Governments must protect the human rights defenders stuck in prison after sham trials

Ireland needs to speak out on fair trials for human rights defenders such as Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, one of Bahrain's most high-profile prisoners

Tue, 14 Jun, 2022 - 02:00

Mary Lawlor

International Fair Trial Day is one of those things we shouldn’t need to mark — everyone has the right to a fair trial — but too many people, often Human Rights Defenders (HRDs), are stuck in prison after sham trials.

In 2011, I went to the trial in Bahrain of HRD Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja. I’d worked with him in Dublin for years when I was director of Front Line Defenders and knew him well. He’s a prominent HRD, known internationally for his peaceful advocacy for human rights.

There were diplomats from various embassies at his trial too. Although a civilian, he was given a military trial. He’d been tortured and wasn’t allowed to offer a proper defence. I tried to talk to him for a few minutes at the end of the day in court but wasn’t allowed to.

He was given a life sentence and remains in prison. He is one of many HRDs serving long jail sentences for their peaceful human rights work. Some are in prison for years without having had a trial at all.

It is 11 years since Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja was sentenced to life in jail after his sham trial. Photo: frontlinedefenders.org

Irish national and HRD, Abdoul Aziz Goma, was jailed in Togo in December 2018 while visiting the country, and he has not been allowed to see a lawyer since. He was arrested after offering a place to stay for protestors following a demonstration.

He says he was tortured in custody, and now is confined to a wheelchair. There are real concerns that he will never get a fair trial, and he ought to be immediately released and sent to Ireland where he can get the proper medical treatment he needs.

Hundreds of HRDs across the world are serving long prison sentences after being convicted on fabricated charges following unfair trials.

Some are tortured into making false confessions or are convicted in mass trials, often on the pretext of national security or anti-terrorism legislation.   

We see this in many places, not just in one country or on one continent. My last report to the UN General Assembly, in October 2021, focused on the issue of HRDs sentenced to, or liable to be sentenced to, 10 or more years in detention.   

When I raise the issue of unfair trials with officials from various governments, they often say they can't interfere with their countries’ “independent judicial processes”.

While I respect the principle of judicial independence, when a criminal justice system falls short of international standards and is used to unjustly jail human rights defenders, my mandate has to take action.   

Silence in the face of unfair trials encourages and enables the practice.

Often governments send observers to high-profile trials of HRDs, as they did with Abdulhadi Al Khawaja.

The current diplomatic etiquette is that by sending a representative to observe the trial, embassies are sending a message to the court that they are closely watching what’s happening at the hearings.

While that in itself can be useful, it can also be taken as acquiescence to an unfair process. 

So when an observer representing the Irish Government goes to the trial of a HRD and sees that they show signs of having been tortured, or that their lawyer is not allowed to advance a proper defence, or that there is any other clear indication that the trial is unfair, the observer should make this clear.   

Irish embassies, all embassies, with the consent of the defender on trial, should adopt a policy of "See Something, Say Something" if they are a witness to the human rights violation of an unfair trial.   

If Abdoul Aziz Goma is eventually put on trial in Togo instead of being immediately released, the Irish Government should send a senior official to observe proceedings, and they should publicly say if what they witnessed in court was fair or not.

On Wednesday, it will be 11 years since Abdulhadi Al Khawaja was sentenced to life in jail after his sham trial.

He is a Danish citizen, and given his long-standing links to Ireland, the Irish Government should work with the Danish government, and the EU Special Representative for Human Rights, Eamon Gilmore, to put in place a joint strategy to advocate for his release.