INMO supports vigil to highlight injustice in case of Health Professionals in Bahrain

The verdict on the case of 20 health professionals, on trial in Bahrain, is scheduled to be announced on Thursday, 14th June 2012. They have been charged with ‘anti-state activity’ as a result of providing care to wounded civilians.

 

Many in the group of these health professionals, like Hassan Matoq, Emergency Nurse and Ahmed Mahdi, Psychiatric Nurse, are still in prison and have been held for more than a year.

 

Many allege that they were tortured in detention including our colleagues, the President of the Bahrain Nursing Society, Rula Al-Saffar and her Executive Secretary, Mr. Ebrahim Aldemestani, who were detained for six months and now have a five year prison sentence hanging over them.

 

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation is joining today’s vigil from RCSI to the Dail to again call for all charges against health professionals to be dropped and also to urge the authorities to launch an independent and impartial investigation into allegations of torture and other ill treatment.

 

The International Council of Nurses (ICN) Code of Ethics states that “Nurses have a right to practice in an environment that provides personal safety, freedom from abuse and violence, threats or intimidations” and the INMO is seeking that this right is upheld in Bahrain and across the globe.

 

The INMO supports all participating organisations that have highlighted the shocking attack upon the legislative responsibility, of all health professionals, to care for all persons regardless of race/creed/colour.

 

The approach of the Bahrainian authorities, on this issue, is wholly unacceptable.  These health professionals must be released immediately, they have done no wrong and all they did was meet their obligation to all in society.

 

Speaking today INMO outgoing President Sheila Dickson said:

 

“We must continue to highlight this injustice and the Irish government must continue to raise this, through diplomatic channels, seeking the release of our fellow professionals”.

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