On 20 February 2014, Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) Executive Director Husain Abdulla sent an open letter of support for European Member of Parliament Eija-Riitta Korhola’s nomination for the MEP of the Year Award in the Justice and Civil Liberties category. Please continue reading for the full text of the open letter, or click here for a PDF.
To Whom it May Concern,
Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) is delighted that Eija-Riitta Korhola (EPP, Finland) has been nominated for the MEP of the Year Award in the Justice and Civil Liberties category.
Ms. Korhola has been very active in supporting a number of draft urgency resolutions pertaining to breaches in human rights, democracy and the rule of law worldwide. Along with her engagement with ADHRB, Ms. Korhola worked in support of an urgency resolution on the human rights situation in Bahrain, which passed with overwhelming support in the European Parliament.
In collaboration with the Global Network for Rights and Development, an international NGO, Ms. Korhola served as a sponsor for an interactive dialogue on the role of media in human rights and democracy. In her remarks, Ms. Korhola noted with great concern the Bahraini government’s practice of targeting journalists, bloggers, and other users of social media as a means to stifle dissent. She pledged to raise the profile of human rights violations in Bahrain at the European Parliament and through engagement with the Bahraini government, and urged the European Union and Parliamentarians to do the same.
Ms. Korhola is a champion for human rights and a fearless defender of those who demand that their government’s respect such rights. We at ADHRB greatly appreciate Ms. Korhola’s exemplary work in support of human rights in Bahrain and around the world, and are elated at her nomination for the MEP of the Year Award.
Sincerely,
Husain Abdulla
