Bahrain Mirror: The European Court of Human Rights held, unanimously, that the Netherlands is to pay Bahraini dissident Ali-Showeikh 50,000 euros (EUR), whom it deported to Bahrain, in respect of non-pecuniary damage.
"Dutch authorities' assessment of risks when expelling a Bahraini national to his country of origin was not rigorous enough," a statement issued from the court said, stressing that "the Dutch authorities had failed to properly assess the alleged risk."
On October 20, 2018, Ali Al-Showeikh was expelled from the Netherlands following a rejection of his asylum claim and forcibly returned to Bahrain. According to Amnesty International, he was arrested at the airport and interrogated by the Criminal Investigations Directorate for 11 days during which he was denied access to a lawyer.
Sayed Ahmed Al-Wadaei, director of advocacy at the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) said via his account on "X" platform: "This ruling is an extremely important recognition for Mr. Al-Showeikh who has suffered various abuses by the Bahraini regime and is serving a life sentence in Jaw Prison."
He said that the "Dutch authorities must pressure Bahrain into providing him his basic rights, including medical treatment and push for a fair trial and his release."
On February 28, 2019, a Bahraini court sentenced Al-Showeikh to life imprisonment relying on coerced confessions and stripped him of his Bahraini citizenship in an unfair trial. He was accused of terrorism charges, including possessing unauthorized firearm.
He was then convicted to another 6 years on separate politically motivated charges. The Jaw prison authorities denied him medical treatment, which prompted him to join the hunger strike staged by hundreds of prisoners.
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