Human rights groups back Shaikh Salman

At least 10 human rights groups backed Bahraini FIFA Presidential candidate Shaikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa this week.

More groups have come forward to rebut the allegations raised by anti-government groups in Bahrain and international media against Shaikh Salman on human rights grounds.

Shaikh Salman has dismissed claims that he headed a team to investigate and prosecute athletes during the crisis in Bahrain in 2011.

With the campaign ‘Yes to Shaikh Salman’, human rights groups such as the Bahrain Human Rights group, IARF, AIHR, The Arab Alliance for For Arab Court Human rights and the Gulf association for rights and freedom have come out to show their support. 

Earlier, Gulf European Centre for Human Rights defended Shaikh Salman stating that they found no evidence of human rights abuse after studying the case.

“The human rights allegations against him are baseless. Shaikh Salman’s achievements at Asian Football Confederation is enough to be convinced of this ability. He was able to fight against corruption and manage the confederation extremely well,” said Human Rights Activist Faisal Fulad. 

He said that those who campaign against Shaikh Salman have political motives that aim at attacking Bahrain’s reputation. 

Despite the controversy, Shaikh Salman remains favourite to succeed Sepp Blatter as FIFA president. Bookmaker William Hill had declared Shaikh Salman favourite to become the next FIFA president ahead of Prince Ali bin al-Hussein from Jordan. 

Gianni Infantino and Joreome Chamagne have also been touted as strong competitors. The fact that both FIFA President Sepp Blatter and UEFA President Michel Platini were suspended for eight years aided Shaikh Salman’s campaign. 

A number of African nations are expected vote for Shaikh Salman after the Confederation of African Football recently announced its backing for the Bahraini.