Alwaght- Bahraini human rights activist Ebtisam al-Saegh revealed that as parts of pressures on the political prisoners, the authorities of Jau Prison insult the imprisoned opposition figures and are negligent about their medical treatment. In a Twitter post, she revealed that prison administration merged prisoners of different nationalities with various convictions and who are from different traditions and religions into the sections containing Bahrainis prisoners.
This is not the first time that political and religious prisoners in Bahrain are subjected to pressure and inhumane behavior. Bahrain has a detailed record of violation of the rights of political prisoners, and over the past decade, along with the country’s pro-democracy and freedom uprising, the pressure on political prisoners has doubled.
Bahrain, the top country with political prisoners
Bahrain is leading the Arab countries in the number of political prisoners. Last year, the opposition-run Bahrain Center for Human Rights confirmed this report, adding that the country has about 4,500 prisoners living in tragic conditions in Al Khalifa’s prisons.
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights emphasized in a report that during the past decade, many reports were published about the deplorable conditions of the country’s prisons. This has led to the request of the international community and human rights organizations to improve prison conditions and stop torture and ill-treatment of political prisoners.
Rights reports suggest that over the past decade, Bahrain imprisoned over 15,000 for expressing their political views, becoming the top Arab country in terms of the number of prisoners.
Political prisoners under torture and persecution
Political prisoners in Bahrain are subjected to torture and persecution, and the Al Khalifa regime silences any dissenting voice through detention, torture, and execution.
The country has been in a state of popular uprising since 2011. The Bahrainis protested against Al Khalifa’s despotic and dictated actions, but the government reacted with arrest, imprisonment, torture and execution for pro-freedom strugglers who are still present in the battle scene. The government has also stripped hundreds of people of their citizenship.
Given the outbreak of disease among the prisoners, and lack of adequate medical care, and overcrowded prisons, the improper conditions of the prisons in Bahrain have led to death of a number of prisoners. In 2015, only in Jau Prison, 2,500 people were recorded as prisoners and were cared for only by two doctors, one for each shift. A human rights center has also mentioned the confession of prisoners under severe physical and mental torture.
In last summer, Jalal Firoz, a former member of the parliament of Bahrain, announced that more than 3,500 opposition figures were under the most severe torture in the prisons of the regime.
Earlier, The Bahrain Center for Human Rights, Gulf Center for Human Rights, and the Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain in a joint report said that severe deficiencies in fair trial guarantees were a systemic feature of Bahrain’s justice system which influences ongoing human rights abuses and prisoner torture and ill-treatment.
Also, the prison authorities use any suppressive measures against the prisoners and regardless of the outbreak of infectious diseases, they put healthy people in cells where sick people are kept.
Here is a torture place
About six months ago, 162 political prisoners wrote to the officials of the country ,complaining about the deplorable prison conditions and torture and called for providing human conditions for prisoners. Among the prisoners’ demands was provision of proper health care, permission to perform religious rituals, communication with their families, and not being subjected to torture and solitary confinement.
Warning about conditions of imprisoned opposition figures
Recently, political prisoners criticized the performance of the Al Khalifa in dealing with the prisoners, warning that the conditions of the prominent opposition figures in the prisons is worse than what is reported about outside the prisons. According to Meraat Al-Bahrain website, Jou prisoners stress that what is going on in the prison is way worse than what the world is told about by the government.
In a voice message from inside the prison, the prisoners warned about dangerous consequences of deliberate deprivation of prisoner of conscience Abdulwahab Hussain of medical care and treatment and said that this poses serious health risks to him and threatens his life.
“The Al Khalifa regime continues its criminal and dangerous project to eliminate symbolic opposition figures via a policy of gradual elimination through deliberate medical neglect, targeted deprivation from treatment, and cancellation of appointments for medical examination,” part of the voice message said, adding some prominent prisoners are suffering from serious diseases but are subjected to medical neglect.
