Al-Khalifa Regime Faces Widespread Int’l Criticism over Violations of Bahraini Prisoners' Rights


Al-Khalifa Regime Faces Widespread Int’l Criticism over Violations of Bahraini Prisoners' Rights

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The high level of violence against Bahraini detainees, political activists, and their families has caused growing criticism of the Al-Khalifa regime, as hundreds of violations have been reported and registered.

International human rights organizations revealed that many political prisoners in Jau Prison in Bahrain are incommunicado and are unable to contact their families, after they were attacked by riot police on Saturday April 17.

According to testimony gathered by many organizations, a group of officers and guards stormed Building 13 and physically assaulted at least 35 inmates who were protesting poor prison conditions, Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported.

The attack started after a number of prisoners gathered in the prison's halls, refusing to return to their cells, according to Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain and the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy. The attack was led by two police officers, Ahmed Al-Emadi and Captain Mohamed Abdel-Hamid, as it was monitored by CCTV cameras and recordings, according to testimonies.

In addition to the beatings, several prisoners were reported to have been repeatedly thrown with their faces on the ground.

The violence inflicted on the prisoners resulted in a number of injuries, loss of consciousness, and serious injuries.

Human rights reports revealed that a number of detainees were taken to unknown places and their relatives lost contact with them, and the prison authorities refused to reveal any information about their whereabouts.

Americans for Democracy and Human Rights revealed that the sit-in organized by the prisoners was a response to their poor conditions, and a condemnation of the practices that affect them and the violations they are exposed to, including punitive measures against prisoners.

In a statement sent to Al-Quds Al-Arabi, the organization listed abuses such as confinement in cells 24 hours a day, stopping telephone calls, and cramming prisoners into overcrowded buildings, designated only for political prisoners, as they harbor a weak capacity, which contributed to the aggravation of the situation after the death of the political prisoner, Prominent Abbas Mal Allah a few days ago, amid allegations of medical neglect by prison authorities.

Human rights sources denounced the situation in Bahrain's prisons, with the increase in cases of Coronavirus, with assurances of the presence of hundreds of cases in which the disease has spread.

Hussein Abdullah, executive director of Bahrain's Americans for Democracy and Human Rights, emphasized the importance of condemning Bahraini regime by its Western allies for their cowardly assault on political prisoners.

For his part, Syed Ahmed Al-Wadaei, Director of the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, commented: “This brutal and coordinated attack on political prisoners is the largest since March 2015, and it is clear that it is a response to the growing public anger over their failure to control the spread of the Coronavirus through Bahrain's prisons. The families of those injured in the attack are worried about the fate of their loved ones. Bahrain should immediately clarify their whereabouts and allow them to contact their relatives.”

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