Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] called on [official press release] Bahraini authorities Wednesday to commute the death sentences of Hussain Ali Moosa and Mohamed Ramadhan. AI warned that the recent protests against the three harsh executions carried out earlier this month risk igniting a human rights crisis. Neither of the men had access to a lawyer during their interrogations and claim they were subject to beatings, electric shocks and other torture in order to force a confession from them. The Bahraini Public Prosecutor dismissed the torture allegations without ordering an investigation and used Hussain Ali Moosa’s confession to convict the two men.

There has been ongoing criticism of Bahrain’s human rights [BBC country profile] since the 2011 uprising in which the Bahraini government called in Saudi armed forces to crush protests by demonstrators demanding a more democratic government. Last month Bahraini authorities charged human rights lawyer Mohamed al-Tajer with insulting government institutions [JURIST report]. In November AI declared [JURIST report] Bahrain’s human rights reforms inadequate. Last July the Bahrain High Civil Court ordered al-Wefaq, the main Shiite opposition group in the country, to be dissolved [JURIST report] because the group allegedly engaged in “terrorism, extremism, and violence.” Last June a UN human rights adviser called on Bahrain to ensure human rights are respected [JURIST report] following protests triggered by the government’s decision to strip a prominent Shia religious leader of his nationality. In September 2015 the UN Human Rights Council released a report [JURIST report] on Bahrain’s human rights record. Similarly, AI released a report [JURIST report] in April 2015 declaring that reforms had failed to end human rights violations.