MPs urge action to free Bay inmates
By MOHAMMED AL A’ALI
Published: 26th June 2007
MPs are demanding answers from the Foreign Ministry on what it is doing to secure the release of two Bahrainis still being held at Guantanamo Bay.
They accused officials of keeping them in the dark on the status of negotiations between Bahrain and the US.
Parliament’s foreign affairs, defence and national security committee yesterday threatened to use its powers to force ministry officials into attending a meeting on the subject.
MPs want to know what is being done to secure the release of detainees Juma Al Dossary and Isa Al Murbati, who have been held at Guantanamo Bay without charge or trial for over five years.
MPs urge action to free Bay inmates
By MOHAMMED AL A’ALI
Published: 26th June 2007
MPs are demanding answers from the Foreign Ministry on what it is doing to secure the release of two Bahrainis still being held at Guantanamo Bay.
They accused officials of keeping them in the dark on the status of negotiations between Bahrain and the US.
Parliament’s foreign affairs, defence and national security committee yesterday threatened to use its powers to force ministry officials into attending a meeting on the subject.
MPs want to know what is being done to secure the release of detainees Juma Al Dossary and Isa Al Murbati, who have been held at Guantanamo Bay without charge or trial for over five years.
They are also calling for more efforts to release Abdulraheem Al Murbati, who has been held in Saudi Arabia for the past three years, and Adel Abdulkhaleq, arrested in the UAE last month.
However, parliamentary committee chairman MP Shaikh Adel Al Maawada accused Foreign Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Nizar Al Baharna of failing to update MPs.
MPs had urged the government last month to work harder to secure the release of the Bahrainis detained abroad.
Efforts
“Whether it is those two ministers or any other senior official, they simply have never taken the first step to unify efforts for the immediate release of our prisoners and detainees,” said Shaikh Al Maawada in a statement.
“When people have problems they don’t go the Foreign Ministry – they come to us directly.
“It is bad when we tell them that we don’t know what’s going on.
“In democratic countries, the Foreign Minister visits the legislative chamber twice weekly with the concerned committee getting a detailed report regularly on the what the ministry is doing, but here that is not the case.
“We are willing to have an emergency meeting to discuss the issue with the Foreign Ministry and if the ministry doesn’t act willingly, we will use our parliamentary powers to make them do so.”
His comments came after a parliamentary delegation arrived back in Bahrain on Sunday following meetings with US officials, which included discussions on the two Guantanamo Bay detainees.
Three MPs – services committee chairman Dr Ali Ahmed, Dr Jassim Hussain and Future Bloc president Adel Al Asoumi – highlighted their plight throughout the 15-day tour.
All three were unavailable for comment yesterday.
alaali@gdn.com.bh
© Gulf Daily News
