Defending Freedoms Project: Nabeel Rajab

Floor Speech

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to discuss a Bahraini prisoner of conscience, Nabeel Rajab, a prominent human rights activist and the president of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights. Nabeel Rajab was sentenced to 3 years in jail simply for engaging in nonviolent political protests.

Nabeel Rajab is not alone. Scores of prisoners are incarcerated in Bahrain because they have called for meaningful reforms. Nabeel Rajab's abusive treatment by Bahraini security forces starkly contradicts Bahrain's pronouncements of full-fledged support for human rights.

I ask for the immediate release of Nabeel Rajab and seek the full support of Congress and the Obama administration.

Nabeel Rajab is a focus of the Defending Freedoms Project, a collaborative initiative spearheaded by the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission that invites Members of Congress to stand up for prisoners of conscience around the world through various actions. Today, I invite my colleagues to take part in this important nonpartisan opportunity. Our voices can make a difference in the release of these prisoners.

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