Death Row bomber who says he was tortured into false confession begs Pope to save him

A man on death row who claims he was tortured into confessing has urged Pope Francis to help him.

Mohammed Ramadhan is a former member of Bahrain's security forces who was convicted of a 2014 bombing in which a police officer was killed.

He was sentenced to death, despite an investigation unearthing medical evidence that supported his allegations of torture.

After nine years behind bars, he is begging the Pope to take action during his three-day visit to Bahrain, which begins today (Thursday 3 November).

In a letter shared with The Guardian through the London-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (Bird), Ramadhan urged the pontiff to 'ask the king of Bahrain to release me and reunite me with my family and children'.

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The 39-year-old added that prison authorities are denying him medical attention for a painful lump in his neck, and he has also been critical of UK foreign secretary James Cleverly.

During a 2020 parliamentary debate, Cleverly said the 'UK will publicly and loudly remind Bahrain' of its opposition to the death penalty and 'continue to seek to have it set aside' Ramadhan's case; however, the death row inmate said the foreign secretary didn't follow through with his commitment.

In a letter written to the politician in October, cited by The Guardian, he said: "This promise was not fulfilled … There is a gulf between the words of the promise you made in parliament and the reality of your inaction when it comes to my case.

"Worse still, the UK has continued to support and train the very same people and institutions responsible for the torture I suffered, covering it up and paving the way for Bahrain's courts to convict me on the basis of a false confession extracted under torture."

A Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office spokesperson told UNILAD: "We have raised our concerns about Mr Ramadhan with the Government of Bahrain.

"The British Government's longstanding policy on the death penalty is clear: We oppose it in all circumstances, as a matter of principle."

Uwe Deffner / Alamy Stock Photo

Ramadhan claims he was arrested after supporting Bahrain's pro-democracy uprising, and was then allegedly framed in a murder case and beaten with iron bars in order to extract his confession.

In March, his son Ahmed sent a drawing to seven-time Formula One champion Sir Lewis Hamilton, hopeful that the British driver could help save his father's life.

"Each year I receive letters from those that are suffering and all I can is try my hardest to empathise with those who face these challenges and have these tragic stories to tell," Sir Lewis said at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

"I think the weight of change really needs to be put on the governments and those that are in power. That's why we've got to continue to utilise the platforms we have when we arrive in these countries as well, make sure they are holding serious conversations about what's happening there."

Sir Lewis previously said F1 is 'duty bound' to raise awareness on human rights where it goes racing.

"We have platforms to try to raise awareness. There are amazing organisations out there on the ground that are fighting for human rights and I support those," Hamilton said.

"But there's a lot of work to do, the world's a mess. We saw more displacement of refugees than ever before, not only in Ukraine, but in Syria and Yemen."

It was the second time Ahmed had sent a drawing to Sir Lewis in the hope he could have an impact on his dad's future.