Kathmandu: The European Union has written to the government of Bhutan to release political prisoners. This follows the UN call for a similar request made to Bhutan. Early this month, six UN Special Rapporteurs had called on the king of Bhutan to exercise his power to pardon and release from prison the remaining political prisoners, so as to demonstrate Bhutan’s commitment to upholding human rights and its international legal obligations.
In a letter addressed to Prime Minister of Bhutan Tshering Tobgay, ahead of the EU-Bhutan human rights dialogue, the EU has raised concerns about the continued detention of 32 individuals who are arbitrarily imprisoned for their alleged political activity in Bhutan.
“We deeply value the EU’s bilateral relations with Bhutan and welcome the EU’s partnership and investments in your country. That partnership, however, must be rooted in a genuine, shared commitment to human rights, and we are concerned that the continued detention of those individuals is at odds with those commitments,” the letter says.
Many of the 32 individuals are jailed in the so-called “anti-nationals” prison block at Chemgang jail, as well as at Rabuna jail, and most of them are serving sentences of life without parole, the letter further says. “There are credible reports of serious mistreatment, including very poor prison conditions, as well as torture at the time of their original detention and trial. In an opinion dated 18 February 2025, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention examined three of these cases, found their detention arbitrary and called for their immediate release.”
The EU has said that the release of those 32 individuals would be met with nothing but praise from the international community, including the EU, and would impact positively on all aspects of EU-Bhutan bilateral relations. The EU has asked the government of Bhutan to consider the swift release and rehabilitation of those individuals.
The signatories of the letter by the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) include Saskia Bricmont, Chair of the South Asia Monitoring Group, Barry Andrews, Chair of the Development (DEVE) Committee, Mounir Satouri, Chair of the Human Rights (DROI) Committee, Majdouline Sbai, Chair of the GSP Monitoring Group and Serbia Dimitrie Sturdza, Chair of the Delegation for Relations with Countries of South Asia.
Comment