[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12205]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                DEFENDING FREEDOMS PROJECT: NABEEL RAJAB

  (Mr. McGOVERN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  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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