Pope urged to talk of human rights

Families of death row inmates in Bahrain appealed to Pope Francis to speak out against capital punishment and defend political prisoners during his trip to the Gulf state this week.
The families made their appeal in an open letter released by the London-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD), which called on the pope to speak out on what the group says are human rights abuses, including the imprisonment of pro-democracy dissidents, during his Nov. 3 to 6 trip.
Bahrain has imprisoned thousands of protesters, journalists and activists – some in mass trials – since an anti-government uprising in 2011. It says it prosecutes in accordance with international law those who commit crimes.