam’s father, political activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja, who bears Danish citizenship. Denmark and the European Union have long called for his release.
On 9 April 2011, armed and masked policemen broke into the al-Khawaja family home in the middle of the night, dragged Abdulhadi down the stairs and beat him, kicking him in the head in an attack that left him needing four hours of surgery on his face and jaw.
In June that year, he was sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of “organising and managing a terrorist organisation”, “attempts to overthrow the government by force and in liaison with a terrorist organisation working for a foreign country” and the “collection of money for a terrorist group”.
“My father recently told me how it was a peaceful student protest that embarked him on his journey as a human rights defender. As an EU leader, I hope Macron calls for the release of my father and other prisoners of conscience,” his daughter Maryam said.
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