MANAMA — Bahrain has denied any role in the formation of an international committee to probe human rights crimes in Iran.
In a statement on Monday carried by the Bahrain News Agency, the country’s foreign ministry said that “what was being circulated on some social media outlets regarding the establishment of an international committee ‘Adala’ to investigate human rights crime in Iran does not reflect the Bahraini foreign policy which is committed to the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other states."
The foreign ministry also said that “Bahrain’s foreign policy is committed to the principles of good neighborliness and non-interference in the internal affairs of other states as well as strengthening relations and enhancing cooperation and dialogue through mutual respect and understanding.”
Bahrain’s denial comes as calls grow for the prosecution of Iran’s new President Ebrahim Raisi over his role in what human rights groups have called the extrajudicial executions of thousands of political prisoners in 1988.
On Sunday Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, the world’s leading human rights organizations said that the election of Raisi as the new president is a blow for human rights.
"That Ebrahim Raisi has risen to the presidency instead of being investigated for the crimes against humanity of murder, enforced disappearance and torture, is a grim reminder that impunity reigns supreme in Iran," London-based Amnesty Secretary-General Agnès Callamard said in a statement.
"We continue to call for Ebrahim Raisi to be investigated for his involvement in past and ongoing crimes under international law, including by states that exercise universal jurisdiction."
New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) also called for an independent investigation into Raisi’s role in human rights crimes.
"Iranian authorities paved the way for Ebrahim Raisi to become president through repression and an unfair election," Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at HRW, said in a statement.
"As head of Iran’s repressive judiciary, Raisi oversaw some of the most heinous crimes in Iran’s recent history, which deserve investigation and accountability rather than election to high office." — SG with inputs from agencies
