14 June 2012 – The fate of Ahmed’s eye hung in the balance for almost 10 months alongside his childhood.

On the 12th of April 2013, 4 year old Ahmed Al Nuham was shot at close distance by police using ‘shotgun’ pellets as he was accompanying his father who was selling fish during a period lacking any security concerns. Despite the cries of the Father, police who were patrolling the village nevertheless managed to shoot and injure Ahmed directly in the eye, catching him unawares.

- The Impunity of individual perpetrators places responsibility accountability on State institutions.

Following a failed attempt to rescue Ahmed’s injured eye in Bahrain, he was transported to Saudi Arabia and then Ireland and Singapore where his damaged eye was replaced with a cosmetic alternative. Although free treatment was provided for Ahmed, authorities have evaded accountability and responsibility for the attack despite the availability of video and eyewitness evidence of the incident. Authorities have also gone further in their culture of impunity by neglecting to publish a statement of the attack, to accept responsibility and to apologise.

In addition to security personnel evading punishment for their crimes, Judicial authorities alongside the Public Prosecution have acted in a manner in which encourages State institutions to remain silent about these grave violations rather than pushing cases against them. Not only does this encourage a widespread policy of impunity, but inevitably leads to the recurrence of similar deliberate and premeditated incidents.

We at BRAVO encourage authorities to accept absolute responisbility to bring all perpetrators (principal, secondary or tertiary) to justice in order to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents. We also encourage authorities to take steps in accepting accountability for human rights violations for the protection of children, and to implement Bahrain’s obligations under the Universal Declaration, the Geneva Conventions, the Paris Convention on the Rights of the Child and all other Human Rights Covenants acceded to and ratified.

BRAVO appeals to the international community and social organisations to shed light on the severe human rights violations in Bahrain, to encourage authorities to accept responsibility for their role in those crimes, and to place pressure on Bahraini authorities to stop the ever increasing levels of official State violence.

Related links:

1. Video footage
2. Bahrain riot police shot birdshot gun at 4 year old kid
3. UPDATE to the Statement on the 4 Year Old Childs Medical Emergency

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Summary

Sexual violence in its many forms has re-emerged as a torture technique in Bahrain. The Bahrain Independent Commission Inquiry report contains a disturbing litany of testimonies from victims of sexual violence occurring since February 2011.

Human Rights Watch had noted ongoing violations before 2010 but there has been a dramatic upsurge in rape, sodomy, sexual harassment, abuse and exploitation of detainees in recent years.

Despite numerous testimonies and the findings of the BICI report the Bahraini government denies that sexual violence occurs in their prisons and detention centers.
Bahrain is a signatory of the Convention Against Torture and should repeal laws such as Law 56, 2002, which offers impunity for those responsible.

BRAVO calls for an independent review of all claims of sexual violence against detainees in Bahrain under the auspices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Introduction:

1- Sexual violence was represented as one of the methods mentioned in the testimonies of many victims of torture in Bahrain after the political events of February and March 2011. Sexual violence includes sexual abuse and rape. (1) Detainees confirmed “methods most widely used as follows: blindfolded eyes, handcuffed, being forced to stand for long periods, beating, punching, beating with rubber hoses, including on the soles feet, and cables wires and whips, metal rods and wood panels and other things, electric shocks, sleep deprivation, exposure to large differences of temperature, verbal abuse, threats of rape of the arrested person or members of his family, and insults to the religious sect to which he/she belongs (Shiites)”.

(2) This was confirmed by local associations, such as the Bahraini Association for Human Rights, which revealed that the committee of monitoring and documentation received 1374 complaints of torture and cruel treatment during the period of detention, from 13 March 2011 to June 2012. The methods used to torture detainees included beatings, threats of electric shocks, being hanged by the arms, being stood for prolonged periods, being threatened with death and deprivation of sleep or bathroom or eating or prayer. Detainees reported that they were forced to jog while blindfolded; forced to wear handcuffs in a harmful way for prolonged times; were sexually harassed and molested, and stripped of clothing. (3)

The Liberties and Human Rights Department in Al-Wefaq National Islamic Society reported that they handed to the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry about 1866 complaints from victims of torture and affirmed that “they were forcing the victims to imitate the sound of the fish or cat or chicken or donkey or insect and if the victim can not imitate some animal sounds, he will be subjected to torture. And they were forced to dance and sing as a form of torture; and some were forced to strip naked in full and forced to run in the hallways and repeatedly saying ‘I’m crazy’”. (4)
2- The act of assault or abuse of a sexual nature – including the act of sexual violence suffered by detainees – represents an issue of anathema (taboo) in the very conservative Bahraini society. That is because it represents embarrassment to the victim and his family; creating the memory of a bad physical and psychological trauma to the victim; an immoral practice that neither the victim nor his/her family can present clearly to the public.
To obtain the testimonies of the victims who have been subjected to this kind of abuse and the announcement of what happened to them is very difficult, if not almost impossible under the culture of shame and silence in the Gulf society in general; this has led to the lack of accurate statistics on this subject.
A security study conducted by Dubai police in the United Arab Emirates and included 1895 people, revealed that 90% of crimes relating to honor – are not reported, affirm that 94.4% of women do not report crimes committed against them. (5)

There are no formal studies in most countries on the prevalence of sexual abuse in prisons, and the number of people who complained about being subject to sexual harassment is few. However, few observers believe that Bahraini prisons are safe. Veteran prisoners and prison staff and human rights activists all over the world agree on that most victims of sexual assault in prisons don’t talk publicly about their experiences for fear of revenge and shame and believe that no help is available to them. (6)

3- Sexual violence as a form of torture.

Sexual violence is a form of torture whether to involve an act or threat of a sexual nature pain or suffering physical or psychological, to obtain information or a confession from the victim or to punish or intimidate the victim, and that’s “through rape or forcing the detainee to do sexual acts against his\her will, and at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting as an official “. (7)

Sexual violence takes many forms:
Rape, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Exploitation, Sexual Harassment. (8)

A. Rape or attempted rape, including infringement on any part of the body or sexual violation of the vagina or anus with any body part or a tool, and any penetration is a rape. It includes the threat of force or coercion. Attempted rape, even if it did not led to penetration is also a rape.

B. Sexual Abuse is the actual or threatened violation of a sexual nature, whether by force or coercion.

C. Sexual Exploitation or forced prostitution is actual abuse or attempted abuse of a position of weakness, or variation in power or trust for sexual purposes, including, the sexual exploitation of another person financially, socially or politically.

D. Sexual harassment is any unacceptable sexual attempt, or unwanted sexual attention or sexual contact request or sexual petting or sexual hint or other verbal or physical behavior of a sexual nature.

Sexual harassment exists if it is made as a condition for getting a job, or creates a hostile or aggressive work environment.

Sexual Violence includes marital rape, child sexual abuse, and sexual violence as a weapon of war or torture, and forced sodomy.

4- Sexual assault in prison is a form of sexual violence, which means any undesirable sexual contact, or threat by a prisoner to another, or any sexual contact by a prison staff with any prisoner, regardless of the sex of the perpetrator, or in women’s prisons or men, and may be the perpetrators are the same sex or the opposite sex.

Rape can be a tool of political repression in prisons, and in this case tacit approval is given by the government and director of the prison or the prison staff to rape victims who are considered political opponents as a form of punishment or intimidation. Regardless of the form it takes, rape is an act of violence that is being used to demonstrate the dominance and power and control. (6)

Sexual Violence in Bahraini Prisons

Materials and Methodology

5- In order to verify the allegations of sexual violence suffered by detainees, BRAVO reviewed reports of human rights organizations, local and international, about methods of torture in Bahrain before and after February 2011 – the date of the beginning of the current turmoil in Bahrain.

BRAVO interviewed many of the victims of sexual violence, males and females, and reviewed the testimonies of witnesses, including doctors, lawyers, relatives of the victims, and individuals directly related to the victims or the circumstances of their exposure to these violations. BRAVO could not interview any of the individuals or government parties accused of crimes of sexual violence. BRAVO reviewed data and reports issued by the Government of Bahrain and organizations subordinate to it, as well as the relevant reports and in particular the report of the Bahrain Independent Commission Inquiry( BICI).

6- In its report issued in February 2010, under the title Torture Redux – Revival of Physical Coercion during Interrogations in Bahrain, Human Rights Watch described some of the methods of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment in Bahrain, included rape threats and abuse of a sexual nature. The report describes the practices of abuse and sexual humiliation of two people interviewed by Human Rights Watch:
The detainee Issa Abdullah Issa says “that during the time he was being held in a room in Adliya police station blindfolded, the guards roll plastic tape around his penis, and forced him to drink a bottle of water. And every 15 to 30 minutes, the guards forced him to drink more water, Issa began feel a strong desire to urinate. Issa shouted requesting for a toilet, but they refused. Issa said he tried to urinate where he stood, but the plastic restriction prevented it. In the end, the guards moved the plastic restriction, but they did not allow him to use the toilet, so he urinated on himself in his place”.
The detainee Maytham Bader Jassim Al-Sheikh said that “he was hanged from his wrists twice. The second time, the officer said ‘Sheikh I know where did you hide the weapon’, and asked him to admit it, and when Maytham, who was blindfolded, said he did not know anything about the weapon, the officer took off Maytham’s clothes and penetrate what he believed was a stick in his anus for a few seconds. One of the officers said to him: “If you want to act like you’re a real man, we will show you how to be a real man.” (9)

7- The Human Rights Watch report “Torture Redux – Revival of Physical Coercion during Interrogations in Bahrain,” was discussed at a press conference in February 2010. Jo Stork – General Director of the Middle East and North Africa in the organization attended at the Bahrain Society of Human Rights in Bahrain, with the participation of then President of the Bahrain Society of Human Rights Abdullah Alderazi, where Stork said “the torture returned as a Tool for the security forces in Bahrain, the return of the torture is worrying at a time when Bahrain showed the political will 10 years back to put an end to this abhorrent practice “. Stork said, “It is clear that since the beginning of this century, Bahrain showed to the world that the political will can stop the torture, which was evident in the period between 2001 and 2006, as shown that there have been serious human rights issues, but not torture.” He confirmed that “these rejected practices returned when the political tensions increased in 2007, demonstrations greatly increased in the street were the young people came out to express their protest against what they claim to be discrimination practiced against them by the government, with the increasing of violent confrontations with security forces, pointing out that arrests often occurred during these demonstrations, and shows that security officers are using systematic methods and physically painful techniques to extract confessions from many of those who were arrested.” (10)

8- Mr Stork, representative of Human Rights Watch, met with many government figures including Bahraini minister of Interior Sheikh Rashid bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, and Undersecretary of the Ministry of Interior and Chairman of the Commission of Human Rights Ministry Brigadier Tariq bin Dinah and General Inspector of the Ministry of Interior Brigadier Ibrahim al-Ghaith, and Minister of Social Development Fatima Al Balushi. Mr Stork told officials of the necessity of accountability for those who practice torture of detainees in Bahrain; he says: “We have confirmed through the report that if any official found torturing people should be apprehended and suspended from work during the investigation; the responses were that we did not receive complaints, but we emphasize that Bahrain’s ratification of the Convention Against Torture obliges government to apprehend any person responsible if there are lawsuits and complaints about torture.” Stork also confirmed that he had informed the minister about allegations of torture.
But the minister denied the existence of such torture, and returned and confirmed that there would be re-investigation again to verify the allegations.
Stork confirmed that torture is a crime, and the importance of international prosecution, especially with the presence of complaints about torture by the government, stressing the importance of raising these issues then at an international level. (10)

9- Commenting on the press conference above held by Human Rights Watch, the Undersecretary of Ministry of Interior and Chairman of the Commission of Human Rights in the Ministry Brigadier Tariq bin Dinah “The report lacked objectivity and neutrality and a single side view by basing on the statements of a limited number of well-known

personalities in opposition to political openness and reform movement adopted by the Kingdom and not to participate in it.” and added that “the provisions report may not be right, and that there are no torture of any person who is arrested for allegedly pending any issue, and that the allegations repeated by people on this subject are unfounded and based only on hearsay, the goal behind it is questioning the legal action taken by the security forces to confront the outlaws, and provide cover for their crimes and help them with impunity.” Stressing “the absence of any cases of torture or physical coercion in the Kingdom”. (10) 

This denial confirms what Interior Minister Bahraini Brigadier Tariq bin Dinah and General Inspector Brigadier Ibrahim Al Ghaith said about the occurrence of torture when they met with members of Human Rights Watch before publication of its report, where “officials denied the occurrence of torture in the cases documented in the report and claimed that the consistency of accounts of abuse reflect the fact that individuals who met by human Rights Watch were imprisoned together and defended by the same group of lawyers. They stated the opinion that the consistency of allegations of abuse among prisoners is proof that it claims were fabricated. Officials said the former detainees who claimed exposure to abuses were trying to provoke a kind of political sympathy. However officials themselves acknowledged that “abuse of detainees was a problem in the past”, a reference to the period prior to Sheikh Hamad taking the crown in 1999, but they said that the Interior Ministry now had an adequate system in place to investigate allegations of torture and ill-treatment. One official said: “abuse occurred, but we are serious in pursuing the torturers”. (11)

10- BRAVO checked the testimonies of seventeen (17) victims of sexual violence for the period after the issuance of the report of the Bahrain Independent Commission Inquiry and specifically between May2012 and August 2012, and documented by the Liberties and Human Rights Department in Al-Wefaq. (12) BRAVO has proceeded strictly between these testimonies and those in the report of the Bahrain Independent Commission Inquiry of sexual violence on victims of torture contained in Annex II of the summaries of testimonies of torture. (13)

11- According to the brother of one of the detainee, quoting his detained brother (Twenty-six year old) – after his visit at the Dry Dock prison, that his brother was arrested on June 12, 2012 from his home by civilians and masked military to Criminal Investigation building where he was threatened “to enter a bottle in his anus and rape his sister” if he denied the charges against him in front of the Public Prosecutor. (14) This testimony is similar to that of another (case number eight) victim of torture contained in the report of the BICI: “The masked guards were insulting and beating him on the head and hands, causing swelling of his body.

Also entered a stick by force in his anus” and “when he asked the hospital staff to make the handcuffs a little bet loose they refused to do so. And security personnel in the hospital threatened him with sexual assault and death. He was threatened with assault of his wife and daughter sexually”. (15) This was repeated in the (case number eighteen) testimony where “a hose entered in his buttock twice”. (16) And confirmed by the testimony of (case number seven), he was “subjected to verbal abuse and sexual harassment by entering a finger in the anus”. (17) And confirmed by testimony (case number eleven) he “felt that someone put his finger in his anus”. (18) Also one of the detainees suffered when “part of a gun was inserted in the anus”, as stated in the testimony of the (case number Fifty two) in the same report. (19)

12- Bahrain Center for Human Rights special report on torture and abuse of detainees in the case of what is known as the Alliance of the Republic – contains testimony of detainee Mohammed Hassan Jawad Parweez: “We stayed for 15 days in the castle’s prisons … and I was sexually harassed and they tried to take my clothes off and enter a stick in my buttock) but I strongly resisted and for this reason I was severely beaten”. (20)

13- Sexual violence was a way to extract confessions from detainees, as stated in the testimony of (case number nineteen) victims of torture contained in the BICI report; “security forces forced the detainee to undress and pushed a hose into his anus until he confessed and signed the confession”. (21)
Again the sexual violence was a way of continued psychological pressure on the detainee (case number fifty) mentioned at the same report, where he was threatened for a period of 13 days “to put a pen in his anus”. (22)

14- A nineteen year old detained reported that guards insulted his mother with immoral words like (bitch), before being taken to the Hamad Town police station on 16 June 2012, where he was threatened with rape by an officer. (23) This facts are similar to the testimony of the (Case number eighteen), victims of torture contained in the BICI report ” the police officers insulted my arrested father, and called him ‘son of a bitch’ and threatened to rape my mother”; (16) and confirmed by testimony of the (Case number seven), who cited “exposure to verbal abuse and threats with the following words ‘your daughter is being raped from her Buttock, and we’ll start doing the same from the front’ and ‘you are a son of a bitch, you do not deserve to live’ .. Also threatened with rape and he was subject to sexually explicit comments about his wife and daughter”. (17)

15- According to another victim, a fifteen year old boy, who was subject to physical and psychological torture in open field in front of youth hostels in Sanabis on 25 June 2012, where he was arrested and released without being taken to a police station. He pointed out that one of the officers tightened his hands around the boy’s neck and bite his tongue, while he was threatened by another officer to electrocute and rape him; where they took off his pants and took photos while he was like that. (24) A similar testimony from another victim (Case number twelve) contained in the BICI report “the suspended was arrest at his home, and they took off his clothes, he tried to cover his genitals and buttocks, then they transferred him to Alqareen prison where he was continuously tortured, they forced him to strip naked and bend to a hose facing the anal area repeatedly”. (25) The (Case number eighteen) repeated the same testimony in the report, where the detainee said: “they opened the buttons of my pants and ordered him to jump like a bunny, until my pants fell” and “He was stripped of his clothes and hanged in a way similar to the swing”. (16)

16- A sixteen year old detainee confirmed that he was arrested on June 21 2012, by civilian forces while he was involved in a peaceful march. Where he was beaten severely, while lying on the ground before being left to the security forces. They took him in a car, and continued beating and sexually harassing him through touching and feeling his sensitive places all the way, until their arrival at the Noaim police station. (26) A very similar situation came in the testimony of (Case number eight) of victims of torture contained in the BICI report: “May 8, A detainee was subjected to verbal abuse and sexual harassment in the car on the way to the court”. (15) And the testimony was repeated by the (Case number sixteen) on the above report where “officials were often put their hands on sensitive areas of his body”. (27) After being transferred from Noaim police station to Gudaibiya police station “the suspended was forced to bend forward while they touch the anal regions” as stated in the testimony of the (Case number fifty two) in the same report. (19)

17- According to a sixteen year old detainee, he was arrested on 14 June 2012 with others from a house in Diraz village, after breaking in the house by security forces after a peaceful march. During his arrest he was beaten and sexual harassed, by touching his sensitive areas. Then he was questioned in Budaiya police station before being transferred to the Hamad town station, and then to Dry Dock prison. He was released after fifteen days. (28) In the same context came in the testimony of (Case number eighteen), victims of torture contained in the report of the Bahrain Independent Commission Inquiry; “Once they tied a wire around his penis and pulled it.” (16) The same story is repeated in the testimony of another victim (Case number thirteen) in the BICI report “He was subjected to touching his buttock more than once”. (29)

18- A twenty four years old detainee said that he was detained for hours, on 7 July 2012, when he was running to avoid being run over by police car while he was walking to his apartment. Then three of the security forces started kicking and punching him, before being transferred to the police car, they continued to beat him with batons until they arrived to an open area with police cars parked in it, where he was sexually harassed by feeling parts of his body and threatened with rape. Then he was transferred to Alkhamees police station, where he was questioned and beaten. And then they allowed him to call his family to be released after signing the investigation record. (30) This method of sexual torture in open spaces mentioned in the testimony of the (Case number twenty five), victims of torture contained in the BICI report;”they took him to an open area near his village, where he saw thirty individuals riot police in police cars. Then they began to beat and torture him, and sexually assault him”. (31)

19- A man in his mid-thirties said that he was on his way to his village, Alblad Alqadeem, with a group of individuals on June 23, 2012, after participating in a licensed march held by Bahraini opposition associations. About fifty members of police approached them near Sheikh Aziz mosque; the people split up and he remained alone where he could not run. The police arrested and blindfolded him. They started cursing him and cursing his family and his doctrine, and beat him on the head and his joints and back. They also harassed him and threatened by rape and kill him; then one of the officers put a shotgun at his head and his mouth. They stole his glasses and rings from his hand. After about three hours, he was transferred to Alkhaees police station, for interrogation, and then they released him. (32)

Another victim tells of threats of sexual assault (Case number twenty two), BICI report, forcing a detainee to confess; “After half an hour of severe beatings, and after threatening him with sexual assault and electrocution”; threats of sexual assault on one of his family members, where they “asked whether he had brothers or sisters, and when his response was affirmative, they threatened him by raping his family”. (33) Which was confirmed by (Case number fourteen) in the same report, where they threatened the detainee with “sexually assaulting his wife and daughter if he did not respond to their questions in an affirmative answer”. (34) This is the same method that has been practiced on another detainee. He “received threats to himself and his family, including sexual threats” as shown in the report of the Bahrain Independent Commission Inquiry, (Case number forty six). (35)
20- One of the detainees (eighteen years old) reported that he was arrested on June 25, 2012. After a breaking into his home, and then his bedroom, and directing shotgun to his head he was handcuffed and pulled out of the house, to be transferred to Hamad Town police station. The officers denied the presence of the detainee in the station when his parents asked about him later. He added that he had been tortured by the police and was also threatened with sexual assault in order to extract confessions from him. (36) Similarly in the case of Jawad Ali Kadhim Shamlan – (Case number thirty four) of the Proceedings of murder at the hands of security forces in Bahrain – contained in the BICI report; that his relatives “contacted Alkhamees Police Station, but they were told that he did not come. Then one of the relatives who had worked there before called the same police station to check on Jawad, but he was informed that the department does not know anything about him”. Later “One of the relatives, a girl, contacted the Police Department again, and called Jawad’s mobile phone, the person who responded told her that they killed him, then he threatened her with sexual harassment, she screamed and ended the call, but the person who was on the phone called again and continued to harass her”. (37)

21- A seventeen years old young man said; “on July 12, 2012 and while he was with a group of young people joining a peaceful demonstration in Barbar village near the home of the Japanese ambassador. The riot police fired on them tear gas, rubber bullets and shotgun, where he was injured and carried by his young friends to a nearby farm, were the police surrounded the place and arrested us. Then the officer in charge ordered the police to kick and hit us and remove our clothes, and then they used the electrical zapper and hit us with wooden boards, and extinguishing cigarettes in sensitive areas and harass us while we were naked. After nearly two and a half hours, they directed the weapon to our heads and threatened to kill and rape us and our mothers, then they left us naked semi-buried in the sand.” (38)
A very similar story came in the testimony of the (Case number five), of victims of torture contained in the BICI report, where he was detained “the police officers sexually assaulted him, and he was forced to strip naked and walk in front of other detainees”. (39)
Harassment and torture in sensitive areas is repeated, as stated in the testimony of (Case number thirty two), of torture victims in the same report, “they beaten his genitals where he urinate blood immediately afterwards”. (40)
As presented by another detainee “I was electrocuted every half an hour or 40 minutes on my shoulders, arms, nipples and testicles causing me a lot of pain”. As in the testimony of another victim (Case number forty four), of the victims of torture contained in the BICI report. (41) Electrical sexual torture forced some detainees to confess to things that they did not commit, as stated in the testimony of the (Case number fifty seven) on the same report, where he fainted after an electric shock in his genitals, and “when he woke up, he heard an officer ordering others to use electricity shocks again in the same area, the suspended asked the officer to write any confessions he wants to sign it, and that’s what happened”. (42)
The detainee Mohammed Ali Ismail, a teacher confirmed the same act in his testimony. He says: “In Dry Dock Prison I met detainee Ahmed Almagabi and learned from him that he had been subjected to electric shocks in his genitals”. (43)

22- A young man aged eighteen years confirmed that after taking part in a peaceful march in Janoosan village on July 12, 2012, he and two others were tortured by masked security forces after they raided the area, the young men tried to escape in a nearby farm but they were tortured there.

The masked men tore their clothes and kept them naked. They then beat them on their faces (especially the ear area), heads, abdomens, and backs using their weapons and wooden panels and forcibly fed them the mud on the ground. They electrocuted their necks and lower-backs using a small hand-held electrical device. After that the masked men insulted them and took pictures of them while they were naked and forced them to raise the victory sign. (44)
This tendency to force detainees to strip off their clothes was one of the methods seen in the testimony of (case number thirty), victims of torture contained in the report of the Bahraini Independent Commission of Inquiry. Where the detainee saw a “journalists forced to strip naked”. (45) Perhaps the way in which the political activist and Islamic figure Mohammed Habib al-Miqdad was arrested made it clear that the security forces enjoy the act of humiliating the detainees. Al-Miqdad’s clothes were forcibly removed by the security forces, who then proceeded to direct strikes at him while he was naked and defenseless. (43) He was tormented in the same way again in the detention camp, where he was put under some of the harshest methods of torment and humiliation during his time in the National Security Agency “The Castle”. Al-Miqdad stated: “They fully removed my clothes and forced me to take a kneeling position”. (43)

23- Another young man in the age of eighteen said, after security forces suppressed a peaceful march he was joining, he ran with three others to a farm, security forces fired on them shotgun and arrested them when they went to a close place. Then the security forces proceeded to tear their clothes, they were completely naked and started cursing and beating them and they sing and say; “We are the Special Forces.” They continued this acts for a long time. Then they decided to keep them facing the wall, and ordered them not to move until they came back again. They went away and did not come back to them. (46) Security forces would request from the detainee “forced to imitate animal sounds”. As stated in the testimony of the (Case number fifty seven) of victims of torture contained in the report of the Bahrain Independent Commission Inquiry. (42)

24- According to a young man in his twenties, while he was accompanied by his friends in the car and after passing by the checkpoint near the Alhantor restaurant, the police officers stopped and asked them to get off the vehicle, and then they proceeded to insult and search them, and beaten them on the head and legs. After that they put their clothes on their faces and forced them to entre the police car, where they harassed them by touching their sensitive areas. (47)

25- Two young men in their mid-twenties said, on 22 July 2012, while they were sitting with a group of young people – as they used to do every night – near by a neighbour’s home in Saar village, security cars stopped, the forces started to assault and beat them – which caused some minor injuries; and threats of rape. Then they sprayed incendiary materials in their eyes before leaving. (48)

26- Sexual torture was one of the most virulent ways to abuse detainees’ dignity, as well as “smashing their soul”, which was exploited by tormentors. In this context, the detainee Abdul Hadi al-Khawaja, a prominent human rights activist said: “I was asked to record a letter of apology to the king, and when refused, I was taken to another room blindfolded, where four people molestation me, I managed to escape and fell to the ground where I hit my head with it several times until I fainted, and after that I felt I am in the car taking me back to the prison, in a deplorable state”. (43)

27- Not only male detainees were subject to sexual abuse, these violations happened to women detainees as well. “Ayat Alqurmozi was detained for 15 days, a student read poetry during protests in February. She suffered during these days from being punched and kicked, electric shocks on her face, and she was forced to stay standing for hours. And subjected to humiliation, insults and threatened with rape”. (49)

28 – Physicians also suffered from those infringements and sexual abuse. Doctor Fatima Haji, a specialist in Internal Medicine and rheumatology at Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC), on the third day of her interrogation in the criminal investigation department in Bahrain during April 2011, the officer Noura Al Khalifa told her that they will take her to the officer in charge – Director – of investigations there. And when he saw the doctor he started to assault her, then he came near her and threatened to hang her from the nipples of her breasts after undressing her, and will order one of the men there to rape her. Haji said to him: “Tell me how many times do you want me to say, and I will”. (50) Doctor Zahra Al-Sammak confirmed, a consultant and Head of Anesthesiology Department at Salmaniya Medical Complex, and one of the doctors within what is known as the medical staff case in Bahrain – The Investigator – a woman – slapped Al-Sammak on the face during her interrogation in the criminal investigations building in Bahrain during April 2011. “She told me that she will take me to someone knows how to make me confess. Then took me into a room, where I heard a group of people talking and laughing.

One of them said to me immediately: “Here we do not differentiate between men and women and we can interrogate you continuously for 48 hours until you confess. Then the investigator slapped me with her both hands together very strongly twice, I was forced to stand blindfolded, and they started mocking my husband (a physician detainee also in the same period and still a detainee) and me, and called me whore and a daughter of a bitch”. (51)
Roula al-Saffar, president of the Bahrain Nursing Society, told Human Rights Watch: “they tied my hands and my eyes were blindfolded. And I have been interrogated for seven days. They used an electric shock device in my face and my head, and they told me: we will rape you”. (52)

29- Another testimony of a detained victim in the national safety period, (Case number twenty seven), of the victims of torture contained in the report of the Bahrain Independent Commission Inquiry, states that he was wounded in the thigh after they were attacked by riot police – where he was among the protesters in Sitra on March 15, 2011. He transferred by ambulance. “But the police stopped the car on the way to the hospital. The police asked the medical staff and the wounded to leave the car, and fired on the tires using shotgun and hit the driver on the neck with a gun. And threatened the doctor to rape her, but they left her after they discovered that she is a Sunni”. (53)

30- These violations and sexual abuse of detention were also a feature of the torture in the past. (before the so-called Reform project by Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa). Bahrain Human Rights Society organized an event with the cooperation of Arab Commission for Human Rights for women (mothers, wives and daughters of martyrs, prisoners and victims of torture). Bahraini human rights activists like Abdulnabi AlEkri and Sabeka AlNajjar, head of the Human Rights Society of Bahrain at the time attended the workshop. Also Haytham Manna, spokesman for the Arab Commission for Human Rights attended. During this event several women expressed what they have been through including torture and sexual abuse. Ramla Jawad said of former Colonel Adel Fleifel: “Fleifel slapped my face constantly until blood come from my nose and my ears and my mouth. And hang me in the door and often upside down. He enjoyed insulting my hejab and threatened me with rape daily”. Zahra Hilal said Fleifel himself was torturing her “He beat me constantly until I could not hear and broke my teeth; I went on strike for food and water. They took me to my husband to ask him if he knows me, he fall unconscious from the shock and transfer to the castle hospital.

I have been taken to the investigating judge to sign the piles of ready charges or they will return to torture, I was on hospital bed when I signed after they brought my husband to asks me to confess, after they told him that I am dying, and they threatened to take off my clothes and rape me, and cut my hair”. (54)

31- Relatives of the detainees also suffered from sexual abuse, either indirectly as stated in paragraphs mentioned above through the threat the detainees of sexual abuse to their parents or rape, or telling them that its already happen, as stated in the testimony of the detainee Abdul Hadi al-Khawaja, where he says: “I had a surgery on April 9, and stayed there for six days and I was blindfolded and my hands were tied to the bed. Staff of national security use to come in the middle of the night and use obscene words and threaten me that I will face further beating and fractions when I leave the hospital. And my daughter was sexually assaulted and detained in Saudi Arabia”. (43) Or relatives of the detainees subjected to sexual abuse directly and bluntly, especially during the arrest of detainees from their homes. The social activist Salah Al-Khawaja said during his arrest at his home on 20 March 2012, at two after midnight “they took my wife in a room where they removed her hejab, kicked and beaten with fists and harassed”. (43)

32- The Bahrain Independent Commission Inquiry report listed a number of cases of women sexual abuse, especially when the forces come to their homes to catch the husbands or one of their relatives in their own homes where “ladies asked to stand in pajamas and did not allow them to cover their bodies, causing them embarrassment and humiliation on background religious beliefs”. (55) This abuse of women is repeated, one of the women who’s husband was arrested reported the following; ” it was one and a half in the morning, when about six to eight men broken into the house, all masked, one of them remained in the living room because one of my kids were asleep on the couch, while others entered the bedroom. I was wearing a nightwear they did not allow me to wear my clothes, or even cover my chest by my hand”. (56) This abuse were frequent in testimonies of number of women who said “at the time of arrest, they were in bed wearing pajamas, and not allowed to cover themselves when security forces break into the place and searched the rooms, and two women confirmed that they received instructions to keep their hands down when they tried to cover themselves”. (57)

33- No serious or effective action is taken to punish accused of such violations, which often happen and still happening in the detention centers were officers in charge oversees, which made it easy to repeat and spread those despicable acts, and let the perpetrator escape punishment, especially with the existence of laws to cover and protect the offender from punishment.

After the launch of the reform project by the King of Bahrain in 2001, a decree law No. 56 of year 2002 was “the greatest constraint to the democratic transition. And equated the victim and the executioner” as the General Secretary of the Association of Bahrain Human Rights Abdullah AlDerazi said in March 2009. (58) Attempts by Democrats in the Bahraini Parliament 2002 – failed to drop this law. President and First Deputy Speaker of Parliament Abdul Hadi Marhon requested the President of the House of Representatives Khalifa Dhahrani, to refers Legislative Decree No. 56 of 2002 to the Constitutional Court to appeal against the constitutionality of the law. (59) Violations continue beyond February 2011, forcing Bahrain Independent Commission Inquiry report to say: “The lack of accountability of officials in the security system has led to the rule of the culture of impunity, where the Commission noted a number of witness statements indicates that those involved in the abuse, were putting the detainees always in a sense where that they could get away with it”. (60)

34- In specific cases, when detainees talked about being tortured sexually in front of the judge in court, the judge ignored. In Abdul Hadi al-Khawaja’s case, where “the judge dismissed Abdul Hadi al-Khawaja, when he said to the judge that he suffered from threats and attempts of sexual abuse. (43)

35- In order to demonstrate the seriousness of the government in fighting against torture this time, they embarked on a number of steps, General Attorney Dr Ali bin Fadhel Al- Buainain decided to take a range of actions that will complete investigations by using international and regional standards on human rights and criminal justice. The first step was the establishment of a special unit within the Public Prosecution under the chairmanship of Mr. Nawaf Abdullah Hamza, to examine all investigations and complaints and reports on the deaths and torture and serious violations of human rights that occurred in February-March 2011. (61) In this regard, on July 31, 2012; a follow-up implementation unit of the recommendations of the report of the BICI issued a report on the latest progress of what has been implemented on the recommendations of the commission in Arabic, English and French. The first section allocated of what has been done in the accountability and punishment the perpetrators of violations. (62) According to this report, “the members of the unit received special training on mechanisms of effective Investigation in accordance with Istanbul protocol principles, and then the unit started directly working on the one hundred and twenty-two cases which referred to it last February by Interior Ministry and National Security Apparatus.

Also they received directly forty five complaints. The unit immediately after receiving the complaints classifieds them, and included thirteen complaints to other complaints for the unit of the subject and charge. Then the unit proceeded to question complainants, one hundred and twenty six of them were asked in order to reach the people involved. And fifty of them were referred to the forensic doctor for a medical check on them and indicate their injuries as reasons and timing of their occurrence. Seventy seven of the defendants were questioned directly and at all levels of responsibility and the investigations resulted in to charge twenty one of them, some were officers at the most senior rank was a colonel.

As a result of these investigations thirteen cases transferred to courts, including all murder cases, which were referred to the unit of the Ministry of the Interior and the National Security Apparatus. They have been fully investigated again in accordance with the international standards of the Istanbul Protocol principles. Accordingly, courts have ruled already in three cases sentenced three police officers for assaulting the integrity of the body of others resulting in death, and the rest of the cases still pending in courts. (62)

36- Mr. Nawaf Abdullah Hamza, head of the special investigation unit in the Public Prosecution, mentioned in consecutive permits the efforts undertaken by this unit in the investigation and disposition of complaints of torture and ill-treatment in Bahrain. In his statement on 4 June 2012, Hamza said that the unit is still “investigation of new complaints is continuing, which reached thirty seven complaints as well as the one hundred and twenty two cases that were referred to it last April by Ministry of Interior and National Security”. And added that “eight of the defendants were questioned and charged” in May 2012. “Two policemen were referred to the court in two separate cases. The unit has investigated the two cases in advance and charged the officers with assault on the safety of the body and the court sentenced them to 3 months in prison for both, moreover, the Public Prosecution referred six cases to the court at the end of last week. Following extensive investigations conducted by the Special Unit, these six trials will begin within the next few weeks”. (63) On December 10 2012, the head of the investigative unit referred five cases to the court, for eight policemen, including a first lieutenant on charges of using torture to force the detainees to confess, making a permanent disability, insulting, and Beating. The trials did not begin yet. (64)

37- Bahraini judiciary issued a judgment of acquittal to security men accused of torture and murder after referring the case from the Special Investigation Unit. On 27 September / September 2012, the third High Criminal Court acquitted two policemen of killing of Ali Al-Moamen and Isa Abdul Hassan, who were killed during the events in Bahrain in February 2011.

The court justified the verdict, as “provided insufficient evidence, not rest assured proven incident, and cast doubt on the evidence submitted by Public Prosecution”. (65)
In the case of journalist Nazeeha Saeed, the High Criminal Court acquitted an officer policewoman of torturing the journalist, the court said in the ruling, “in the process of estimating grounds accusation made by the public prosecutor as evidence of the committing accused crime and represented by the two Prosecution witness sayings, does not live up to reassurance and contentment of the court, and does not rise to the level of deemed proof because it is shrouded by doubts and suspicion and the assumptions that do not satisfy of the Court.” The court closed by saying: “there was no certain and reliable evidence. The accused was acquitted of the charges against her”.
The case began with a statement of Nawaf Hamza, head of the Special Investigation in the Public Prosecution saying that a police officer was referred to the Minor criminal Court with charges of assaulting Nazeeha Saeed, and the court ruled later that this case is not within their competence, and referred it to the public prosecution to take their actions in given that the incident constitutes a felony use of torture and force and threats of the victim to get a confession. Hamza referred the case to the High Criminal Court judgment accused on charges of being a public servant at the Ministry of Interior used force with the victim to get her to confess a crime by beating her and caused injuries described the medical report. (66)

38- Mr. Nawaf Abdullah Hamza, head of the Special Investigation in the Public Prosecution focused in his statement on 10 December 2012, on efforts to investigate allegations of torture of detainees in regard to the investigation of two cases; preoccupied public opinion and human rights organizations, the medical staff case and the alliance for Republic case. He said: “a team of investigators went on October 23 last year to the reform and rehabilitation department in (Jaw prison) to question the 12 convicted in the case of the plot, to find out if they have there complaints about torture or ill-treatment during the investigation and arrest, however, they refused to testify in this matter if their lawyers not present, and therefore determined another date on 20 November 2012, and the team of investigators went to the prison where they listened to them in the presence of their lawyers, some of them refused to make any statements concerning allegations of abuse, while others referenced in this regard to the report of the Bahrain Independent Commission and proven records of court hearings, as the unit summoned one of the convicted who carried out the punishment for the same purpose but he did not represent to be heard in this regard”. (64) In December 2012, “the third minor Criminal court acquitted three security forces were accused of assaulting Mohammed Habib al-Miqdad during his arrest, the court said the reasons for judgment that the attack on the victim was mandated by law to a power of arrest in the event of resistance and fear of exposure of security men to damage, and the Court noted that the law allowed them to use weapons while in the incident perspective they used a stick.

In case of necessity the criminal responsibility for the attack on the victim was right mandated by law. Miqdad is one of the sentenced in the case of the “plot” as Mr. Nawaf Hamza called it. (67)

39- Regarding the investigation of allegations of torture of detainees in the medical staff case, Mr. Nawaf Abdullah Hamza, head of the Special Investigation noted in several permits and in the context of the completion of investigations into allegations of torture and ill-treatment that “prosecutors ended questioning fourteen of complainants, and fifteen of the witnesses, then questioned seventeen of the defendants (employees of the public security forces), including seven officers and charged by the unit a variety of charges, including using of force and threatening to force the defendant to confess, substance 75/4, 208/1 of the Penal Code ; A misdemeanor assault on the safety body, article 339 of the Penal Code, and a misdemeanor defamatory, article 365 of the Penal Code. Two police officers referred to the prosecution of the High Criminal Court (man and woman), where attributed to the first defendant felony of using torture, force and the threat of himself, with four of the defendants to get them to confess the crime, as quoted by the Public Prosecution to accused the second with the charge of using force to make the defendants confess, and asked to punish her with article 75/4, 208 / 1 of the Penal Code. The court set the date 10.01.2012 for the consideration of the case. (68)
The same day the “appeals court (October 1, 2012) affirmed prison sentences against 9 of the medical staff members, after refusing the appeals and affirmed the previous ruling condemning 9 physicians : Ali Al-Ekri (imprisonment of five years), Ibrahim Al-Dimistani (imprisonment of three years), Ghassan Dhaif and Saeed Al-Samahiji (imprisonment of one year), Mahmoud Asghar (imprisonment of 6 months), Dhiyaa Ibrahim (imprisonment for two months). While Bassem Dhaif, Nader Diwani and Abdul Khaliq Al-Oraibi appeals in judgment against them by imprisonment for one month they spent in detention, demanding acquittal o the charges, but the court rejected the appeals. Which means that six of the doctors sentenced to a final sentence, as the Court upheld the conviction of the three doctors who have completed their sentences, “on the same day” the third High Criminal Court began to consider the issue of torturing 6 members of the medical staff by a man officer and women officer? The court has set October 18, 2012 as the date to inform of the defendants, and permission to the lawyers for civil claimants the right to a copy of the lawsuit papers, and provide a list of civil right. The public prosecutor charged the officer in the month of March / April 2011, and as a public servant (officer), by use of torture and force and the threat of himself, and by others, with Mr. Marhon Al-wadaai, Ahmed Omran, Ghassan Dhaif and Bassem Dhaif. (69)

So also the two doctors Zahra Al-Samak and Khulod Al-Derazi.

40- The medical staff members were surprised by excluding most of them in the case and not including their complaints to the case papers, although they had been tortured in the same places and conditions as the fellow six medical staff who included their complaints to the case, without showing prosecution and the Special Investigation unit the reason for it in violation of what came in the report of the Bahrain Commission of Inquiry of exposure tortured by mentioning their cases within the victims of torture. This is what forced Mr. Nawaf Hamza, head of the Special Investigation unit in his statement on 10 December 2012, to say: ” the Special Investigation unit summoned all complainants who did not submit a complaint to the unit in the cases of medical staff to question them at the same Ordinance, fifteen of them came they were questioned, while fifteen others did not show, while a lawyer attended as a representative for two of the defendants to declare the rejection of his clients to attend and testify”. (64)
Some members of the medical staff have preempted this statement to the Chairman of the Special Unit asking for a neutral commission of inquiry independent of the public prosecution, which is biased against them. The President of the Nursing Society Roula Al-Saffar and (ear, nose and throat) consultant Nabil Tammam, and (pediatric and neonatal and asthma) consultant Nader Diwani, members of the medical staff who had been tortured, asked for neutral commission to investigate complaints of torture, after abstention from appearing at the Public Prosecution, after that had been scheduled to check into complaints. Al-Saffar “pointed out that the insistence by some of the medical staff on the presence of a neutral committee to investigate complaints of torture, is to avoid repeating what happened with journalistic Nazeeha Saeed, because in her case despite the evidence of being tortured; the offender has been acquitted”. Noting that “the absence of the commission of inquiry is the reason”, and stressing that “we will continue to refrain from attending until a neutral committee investigates the complaints of torture suffered by the medical staff during the period of detention”. (70)

41- Going back to the report done on follow-up implementation of the recommendations of the report of the Bahrain Independent Commission Inquiry unit on what has been implemented on the recommendations of the committee on July 31, 2012 – referred to in paragraph 36 above – devoted the first section for what has been done re accountability and punishment of the perpetrators, we see that the investigation and its consequences is not effective, and can not live up to the international standards, as stated in its intended objective of establishment of the unit. (Which is to accountability and punishment of the perpetrators).
Among the 180 cases cited in the report above (122 cases referred from the Interior Ministry and National Security, 45 complaints directly to the unit, 13 complaints combined (unified subject and charge) by the unit), and 50 complainants (40%) referred to the forensic doctor out of 126 complainants questioned, and charges 21 accused (27%) out of 77 interrogated accused, one of them was an officer and a colonel.

13 cases were referred (7%) to the courts of the total 180 cases and complaints received by the unit, and courts have ruled in three cases (23%) of the total 13 cases referred. 3 of the police were convicted of imprisonment on charges of assault on the safety of the body of others resulting death. (62) 

When following-up with, Mr. Nawaf Abdullah Hamza’s statements, head of the Special Investigation unit, we find that out of 159 complaints during the month of May 2012, they questioned 8 accused only (2%) and charged them as a result of those complaints, and referred 8 cases only to the court through same period. Where the Court considered two of them, for two policemen accused of assaulting the integrity of the body of others, sentenced for three months in prison for both of them. The trials did not begin in the other six cases. (63)

42- Observers of the judicial rulings issued by the Bahraini judiciary on the events in February and March 2011 noticed the wide gap and disparity and strangeness of those provisions. Harsh sentences were passed in a record period condemning hundreds of civilians, including members of medical staff, some serving sentences for years. The judiciary has ruled acquittals against members of the police accused of killing or torturing civilians.

The Bahrain commission , BICI, explained their cases in detail within the cases of death or cases of torture victims, and demanded accountability of officials in the security system for such violations, saying that “the lack of accountability of the officials in the security system has led to a culture of impunity “where” the Commission noted a number of witness statements indicate that those involved in the abuse, were giving the detainees a sense that they could get away without punishment”. (60)

This was confirmed in the judgments of acquittal security men accused of killing Ali Al-Moamen and Isa Abdul Hassan, who were killed during the events in Bahrain in February 2011. (65) As well as the innocence of a female police officer accused of torturing the journalist Nazeeha Saeed. (66) And the innocence of three members of the security forces accused of torturing and assaulting Mohammad Habib al-Meqdad during his arrest. (67) As well as the reluctance to questioning and trial of torturing members of the medical staff, and the lack of transparency and the independence of the Special Unit of the Public Prosecution charged with examining all investigations and complaints and reports on the deaths, torture and gross violations of human rights that occurred in February-March 2011, events.

Conclusions:

1- Sexual violence was one of practices that were pursued by the authorities in Bahrain against political detainees before and after February 14, 2012, and continued repeatedly despite confirmation of the authority in Bahrain that it’s full commitment to the implementation of the Bahrain Independent Commission Inquiry, which indicated to those excesses in many of the cases.

2- Testimonies and reports of human rights organizations both domestic and international confirmed the continuing and spread of sexual abuse (sexual violence) against most detainees and the same methods after Bahrain’s commitment to implementing the recommendations of the report of BICI ; a confirmation of the approach that had prevailed in Bahrain before the report.

3- BRAVO confirmed that fourteen detainees out of seventeen – has been verified from the circumstances of their arrest – experienced sexual torture, after Bahrain’s commitment to implementing the recommendations of the report of the Bahrain Independent Commission Inquiry. This is identical to the frequency of sexual torture in form and substance in the thirty six cases out of sixty, of torture victims contained in the report of the commission.

4- Sexual violence suffered by the detainees represents patterns of sexual abuse, humiliating and degrading included:

a. Threats to rape the detainee or actually raping.

b. Threat of harassment or raping relatives: such as threats of raping sister of the detainee or his wife or daughters or his mother.

c. Threats, harassment or rape to the anus: the threat of insertion a bottle or pen in the anus, sexual harassment in the anus, or actually entering tools in the anus such as the insertion of a finger, stick, hose or the upper part of the gun.

d. Verbal abuse of sexual connotations: cursing the detainee and his relatives, like his mother with obscene words like (son of bitch), explicit sexual comments about the wife or daughters.

e. Stripping the detainee: taking off clothes completely or in part especially the pants, filming the detainee naked, forcing the detainee to undress and bend to a hose facing the anal area, open the buttons of the pants and ordered the detained to jump like a rabbit until he drops his pants, hang the detainee naked and in a way similar to Swing, forced to strip naked and walk in front of other detainees, naked and forced to take a prostrate position.

f. Harassment by touching and feeling: touch and feel the sensitive places in the body of the detainee by hand or with tools, forcing the detainee to bend forward and deliberately touching anus and buttocks, wrap a wire around the penis and pull it strongly, electric shocks to the genitals, especially penis and buttocks, extinguishing cigarettes in sensitive areas.

5- BRAVO received evidence of sexual violence cases involving government members. BRAVO investigations suggest that many of the victims have been subjected to sexual torture by members of the Ministry of Interior in detention centers or outside, identical to the testimonies of detainees in the report of the Bahrain Independent Commission Inquiry. Many of these types of sexual violence in the testimonies of detainees are frequent in most places of arrest and detention in Bahrain, whether it is a police station, Asri detention center, Dry Dock prison, Alqareen prison belong to Bahrain Defense Force, Ministry of Interior in the so-called Castle cellar, and Criminal investigations building.

6 – The main objective of pursuing sexual violence in many cases, exposing detainees to physical abuse and humiliating torture and degrading of dignity, as a way to extract confessions and used later to convict them. Sexual torture was one of the ferocity methods of degrading detainees’ dignity as well as “smashing their souls”, so that is why the tormentors were threatening detainees or abuse them actually.

7 – Not taken any serious or effective action to punish accused of such violations, which often happened and still happening in the detention centers were officers in charge oversee or know about, made the acts easy to repeat and spread, leaving the offenders without punishment, especially with the existence of laws covers and protection from punishment by promoting impunity.
8- The absence of the principle of accountability for those responsible for human rights violations, and the lack of independence of the judiciary or serious accountability is considered to be one of the main reasons for the persistence of human rights violations in Bahrain. It was described by the BICI report as a culture of impunity.

Recommendations:

1- Bahrain needs a permanent office for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Bahrain – to monitor aspects of torture, and to overcome the continued denial of power in Bahrain and the use of torture against detainees, including sexual violence against political detainees.

2- Implementation of the report of the Bahrain Independent Commission Inquiry recommendations; specifically taking legal action against those who torture regardless of rank and taking serious and effective actions to punish those accused of such violations, including officers, supervisors or any involved person.

3- Creation of a special unit to hold violators accountable for human rights abuses in Bahrain which should be independent, impartial and does not belong to the public prosecution.

4- An investigation into the independence of the judiciary is necessary; to examine its ability to punish torturers and violators of human rights.

5- Repeal of laws that promote impunity and protect the culprit, the torturer and protect them from punishment, such as the law No. 56 for the year 2002.

6- Implementation of the recommendations of the Bahrain Independent Commission Inquiry to compensate financially and morally victims of torture and to create initiatives to assess their condition, and to provide psychological and physical treatment through specialists in the treatment of torture victims.

7- Provide psychological and physical treatment and follow-up for detainees, who suffer psychologically as a result sadistic and brutal treatment.

References

(1) Report of the Bahrain independent commission inquiry: -paragraph 8: -sexual abuse, -rape, p. 19 -20.

(2) Report of the Bahrain independent commission inquiry: -paragraph 1234, p.378.

(3) Al Wasat Bahraini newspaper: -issue. 3580, -Tuesday, June 26, 2012.

(4) A statement by Mr. Hadi al-Moussawi to Al Wasat newspaper: -issue.3580,-Tuesday, June 26, 2012.

(5) Emirates Today newspaper: on September 5, 2012, -94.4 percent of the reputation crimes in the state do not reach police, security study confirms that women are more likely not to report crimes committed against them. http://www.emaratalyoum.com/local-section/accidents/2012-09-05-1.509382

(6) Sexual assault in prisons, a global human rights crisis _ International Summary – Foundation detention international fair
http://www.justdetention.org/pdf/JDI Reports / International_Summary_Arabic.pdf

(7) Torture, Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia _ identical to the first article of the Convention against Torture of the United Nations – December 1984) http://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/ torture

(8) definitions derived from the: sexual violence and gender-based against refugees, returnees and internally displaced persons (IDPs), guidelines for the prevention and confrontation – May / May 2003 – The Commission of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) http://www.globalprotectioncluster.org/_assets/ files / tools_and_guidance / gender_based_violence / UNHCR_Sexual_GBV_REfugees_IDPs_2003_AR.pdf

(9) Torture Redux – Revival of Physical Coercion during Interrogations in Bahrain – February 2010, Human Rights Watch, p (51). http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/bahrain0210arwebwcover.pdf

(10) Ministry of the Interior: report contained errors and lacked international standards and Human Rights Watch, “calling on the government to investigate the allegations of torture,” Al Wasat Bahraini newspaper – issue. 2713 – Tuesday, February 9, 2010 http://www.alwasatnews.com/2713/news/ read/372176/1.html

(11) Torture Redux – Revival of Physical Coercion during Interrogations in Bahrain – February 2010, Human Rights Watch,p.52. http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/bahrain0210arwebwcover.pdf

(12) Testimonies of the detainees suffered from sexual violence, provided by the Liberties and Human Rights Department in Al-Wefaq.

(13) Report of the Bahrain independent commission inquiry, Annex II – summaries of testimonies of victims of torture, p (545 – 592).

(14) Testimony number one, the testimonies of tortured victims of sexual violence provided by the Liberties and Human Rights Department in Al-Wefaq.

(15) Case number eight, Annex II – summaries of the testimony of torture victims, the report of the Bahrain independent commission inquiry, p (552).

(16) Case number eighteen, Annex II – summaries of the testimony of torture victims, the report of the Bahrain independent commission inquiry, p (561).

(17) Case number seven, Annex II – summaries of the testimony of torture victims, report of the Bahrain independent commission inquiry, p (550).

(18) Case number eleven, Annex II – summaries of the testimony of torture victims, report of the Bahrain independent commission inquiry, p (554).

(19) Case number fifty two, Annex II – summaries of the testimony of torture Report of the Bahrain independent commission inquiry, p (586).

(20) Special report about torture and human rights abuses of detainees in the case of an alliance of the Republic – Bahrain Center for Human Rights http://bahrainrights.hopto.org/ar/node/4360

(21) Case number nineteen, Annex II – summaries of the testimony of torture victims, the report of the Bahrain independent commission inquiry, p (562).

(22) Case number fifty, Annex II – summaries of the testimony of torture victims, the report of the Bahrain independent commission inquiry, p (585).

(23) Case number three, the testimonies of tortured victims of sexual violence provided by the Liberties and Human Rights Department in Al-Wefaq.

(24) Case number four, the testimonies of tortured victims of sexual violence provided by the Liberties and Human Rights Department in Al-Wefaq.

(25) Case number twelve, Annex II – summaries of the testimony of torture victims, the report of the Bahrain independent commission inquiry, p (555).

(26) Case number five, the testimonies of detainees tortured victims of sexual violence have provided us with the Department of freedoms and human rights in the Bahraini Wefaq.

(27) Case number sixteen, Annex II – summaries of the testimony of torture victims, the report of the Bahrain independent commission inquiry, p (560).

(28) Case number six, the testimonies of tortured victims of sexual violence provided by the Liberties and Human Rights Department in Al-Wefaq.

(29) Case number thirteen, Annex II – summaries of the testimony of torture victims, the report of the Bahrain independent commission inquiry, p (556).

(30) Case number seven, the testimonies of tortured victims of sexual violence provided by the Liberties and Human Rights Department in Al-Wefaq.

(31) Case number twenty five, report of the Bahrain independent commission inquiry, p (566).

(32) Case number eight, the testimonies of tortured victims of sexual violence provided by the Liberties and Human Rights Department in Al-Wefaq.

(33) Case number twenty two, Annex II – summaries of the testimony of torture victims, the report of the Bahrain independent commission inquiry, p (564).

(34) Case number fourteen, Annex II – summaries of the testimony of torture victims, the report of the Bahrain independent commission inquiry, p (557).

(35) Case number forty six, Annex II – summaries of the testimony of torture victims, the report of the Bahrain independent commission inquiry, p (583).

(36) Case number nine, the testimonies of tortured victims of sexual violence provided by the Liberties and Human Rights Department in Al-Wefaq.

(37) Report of the Bahrain independent commission inquiry, the facts of murder at the hands of security forces, para 1044, p (323).

(38) Case number ten, the testimonies of tortured victims of sexual violence provided by the Liberties and Human Rights Department in Al-Wefaq.

(39) Case number five, Annex II – summaries of the testimony of torture victims, the report of the Bahrain independent commission inquiry, p (549).

(40) Case number thirty two, Annex II – summaries of the testimony of torture victims, the report of the Bahrain independent commission inquiry, p (572).

(41) Case number forty four, Annex II – summaries of the testimony of torture victims, the report of the Bahrain independent commission inquiry, p (582).

(42) Case number fifty seven, Annex II – summaries of the testimony of torture victims, the report of the Bahrain independent commission inquiry, p (590).

(43) Special report on torture and human rights abuses of detainees in the case of the alliance for Republic – Bahrain Center for Human Rights

http://bahrainrights.hopto.org/ar/node/4360

(44) Case number eleven, the testimonies of tortured victims of sexual violence provided by the Liberties and Human Rights Department in Al-Wefaq.

(45) Case number thirty, Annex II – summaries of the testimony of torture victims, the report of the Bahrain independent commission inquiry, p (570).

(46) Case number twelve, the testimonies of tortured victims of sexual violence provided by the Liberties and Human Rights Department in Al-Wefaq.

(47) Case number thirteen, the testimonies of tortured victims of sexual violence provided by the Liberties and Human Rights Department in Al-Wefaq.

(48) Cases number sixteen and seventeen, the testimonies of tortured victims of sexual violence provided by the Liberties and Human Rights Department in Al-Wefaq.

(49) Amnesty International Report 2012 – Bahrain, torture and other ill-treatment, p (104). http://www.amnesty.org/ar/region/bahrain/report-2012

(50) Testimony of Dr Fatima Haji, what happened to her during the arrest and detention.

http://www.doctorsinchains.org/?page_id=160

(51) Testimony of Dr Zahra al-Sammak, what happened to her during the arrest and detention.

http://www.doctorsinchains.org/?page_id=74

(52) Bahrain: Medics Describe Torture in Detention. Appeals Court Should Void Flawed Convictions. October 21, 2011, Human Rights Watch.

http://www.hrw.org/ar/news/2011/10/21

(53) Case number Twenty seven, Annex II – summaries of the testimony of torture victims, the report of the Bahrain independent commission inquiry, p (567).

(54) Nine women out of 21 detained attended and the others fear prevented them to come – Arab jurists: Experience «Bahraini struggle approaching Palestinian women, Al-Wasat Bahraini newspaper – Issue 99 – Saturday, December 14, 2002.

(55) Report of the Bahrain independent commission inquiry, the facts of murder at the hands of the security forces, the pattern of implementation arrests indoors – Paragraph 1126 – j, p (347).

(56) Report of the Bahrain independent commission inquiry, the facts of murder at the hands of the security forces, the treatment of women and children present during the arrest – paragraph 1135, p (349).

(57) Report of the Bahrain independent commission inquiry, the facts of murder at the hands of the security forces, the treatment of women and children present during the arrest – paragraph 1132, p (348).

(58) Recent events require reconsideration in the course of the transitional justice project -AlDerazi: largest law no. 56 ‘disabled’ the democratic transition – Al-waqt Bahraini newspaper – issue. 1130 – Thursday, March 26, 2009. http://www.alwaqt.com/art.php?aid=157288

(59) Democrats appeal against the constitutionality of law (56), Al-Wasat Bahraini newspaper – issue. 647 – Monday, June 14, 2004.

(60) Report of the Bahrain independent commission inquiry, the facts of murder at the hands of the security forces, the treatment of prisoners detained – paragraph 1240, p (380).

(61) Torture and perpetrators proceedings of trial – Bahrain Observatory for Human Rights http://www.bahrainmonitor.com/motabaa/t-036-07.html

(62) Report of the follow-up implementation unit in Arabic, English and French, a follow-up to the implementation of the recommendations – up report – June 2102, the Bahrain News Agency, July 31, 2012. http://www.iaa.bh/downloads/bici_followup_report_ar.pdf

(63), head of the special investigation in the Public Prosecution: continue to investigate new complaints, which reached 37 complaints of torture and ill-treatment – Bahrain News Agency – Manama on June 4 – Us 0939 GMT 06/04/2012. http://www.bna.bh/portal/news/511493

(64) Chief Prosecutor: The special investigation unit transmit eight members of the police to courts and continue to investigate the other complaints – Bahrain News Agency – Manama on December 10 – p n / p p – Us 1246 GMT 12/10/2012. http://www.bna.bh/portal/news/536931

(65) Innocence of two policemen of killing Al-Moamen and Abdul Hassan – Al Wasat Bahraini newspaper – issue. 3674 – Friday, September 28, 2012. http://www.alwasatnews.com/3674/news/read/704855/1.html

(66) Innocence of the officer accused of torturing Nazeeha Saeed – alAyyam Bahraini newspaper – issue. 8655 – Thursday, December 20, 2012. http://www.alayam.com/newsdetails.aspx?id=119013

(67) An officer and two policemen were acquitted of charges of assaulting Almeqdad – Al-Ayyam Bahraini newspaper – issue. 8655 – Thursday, December 20, 2012. http://www.alayam.com/newsdetails.aspx?id=119013

(68) Public Prosecution: referral of two officers (a man and a woman) to court on charges of using torture and force with medical staff – Gulf News Bahraini newspaper – issue. 12593 – Friday, September 14, 2012. http://www.akhbar-alkhaleej.com/12593/article/50091.html

(69) “Discrimination” supports the prison sentences against 9 physicians – Al-Wasat Bahraini newspaper – issue. 3678 – Tuesday 02 October 2012. http://www.alwasatnews.com/3678/news/read/705792/1.html

(70) Doctors abstain from appearing in front of the ‘prosecutor’ and demand for impartial commission to investigate complaints of torture – Al-Wasat Bahraini newspaper – issue. 3701 – Thursday, October 25, 2012. http://www.alwasatnews.com/3701/news/read/711199/1.html

February 7, 2013

Member organizations and societies of BHRN listed as follows:
Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR), Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), Bahrain Society for Human Rights (BHRS), Bahrain Rehabilitation and Anti-Violence Organization (BRAVO), The European-Bahraini Organization for Human Rights (EBOHR) and Hope Defenders.

Declare that BHRN will work under common vision and goals to enhance democracy and principles of freedom and human rights.

The mission of BHRN is to coordinate between the members for the purpose of observing, documenting and monitoring human rights violations, establishing consolidated database and highlighting human rights violations in Bahrain.

In the view of such vision and goals, members of BHRN are
setting joint mechanisms in accordance with the international
standards in the field of human rights work. BHRN will be responsible for issuing joint statements and reports and establish database on human rights violations.

Members of BHRN do not intend to create a new human rights entity or organization, rather, a joint effort between Bahraini human rights organizations and societies.

BHRN will start working by means of a specific mechanism of observation which will be announced on the coming 14the of February, a day marking the second anniversary of protests outbreak. All human rights violations will be monitored and statements will be issued to highlight the status of human rights.

BHRN has held a number of founding meetings, adopted its bylaws and assigned Hasan Jaber as its coordinator. BHRN will be online through its website and other accounts in social networking websites.

BHRN hopes to find sound cooperation with international organizations and society as well as media in order to achieve its  vision and goals to protect and enhance human rights in Bahrain.

Related links
Press release of foundation statement of Bahrain Human Rights Network BHRN 

An Invitation to a Press Conference

Launch (Bahrain Network for Human Rights- BNHR)

Location: Bahrain Society for Human Rights-BHRS
Time: 1:30 pm
Date: Thursday – 7 February 2013

Organizations:
Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights-BYSHR, Bahrain Center for Human
Rights-BCHR, Bahrain Human Rights Society-BHRS, Bahrain Rehabilitation and
Anti-Violence Organization-BRAVO, European – Bahraini Organisation For Human
Rights-EBOHR, and Hope Defenders.

For more information: Mr.Hassan Jaber – Network Coordinator 39992122
E-mail: hasan.aljaber@hotmail.com

BRAVO is very concerned on the life of the detainee in Bahraini prisons Ayman Abdul Shaheed Ramadan, he is twenty three years old, who suffers from hemophilia (A), a hereditary genetic disease a result of a lack of clotting factor eight, causing an imbalance in blood clotting leads to bleeding in the joints, tissues and even brain if the patient is exposed to any injury or friction with solid objects, sometimes even bleeding occurs without any injury.

BRAVO condemned the continued detention of Ayman who’s suffering from this terrible disease, with repeated exposure to setbacks because of the disease, most recently in July 2012 when he was transferred from prison to Salmaniya Medical Hospital, suffering from pain in the elbow and hip as a result of injuries suffered in detention as a result of beatings he received in prison (torture, according to him), which have led him to depression, forced his doctor in Salmaniya to turn him to a psychological counseling. As a result of the deterioration of his mental condition, he entered a psychiatric hospital and stayed for a long time while he was still in custody, which is another factor for the sustained physical and psychological setbacks.

The continuation of Ayman custody on with his serious case of illness and deterioration of mental and physical health, is a clear violation and arbitrarily of custody of patient in a dangerous situation and is incompatible with the respect for the dignity and health of detainees.

After all of the above, BRAVO demand the immediate release of the detainee Ayman Abdul Shaheed in order to preserve his endangered life, and returning back to his family after treatment (psychologically and physically), and stop all acts of degrading towards all detainees.

Dear Mr. President,

The Gulf Center for Human Rights (GCHR) and the Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR), as well as the undersigned human rights organizations, call on you Mr. President to take substantive action towards securing the immediate release of 13 activists and human rights defenders who are arbitrarily detained in Bahrain. They have been charged and sentenced for exercising their right to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly. Among the detained activists is the human rights defender Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, founder and former President of BCHR, co-founder of GCHR and former Middle East and North Africa Protection Coordinator of Front Line Defenders.

On 7 January 2013, Bahrain’s Court of Cassation upheld the harsh prison sentences for the 13 men, some of whom have been sentenced to life in prison. The 13 were originally sentenced along with eight others by a military court in June 2011 in proceedings that were criticized for violating basic principles of due process – seven were tried in absentia and one has been released. The activists have been held in prison since March 2011, and several have been subjected to severe torture, which has been documented and published in a report released in November 2011 by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI), a body appointed by the King.[1] These individuals have detailed to the court the torture they were subjected to throughout their detention, and even though their torturers have been identified, there has not been any investigation into these allegations.

Instead of prosecuting the officers involved in torture and condemning the use of torture, the High Court of Appeals accepted the coerced confessions obtained through the torture of the prisoners and the interrogation records prepared by the military prosecution as the sole evidence in the case. The files in the court’s possession lack any decisive evidence linking the activists to the charges in question, including allegations that they sought to overthrow the regime by force.

Despite the recommendations of the BICI, the human rights defenders and activists remain in jail, merely for exercising their right to peaceful expression, assembly and association.

The 13 activists and human rights defnders whose unjust sentences were upheld on 7 January 2013 are the following:

1)      Abdulwahab Hussain (life sentence imprisonment)

2)      Ebrahim Sharif (5 Years imprisonment)

3)      Hassan Mushaima (life sentence imprisonment)

4)      Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja (life sentence imprisonment)

5)      Abduljalil Al-Singace (life sentence imprisonment)

6)      Mohammed Habib Al Miqdad (life sentence imprisonment)

7)      Saeed Mirza Al-Nouri (life sentence imprisonment)

8)      Abduljalil Al-Miqdad (life sentence imprisonment)

9)      Abdullah Isa Al-Mahroos (5 years imprisonment)

10)  Salah Hubail Al-Khawaja (5 years imprisonment)

11)  Mohammed Hassan Jawad (15 years imprisonment)

12)  Mohammed Ali-Ismael (15 years imprisonment)

13)  Abdul Hadi Al-Mukhodher (15 years imprisonment)

The undersigned have concluded that the decisions by the Bahraini courts throughout this case, including the 7 January 2013 decision of the Court of Cassation to uphold the sentences, are politically motivated.  We urge Bahrain’s allies to press for the release and full exoneration of the prisoners as well as a credible and transparent investigation into the allegations of torture so that the people responsible can be held accountable.

As Bahrain’s most influential ally, coupled with its military presence in the country in the form of the US Fifth Fleet, the United States has a special obligation to press Bahrain to adhere to international human rights standards.

Clearly, efforts by civil society and the international community have failed thus far to release all those unjustly jailed in Bahrain. Strong action from the US is therefore essential in order to persuade the Bahraini government to adhere to international law and fundamental principles of justice.

Mr. President, we respectfully call on you to take the following action to ensure that the Bahraini government stops violating the inalienable rights of its citizens, in particular the 13 individuals listed above who have been unjustly imprisoned:

• issue a statement from the highest levels of government condemning the decision by the Bahraini Court of Cassation to uphold the convictions and the sentences of these 13 individuals, and insisting that Bahrain abide by its international obligations and immediately and unconditionally release all prisoners who are currently detained for exercising their freedom of expression, association and assembly;
• immediately suspend US military support to Bahrain until the latter abides by all international laws and human rights standards, including the respect for freedom of expression, association, and assembly; and
• take any and all necessary actions to support the calls regarding the conviction and sentencing of these 13 activists made by the US State Department spokespersons on 4 September 2012 and 7 January 2013, and by Assistant Secretary Michael Posner in Manama on 9 December 2012, so as to ensure that the statements made by your government are not seen as simply empty words.

Thank you for your attention to this very important matter.

Yours sincerely,

Arab Working Group for Media Monitoring

ARTICLE 19

Bahrain Centre for Human Rights

Bahrain Coordination Committee

Bahrain Human Rights Society

Bahrain Press Association

Bahrain Rehabilitation and Anti Violence Organization

Bahrain Teachers Society

Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights

Cairo Center for Development and Human Rights

Canadian Journalists for Free Expression

Center for Egyptian woman’s Legal Assistance-CEWLA

Development for People and Nature Association

European-Bahraini Organization for Human Rights (EBOHR)

Freedom Now

Gulf centre for Human Rights

Gulf Civil Society Association Forum

Gulf Civil Society Associations Forum – GCSAF

Human Rights First Society (HRFS), Saudi Arabia

International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)

Iraqi Al-Amal Association

Maharat Foundation – Lebanon

Monitor of Human Rights in Saudi Arabia

National Lawyers Guild – United States

New Woman Foundation – Egypt

Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED)

Reporters Without Borders (RSF)

Shia Rights Watch

SKeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom

The International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran

The Samir Kassir Foundation

The Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA Network)

United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society

World Alliance for Citizen Participation- CIVICUS

Yemen Organization for defending Rights and Democratic Freedoms

[1]  For details of the torture on these activists See Annex II of the report of the BICI findings, cases: 1 to 12, 23 and 47, available at: http://www.bici.org.bh/BICIreportEN.pdf.

January 23rd 2013 – Following our statement in December regarding the re-arrest and continued detention of the Human Rights Defender, Sayed Yousif AlMuhafdah, BRAVO understands that he has been released on bail subject to his appearance in court in front of the Public Prosecutor on Tuesday 29^th January, and that the Government of Bahrain has persisted in ignoring the international appeals for ending the exhaustive measures to silence him.

It is clear that Sayed Yousif is not a criminal and that his sole offense is that of being a Human Rights Defender, which is such an affront to the Bahraini Regime that they have repeatedly removed his liberty altogether and incarcerated him on numerous occasions in recent months.

It is now widely acknowledged nationally and internationally that these measures are taken to gag Human Rights Defenders in the Gulf Kingdom, as is the situation in multiple countries where there are dictatorial regimes guilty of persecuting the populace.

We urge the Bahraini Regime to marshal their senses and drop all charges against Sayed Yousif AlMuhafdah without further procrastination. Furthermore we encourage them to quash the charges against his fellow Human Rights Defender, the internationally lauded Mr. Nabeel Rajab, and to permit them both to resume their work as keen contributors to the welfare of Bahraini society as it enters this new age of social inclusion and democratic emergence.

BRAVO stresses the need for total inclusion from all sides of the spectrum of political society in the decision making process for the future of Bahrain, subsequent to the Bahraini Regimes invitation to resume political discussions to “representatives of the political societies and independent members of the political community… to achieve further consensus around the political agenda”.

It is hoped that the recent insistence from 30 respected International Civil Societies on U.S. President Barack Obama to intercede for the release of Bahrain’s 13 opposition political leaders, may lead to their release and that they be permitted to participate and lend some genuine balance to this globally anticipated dialogue.

There has never been a refusal by opposition groups to sit at a table for fully inclusive dialogue on reaching a comprehensive national consensus. However all parties must be permitted equal representation for there to be a wholly dynamic and legitimate conclusion.

Efforts to engage in dialogue where sections of society are alienated is unacceptable to the people, and while 13 of the most prominent political leaders remain imprisoned there is no possibility of credible productivity.

As a gesture of willingness to prove the serious and earnest desire for progress in “serving the interests of the Kingdom and its people” the Regime should release the political prisoners and detained human rights defenders as a matter of urgency, and it must be ensured that this dialogue not replicate the previous effort where marginalisation was evident from the outset.

19 December 2012

Bahrain Center of Human Rights’s acting president Sayed Yousif AlMuhafdah was arrested while attending a mass protest in the capital Manama to monitor and document police attacks. Said Yousif will be held until presented to public prosecution. He was charged with spreading false information on Twitter.

The re-arrest of Sayed Yousif AlMuhafdah and his colleague Zainab AlKhawaja is an interruption to International Civil Societies efforts for a Peace Process in Bahrain, and to the many Governments and indeed the United Nations who are negotiating for a Democratic form, which recognizes Civil Liberty and Dignity, to be implemented in the country.

BRAVO is gravely concerned, knowing full well that this persistent vengeance against the most outspoken protagonists’ in Bahraini society will not continue to be endured without consequences.

We advise the Regime to release all Political Prisoners and listen to the voice of the Bahraini people, to stop the violent brutality against its citizens, and to engage in a diplomatic campaign for a Democratic Referendum that will embrace Constituents across the entire spectrum of Bahraini society.

Related Articles 

BRAVO calls for immediate release of Yousif AlMuhafdah

BRAVO announces the successful treatment of a G.C.C. citizen who required a digital hearing device to be implanted after becoming partially deaf due to torture while in Detention.

The man was arrested on 11th March 2011 at the King Fahad Causeway on his way from Bahrain to Saudi Arabia, without a warrant from the public prosecutor, and was interrogated without a lawyer present.

He stated that during his detention a Lieutenant accompanied by two masked civilians came into his prison cell and ordered the detainees to curse some of the religious and political Shiite figures and then sexually molested them. He reported that he was severely beaten about the head and that he started to bleed from his left ear, which caused him intense pain.

A G.C.C. lawyer, from his own country, followed his case .

He was released two weeks after his arrest and reported that he went to his Embassy to request aid for his medical condition and to seek removal of the travel ban that had been imposed upon him. Unfortunately the embassy persistently procrastinated and neglected to assist the victim in gaining adequate medical care for an entire year. Having exhausted his options and with no significant result, the man approached Bravo in a final effort to seek professional medical treatment.

His travel ban is still in place, although he continues to follow-up with officials; however they are waiting for approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in his own country.

Subsequently his medical condition worsened and he suffered from profound sensory- neural hearing loss in his left ear.

The victim takes antibiotics and still suffers severe pain, he has a constant drainage of stained discharge from his ear and requires additional medical follow-up.

To Mrs. Margaret Sekaggya,
Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders

As the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders responsible for the cases of HRDs, it is imperative that you visit Bahrain to investigate the crisis on the harassment of HRDs there.

Navi Pillay (UN High Commissioner for HR), Laura Depuy Lasserre (President of the Human Rights Council ) and June Ray (Chief of Civil Society Section) have each been outspoken in defense of the HRDs who attended the UPR Process in Geneva, both in May and again in September, and who were targeted and attacked for their participation.

The attacks are ongoing. 31 Bahrainis have had their citizenship revoked and there is a ‘black list’ of HRDs, Pro-Democracy and Civil Representatives who are prevented from entering other GCC and Arab countries, such as Dr. Nada Dhaif who was deported from Kuwait last week, and both Maryam AlKhawaja and Nabeel Rajab who were deported from Egypt.

Dr. Nada frequently receives threats about her children, and since her participation at the ICC in The Hague in recent days, there are calls for the removal of her citizenship. We have word of further 2 nd and 3rd lists of people who will have their citizenship revoked in tranches yet to come. No one feels safe.

While Abdulhadi AlKhawaja remains wrongly jailed on a long list of terror related charges, the case of Nabeel Rajab is entirely different with all of his charges related to Freedom of Expression and Assembly, freedoms which are continuing to be breached by the Bahrain authorities.

We urge as many Special Rapporteurs as possible to visit Bahrain. Although we anticipate that their access will be delayed, such as with Juan Mendez, Special Rapporteur on Torture, and we are still waiting for his visit to materialize. Yet this will make a difference when we ask for the Special Session in the Human Rights Council on Bahrain.

We believe that the recent release of HRD Said Yousif AlMuhafdah was as a result of the UN High Commissioners Office intervention that we sought last week.

On this, the Anniversary of the BICI Report (Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry), we urge you to please visit Bahrain as a priority; it will make a great deal of difference to the HRD who are being persecuted, particularly and most critically in the case of Nabeel Rajab.

Tara O’Grady
Bahrain Rehabilitation and Anti-Violence Organisation Limited

Related articles:

• UN team to travel to Bahrain to discuss accountability for human rights abuses
• Bahraini civil society leaders meet in The Hague and call for international support to stop repression and promote respect for human rights in Bahrain
• Bahrain: Supporting Capacity Building of human rights violations monitoring of Civil Society

19 November 2012

“The BICI Reforms: Promises of Progress, a Worsening Reality” report evaluates the progress that has been made by the Government of Bahrain towards reforming its record of human rights violations, and marks the one year anniversary of the recommendations presented by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI).

The BICI report was a scathing critique of the authority’s behavior in the months following the start of the pro-democracy demonstrations in February 2011. It found that torture, extrajudicial killings, and warrantless arrests were common practice in Bahrain. Specifically in regards to the raids on homes and arbitrary arrests, the BICI report found that these operations involved “unnecessary excessive force, accompanied by terror-inspiring behaviour on the part of the security forces in addition to unnecessary damage to property” and that “the very fact that a systematic pattern of behaviour existed indicates that this is how these security forces were trained and how they were expected to act. This could not have happened without the knowledge of higher echelons of the command structure of the MoI and NSA.” It was never clearer that human rights abuses were a deeply rooted problem within the government.

The King’s promise that he would implement sweeping reforms to address these violations was initially met with a cautious degree of optimism by the authors of this report and many governments and NGOs around the world. Swift and earnest reforms could have represented a strong step forwards towards national reconciliation. One year later, the government has had ample time to act, but has, in general, only made superficial progress. Today, we look at Bahrain and see a government that puts its efforts into presenting the image of reforms, while continuing to commit the same human rights violations; in certain respects, the situation has grown worse.

This report is issued in conjunction with the Bahrain Rehabilitation & Anti-Violence Organization (BRAVO) and the Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights (BYSHR).

Download Report “The BICI Reforms: Promises of Progress, a Worsening Reality”

BRAVO condemns the deportation today (November 15th 2012) of its Chairman Dr. Nada Dhaif from Kuwait. Dr. Dhaif was apprehended in front of her children, intimidated and taken for interrogation, while her children and husband were left in a distressed state with no indication of when or if she would be released.

In a statement earlier today Dr. Dhaif reported:

“I arrived to Kuwait with my family at 10 am and was informed at the passport check that my name is on ‘the list of Bahraini ‘s who are denied access to Kuwait’.

I was taken directly to the Passport Department were the officer asked me couple of questions about when it was that I last entered Kuwait. Then I was transferred immediately to State Security apparatus where I was interrogated for 2:30 hrs by Officers in civilian clothes who refused to reveal their identities, names or rank, despite that I asked for this information and to know upon what basis I was being questioned.

The officer started the interrogation by asking firstly my name and then whether I’m Shiaa or Sunni! I replied that I’m Shiaa and he then asked about my husband whether he is Shiaa also? I replied affirmatively.

I was subjected to probing questioning about the events that took place in Salmaniya hospital during the uprising in Feb 2011, my role in the uprising , whether I ever visited Iran, and whether I have been to the Pearl Roundabout participating in the demonstrations against the regime? And he insisted that I was demonstrating against the royal family in Bahrain. I replied to the officer : Why am I being interrogated about charges that I was found innocent of, and how is this even related to Kuwait ??

I asked for legal representation during the interrogation and to call the Bahraini Embassy in Kuwait, however the officer refused my request .

Then I was escorted to hall where my children and husband had been kept waiting, my husband was questioned also and his mobiles were confiscated for 30 minutes and returned to him after both of them were checked .

I was taken back for more detailed interrogation, whereupon I insisted to have a lawyer and refused to sign any papers.

The officer informed me that I have to leave Kuwait with immediate effect and that I’m not welcomed in Kuwait and that my name is on a fresh list received from the Bahraini authorities in July.

After 2:30 hrs I was escorted back to the passport department at Alniuissib port where officer ” Faraj Mohammed Al Suhli ” (his name was printed on his uniform) gave us back our passports.

I asked the for a copy of the deportation report and for the names of the two officers at the state security department but he refused to provide any documents or information and was very nervous. Then I was escorted by police officers to Alnuaissib police station.

For a total of 4 hrs my family were in total panic and alarm, my two young daughters 9yrs and 8yrs were crying and terrorized seeing their mother being interrogated and dragged between state security and the police station .

Finally a police car escorted us to the Saudi border and handed the papers directly to the passport check. We were not even permitted to look at them. It is important to mentions that thousands of Bahraini Shiaa have faced the same pattern of conduct from the Kuwaiti authorities , some of these individuals have families in Kuwait, or journey there for business, medical treatment or education .

The continuing harassment that HRDs in Bahrain endure from the Bahraini authorities has extended, and collective international measures are required to put such behaviour to an end.

Also we are calling for H.H the Emir of Kuwait to intervene and to put end to such violations committed by some officials that would damage the reputation of Kuwait.”

BRAVO declares in the strongest terms that the effort of the Bahraini Government to suppress people, by exercising their relationships with bureaucrats in other countries to frustrate and limit their international mobility, is abusive in the extreme and cannot continue to go ignored nor without judicial repercussion.

Another element of this is the removal of citizenship for 31 Bahrainis this week, which can only serve to further exacerbate the current turmoil. Indeed it amounts to a form of torture which effectively dehumanises people by legislating to remove their national identity and all of the natural benefits which are adversely impacted by this shocking deed; cultural, social, spiritual and physical. It is fundamentally wrong to have made such a bold move without warning the people targeted so that they might at least have had an opportunity to defend themselves. Indeed we question the legitimacy of the ruling and would welcome the United Kingdom specifically to probe an investigation into this matter as 10 of the Bahrainis in question are living in exile in England.

BRAVO declares in the strongest terms that the arbitrary detention of Sayed Yousif AlMuhafdah contravenes all international protocols on Human Rights and is an affront to modern mechanisms of civil liberties in every corner of the globe.

The persistent targeting and persecution of Human Rights Defenders in Bahrain is a retaliation against calls for social inclusion, an end to state sponsored brutality and the release of political prisoners. These people have been incarcerated based on their political opinions or out-spokeness against the regime aggressiveness that has been prolific since the return of the Bahraini Delegation to the UNHRC in Geneva in September.

This assertion is based on our conversation with Sayed Yousif AlMuhafdah from prison last night when he stated that he believes that the Human Rights defenders have been targeted for having taken their case to Geneva and exposing the Regime openly at International level.

While he confirmed that in general the prison conditions are not bad, and that he is not being tortured or beaten himself, he voiced strong concerns regarding some inmates who have critical conditions and who should be in hospital, not prison. He asked BRAVO to intercede on their behalf, to seek solidarity with our NGO partners and contacts in the International Community, and to actively seek help for them in practical terms.

AlMuhafdah was interrogated for his participation in what is considered by the regime to be ‘illegal gatherings’, but which in fact are pro-democracy demonstrations and protected under the right to Freedom of Assembly.

During his questioning the Prosecutor asked him if he ‘went to Geneva’ and if he had given a speech or presentation? AlMuhafdah admitted that he had participated in the UPR.
He believes that this detention was in reprisal for partaking in the UPR Process in Geneva and that he and Mohammed AlMaskati (President of the Bahrain Youth Society, who was also interrogated and received death threats) were singled out specifically for their activities relating to the defence of Human Rights.

BRAVO calls upon all International NGO Partners and individuals of rational conscience to move urgently for the release of Sayed Yousif AlMuhafdah and to ensure that reprisals are ceased against all Human Rights Defenders and members of civil society who participate in NGO’s in Bahrain. The aggressive persecution of people based on their legitimate service to the safeguarding of their community is an insult to every free-thinking code of conduct and to the Rule of Law.

Related Articles:

• Three days after release of BCHR Report on Impunity, Arrest of Acting Vice President Sayed Yousif AlMuhafdhah
• Bahrain clamps down on NGOs

Bahrain Rehabilitation and Anti-Violence Organization (BRAVO) has been following the news and reports concerning the detainee Adnan Al-Mansi (24), who was detained on 30/05/2012 from the General Directorate of Immigration and Passports while he went to renew his passport. The security authorities have accused him of being a member of a group of 13 that made “fake” bombs. Since his detention, Adnan has not been given a trial but instead his suspension has been renewed several times and he has so far spent more than 175 days (more than five months) in prison.

According to Adnan’s family, he suffers from serious sickle-cell disease and he was tortured (physically and psychologically) from the very moment that he was detained from the General Directorate of Immigration and Passports building and while he was being transferred in the police vehicle. Adnan was badly beaten on his head and back, which resulted in inflammation on the left side of the head and constant headaches in addition to a bend sustained in his spinal column.

Moreover, reports and statements from several parties including Adnan’s family and lawyer revealed that Adnan has undergone extremely humiliating treatments that violate all heavenly religions, constitutions and ordinances as he was raped by inserting an object in his anus that resulted in severe hemorrhaging and conglomerated blood in that area. A surgery was necessary to remove the tumor.

Medical reports and statements affirm that Adnan is still suffering from severe pain and his health condition worsens every day. He is unable neither to sit nor to use the toilet for normal bodily functions, and he requires specialized treatment, both physically and psychologically, which is unavailable in prison.

Therefore, BRAVO calls on the authorities in Bahrain to immediately release Adnan and allow us provide the necessary physical and psychological treatment to him even if this requires him to travel, and in such case, BRAVO is ready to take care of all expenses.

In addition, BRAVO calls on all parties and Human Rights defenders to pressure the security authorities to release Al-Mansi so that he can be treated, as receiving medical care is a basic human right for all.

Bahrain’s highest court upholds the previous ruling to convict 9 doctors & nurses by sentencing them to jail from between one month and 5 years.

These medics participated in treating protesters during the uprising in Bahrain during March 2011.

After the crackdown by the security forces on the protesters, these medics were targeted, they were detained, tortured (as proved by the BICI report & forensic doctors’ report) and convicted in military court to jail sentences ranging from 5 to 15 years.

Following an international outcry against these verdicts the medics were allowed to appeal before civil courts which again convicted some of the medics to jail sentences between 1 month to 5 years despite the fact that the public prosecution agreed to investigate the torture and drop the confessions of the medics; indirectly admitting their torture. The medics were acquitted from the more prominent criminal charges such as ‘occupying’ a hospital, possessing weapons, and embezzlement of hospital equipment.

Following this court, the head of public prosecution issued a statement on the course of investigation of torture and ill-treatment allegations in the case of the medical staff, stating that they finished investigating seventeen public security personnel, including officers who were charged with the use of force and threats to force an accused to confess to crimes. Public prosecution sent two police officers to trial by the high criminal court. The first court hearing for those accused of torture was today but it was adjourned because the accused didn’t show up.

Today the court of cassation, instead of ordering to investigate the torture of these medics which was also proved by forensic medical reports given to the court, upheld the previous ruling in a politically motivated trial.
Convictions and sentences carried by this ruling were related to charges of illegal gathering, promoting the change of the political regime by force, instigating sectarian hatred, illegal detention of persons and destruction of public property.
All these charges have no basis and were negated by the prosecution witnesses in court as well as the defendant witnesses.

The medics are asking for justice and urging the international community to stop this war against them and respect medical neutrality.

A legal team is to examine the RCSI’s involvement with the Bahraini government during the 2011 uprising, the Medical Independent (MI) has learned.

Prof Damian McCormack, Orthopaedic Surgeon at the Mater Hospital and campaigner for the Irish-trained Bahraini doctors arrested during the unrest, said that Irish human rights lawyers, Ceartas, will be looking into the RCSI’s dealings with Bahrain “forensically”.

“The RCSI Bahrain interrogated their students and asked some to sign a pledge of allegiance to the regime. One senior administrator at the facility in Manama was let go after his nephews, Drs Bassim Dhaif and Gassan Dhaif, were arrested. I think the lawyers will be looking at all these issues,” he said. He added that “if there is a potential charge against the RCSI, it will happen”.

He said that the College has remained silent on the arrest of Dr Fatima Haji, who was a lecturer at the RCSI campus in Bahrain and who was allegedly tortured in detention.

“The RCSI continues to do business as if essentially nothing has happened,” said Prof McCormack. “Unfortunately it is not going to be allowed do that. Someone will have to pay for its behaviour, either voluntarily or not. It may decide, however, that it didn’t do as good a job as it should have and maybe someone should lose their job over it.”

The RCSI was contacted by MI but declined to comment. However, in June of this year, the RCSI said that it was deeply concerned at the jailing of doctors. Prof McCormack also said that Ceartas will also be looking at a number of other “companies and organisations”.

Ceartas’s initial focus will be on the public system, the legal system and the public prosecutor in Bahrain, Prof McCormack explained. He added that Ceartas will also try to get accreditation removed for some Bahraini military hospitals.

He added that he and the Bahrain Rehabilitation and Anti-Violence Organisation General Secretary Tara O’Grady will travel to the UN’s Human Rights Council meeting in September to highlight alleged human rights abuses in Bahrain.

Source Medical Independent

The 20 Medics ‘felony group’, who were harshly sentenced and convicted in Military Court last year appealed in the Civil Court, and 9 were acquitted, 9 had their sentences reduced, (to between 1 month and 5 years), while two of the convicted are outside Bahrain and had their verdicts upheld.

None of those acquitted were returned to their jobs at the Ministry of Health. Those who were convicted appealed the sentences at the highest Court of Cassation, which postponed its decision until the 1st of October.

The Court, instead of ordering investigation into the allegations made by the Medics of their torture, agreed with the General Prosecutor that they would not take confessions into consideration. This should not be the case if this is to be considered a fair trial, moreover the allegations of torture should be investigated before the verdict.

The General Prosecutor issued a statement saying that they are investigating the allegations of torture of Medics; they say that they found 15 perpetrators who were involved, but still none of those accused of abuse have been taken to court and there are no details of the charges brought against them or who they are. Nor has there been any call for witnesses from the group of Medics who were tortured.

The ‘misdemeanor group’ consists of 28 Doctors, Nurses and Paramedics, their case is still ongoing through the Court. The verdict was supposed to have been issued on the 4th of September but the judiciary postponed it claiming that they are investigating allegations of torture. The hearing today was adjourned until the 2nd of October.

Although the entire ‘misdemeanor group’ was returned to work, they are not in the same locations or positions they originally held, and their salaries have not been given to them in full.

One of the Doctors commented:

“We are not expecting a fair trial for the remaining Medics, despite International pressure and NGO’s stating that these Medics, if jailed, would be considered Prisoners of Conscience.”

BRAVO stated on 8th August 2012, that the 17 year old youth Ahmed Oun, who was recently released from prison, having been arrested after he was shot by police with lead pellets during a democratic protest last May, has been moved to receive urgent medical care for his eye injury.

Protestors are almost guaranteed to be arrested at public hospitals if they present themselves with injuries related to the democratic movement. Ahmed sought care at a private hospital, from where he was harvested by plain-clothes police officers on 13th May, before surgery could take place to remove the pellet that was lodged in his eye. Arresting him in this manner, and in the diminished physical condition that he was in, was condemned by the medical practitioner in attendance, but to no avail.

In June, Ahmed contacted his family and complained of loss of sight from his eye, however in spite of the pleas of the international community for humane treatment, the prison authorities and relevant Ministers refused to provide surgical care for him. In response to this dozens of his fellow prisoners launched a hunger strike in protest for him not having access to humanitarian medical care.

Since his release, he and his brother Hassan, who has also been shot in the face and requires surgery to his eye and head , both were made aware of the BRAVO initiative and are now receiving the appropriate professional medical care through BRAVO facilitation.

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Introduction

Inspired by the Arab Spring, which started in Tunisia then Egypt, Bahrainis marked their calendar to start their Revolution on the 14th Feb 2011 against their dictatorship regime.  The call for the revolution was initiated by hopeful youth who were peacefully demanding serious reforms in the regime. Their quest for freedom was answered by a brutal crackdown that left many protesters killed, jailed, tortured, sacked and exiled.

In Bahrain, the violations of basic human rights are glaringly visible in the streets; civil journalists and activists have documented many of these cases. Yet, the most grievous violations are the ones hidden behind bars, and we know only little of their details.

This recent report will provide a brief introduction on the situation and violations against prisoners of conscience based on local and international reports along with interviews with families of prisoners to show-case the detailed violations.

Background on Prisoners of Conscience in Bahrain

Prisons in Bahrain are fully owned and operated by the state. 3 different security forces, including the National Security Agency (NSA), the Bahrain Defense Force (BDF) and the Ministry of Interior (MoI), run them. Administration of prisons is overseen by a number of judicial authorities as well as the public prosecution.(3)

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights reported that 500 individuals were prisoners of conscience as of 22 November 2011 (1) making Bahrain the top country globally in political prisoners per capita. The number has increased to be almost 3,000 political prisoners as of August 2012 as a total number since 14Feb.

This claim is supported by legislation which prescribes a prison sentence for anyone who “calls in writing for overthrowing or changing the regime” (2) or “incites with the use of one of the publication methods to develop hatred of the ruling regime or show contempt towards it” (2)

During the periods 1975-1999 and 2007-2011 torture in prisons became widespread and systematic, leading to the deaths of up to 23 individuals.

The National Security Agency, Bahrain Defense Force, Ministry of Interior and the judiciary system “Ministry of Justice” are all run by the same family and close relatives of the King of Bahrain. This leads many human rights organizations to question the integrity of statements and reports issued by them claiming that human rights are not violated for those behind bars.

Prisoners Situation in Bahrain

There have been numerous reports on the grievous violations inside prisons. A number of prisoners were killed due to brutal torture while in prison since 14Feb 2011, below are the list of names:

Among those prisoners is Karim Fakhrawi, he was the founder and a board member of Al-Wasat, the country’s premier independent daily, he died in state custody a week after he was detained, after he had visited a police station on April 5 2011 to complaint that authorities were about to bulldoze his house.

Bahrain’s official news agency said on Twitter that Fakhrawi died of kidney failure. Photographs published online, however, showed a body identified as that of Fakhrawi with extensive cuts and bruises.(11)

It was later indicated by the (Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry) that he was tortured to death.

Families are worried about the perilous medical conditions of political prisoners because while many have outlived and survived the torture yet they are crippled with multiple injuries and with no medical attention.

Many families fear the consequences of speaking up to Human Rights Organizations about what is told to them by the political prisoners regarding these violations, because prison authorities reportedly punish those who speak up. For example, Ahmed Oun, a young boy who lost his eye due to police violence caught the attention of Human Rights Organizations. Subsequently, Zainab Al-Khawaja, a Bahraini Human Rights Defender, started a campaign to save Ahmed, and she then received reports that he had been punished whenever she spoke up about his case as a consequence. (12)

Showcases

BRAVO interviewed a number of families of prisoners of conscience who were informed in detail of the violations they were faced with on daily basis. The findings of the interviews were read to the families for confirmation and an approval from families was given to BRAVO to publish them.

1.     Ali Al-Ghanmi

Photo of Ali Al-Ghanmi

Background on Ali Al-Ghanmi:

Ali Jassim al-Ghanmi  (born c. 1987) is a former Bahraini policeman who came to public attention for leaving his post and joining protesters in February 2011 of the Bahraini uprising (2011–present). On 9 January 2012, he was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment.(4)

Visit Details:

Day of the Interview: 4th July 2012

Time of Interview : 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM

Place of Visit :       Ali Al-Ghanmi’s Family House in Bani Jamra

Interviewee   :       1. Ali Al-Ghanmi’s Mother

2. Aziz Al-Ghanmi (Brother)

Purpose of Visit:   To document situation and violations against Ali Al-Ghanmi at Jaw Prison

Interview findings (As per what family was informed by Ali):

* It is summer in Bahrain and the temperature reaches to over 45 degrees Celsius while Ali Al-Ghanmi is in a prison cell with no functioning air-conditioner for the past 3 weeks. A number of cells in Jaw prison do not have air-conditioning and in some only hot air comes out. In some cells, prison guards opened the doors of some cells to allow air to come in yet they would not fix the air-conditioning. It is worth noting that the air-conditioning is centralized throughout the jail.

* Ali has a health condition that needs treatment yet he is denied medical attention. Ali has “Callus” also known as “Foot Corn” on his foot and has written multiple times to the prison manager to be taken to the hospital but his request has been declined multiple times.  Ali mentioned to his family that he will be needing surgery to remove the callus. Ali recorded the dates of all the letters he sent which were declined.

* Prisoners including Ali are still being verbally abused by the prison guards and police.

* Ali was not given clothes or shoes given by his visiting family yet cloths and shoes are not being provided to them from prison. He has two prison uniforms which he is allowed to wear only during family visits or when going to hospital. Ali has requested that he needs clothes and shoes but he was not given them. Ali’s mother takes shoes and clothes to him on every visit but these get declined. Ali’s mother begged that at least they sell the clothes and shoes in the prison market so Ali can have shoes that fit and proper clothes, but the prison wardens policemen this. Ali has one hour in a day to play football but even that, he cannot play without pain since he has not got shoes (as per his family’s confirmation).

* During the holy month of Ramadan Ali requested his family not to visit them for two main reasons;

1. Ali is granted two visits per month and for each visit it is one hour in the morning at Jaw Prison, and Jaw prison requires a long journey to reach. During the month of Ramadan this will be very tiring and for Shia muslims traveling such distance during the day, they  will break their fast and will have to fast it after Ramadan. The family requested to shift the visits to nights after “iftar” (A practice which is being done in the service of others) yet it has been rejected.

2. On the day of the visit, prisoners leave the prison ‘cells building’ in buses to be transferred to the ‘visits building’. Prisoners wait outside in the heat til the bus arrives to pick them up. Sometimes, they have to wait for a long time, other times the bus is already outside. During the Month of Ramadan, and while fasting, it is very tiring to stand in the scorching heat outside.

For those two reasons and not to tire the family, Ali requested his family not to visit since MOI is not being considerate for the Month of Ramadans “special” situation.

* Ali has told his family that there are prison cells equip to accommodate 6 prisoners but it is over packed and in some cells 7 or 8 prisoners are there and the extras sleep on the floor.

* Ali’s family highlighted that it is not fair that Ali is sentenced for 12 years for reasons related to freedom of speech and expression. He is accused of : 1. Inciting hatred for the regime, 2. Protesting in 11 different pro-democracy rallies and the Pearl Roundabout, 3. Inciting military officers, 4. Absenteeism from work, 5. Communicating with foreign media channels. The family confirmed that some of the protests he was accused of occurred when he was already in prison.

2.Younis Ashoori

Photo of Younis Ashoori

Background Younis Ashoori:

60-year-old administrator of the Muharraq Maternity and Geriatrics Hospital Younis Ghuloom (Ashoori) is serving a three year sentence while suffering from chronic urinary stone recurrences which needs surgery, enlarged prostate, history of heart problems and a type of migraine which leaves him temporarily paralysed.

On March 20th, 2011, between home and work, Ashoori was reportedly kidnapped by masked men who came in 15 police cars. He was blindfolded, handcuffed and taken to an unknown location. His family searched for him at all police stations including the one in which he was detained (AlHidd police station), where his wife was told to report him as ‘missing’. Nobody knew anything about Ashoori until 18 days later where he was allowed to make a short wiretapped phone call to his wife to tell her not to talk to media or human rights activists because they promised to release him in “2 days”.(6) Yet he was sentenced to 3 years on a fabricated case.

Visit Details:

Day of the Visit :  9th July 2012

Time of Visit     : 3:30 PM to 6:15 PM

Place of Visit    : Younis Ashoori House in Muharraq-Bahrain

Interviewee       : 1. Amina, Younis Ashoori’s wife

2. Mohammed, Younis Ashoori’s son

Purpose            : To document situation and violations against Younis Ashoori at Jaw Prison

Interview findings as told by Youni’s Family:

* It is summer in Bahrain and the temperature reaches to over 45 degrees Celsius while Younis Ashoori is in a prison cell with no functioning air-conditioner since the past 3 weeks.

* The family is not permitted to bring cloths for Younis. The family was allowed to bring in cloths and then they stopped allowing them. Now Younis has only winter cloths which is not very comfortable to wear in the high temperatures they live in and no working air conditioning.

* The toilets are not flushing properly which is unsanitary and there is a fear that disease may spread among prisoners.

* Irregular phone calls. Younis is allowed two phone calls a week. One phone call is fixed by day and time and the other is upon availability. In some weeks he is forced to call  two consecutive days and his family will then not have any contact with him for almost a week til his next call. This makes the family very worried given his medical situation. The Family were told that the reason behind it is that the phone cabins are not working.

* Younis is in his 60s and carries a number of illnesses (kidney stones, irregular heartbeats, prostate and chronic migraines). Younis requires continuous medical attention yet he is not getting it in prison. The Family mentioned that Younis wrote many letters to the prison management to go to the hospital yet his requests were declined. The issue was raised to the court and after many efforts he was granted an appointment, yet the appointment is scheduled for December 2012!!!!! The family took the initiative to book an appointment in a private hospital and they paid for it, and sent a letter to the prison management asking them to just take Younis to the fully paid hospital but the family’s request got rejected.

* Medicine is not being given to him regularly and on its scheduled times. For his chronic migraines he is given the same medicine given to drug related prisoners. The only medicine the family is allowed to bring in is for the Kidney stones yet medicine is not enough for his condition, he needs monitoring.

* During the holy month of Ramadhan Younis has requested his family not to visit him because due to the long distance the family will have to break their fast (religious reference) adding to that , it will be very tiring for them.

*UPDATE: Younis Ashoori was released on August 6, 2012 following an arduous appeals process. After serving 17 months in prison, his sentence was reduced to one year and he was released on time served.(5)

3. Mehdi AbuDeeb

Photo of Mahdi Abudeeb

Background Mahdi Abu Deeb:

Mahdi Isa Mahdi Abu Deeb, (born 30 December 1962) is the founder and leader of Bahrain Teachers’ Association (BTA), and Assistant Secretary-General of Arab Teachers’ Union. Due to his role in the 2011–2012 Bahraini uprising, he was arrested, allegedly tortured, and sentenced to 10 years in prison. (7)

Visit Details:

Day of the Visit : 13th July 2012

Time of Visit     : 8:00 PM to 9:40 PM

Place of Visit    : Mahdi Abudeeb House in Aaali, Bahrain

Interviewer       : Ahlam Oun

Interviewee       : 1. Mahdi Abudeeb’s wife

2. Mayram Abudeeeb, Mahdi’s daughter

Purpose            : To document situation and violations against Mahdi Abudeeb at Jaw Prison

Interview findings as told by Mahdi’s Family:

* Mahdi Abu Deeb requires medical treatments in his neck, shoulders, legs, thighs, and hips due to the severe torture he was subjected to while being arrested and during detention.  Mahdi was granted 3 Physical Therapy sessions per week at Salmaniya Hospital. Yet, he has not been taken to his physical therapy sessions as scheduled for the past three months. He was not taken to his appointments at the hospital for non-valid reasons such as “There is no car to take you” or “We are not in the mood”.

* Mahdi Abudeeb suffers from Triglyceride, blood pressure and diabetes and is in need of medicine on time as per the prescription. As per the prison policy, medicine is kept with prison guards and given to prisoners at a scheduled time. Yet, Mahdi does not get his medicine on time for example before or after eating, or before sleeping or when waking up.

* Mahdi was thrown from the 2nd floor of a building by police when he was arrested and was subjected to extensive torture which has caused him a lot of chronic pain in his neck, knee and back. He is taking physical therapy to treat what the police have caused him, his attending doctor has informed him that he will need a. A Medical Pillow for his neck , b. Toilet seat (since the toilets in prison are Arabic style not Western) for his knee. These are critical supplementaries for this physical therapy. Yet, the prison is not allowing these supports to be passed to him.

* The same issue (as above)  for his Dietary supplements which he needs for his stomach problems. When it was first prescribed by his doctor, the medicine was sent to prison but they passed it to him after a very long time. He receives it now, but the issue may recur when the stock finishes and they order medicine again from the hospital.

* Mahdi wrote his diaries and his plans for 3 books, those notebooks were confiscated since 28th Feb 2012 and he did not get them yet. The reason he was given by police was: “We are reviewing them.”. Mahdi has raised this point during his last court session pointing out that, 5 months is too long for them to review his notebooks.

* Mahdi wrote letters to his family since 20th June 2012 and the family did not receive those letters yet, they are still confiscated by prison police.

* In March 2012, masked men wearing commandos with their dogs bombarded into prison cells while prisoners are sleeping and pointed their guns at the prisoners. No reasons were given and Mahdi and his family confirmed that it is just to incite fear among prisoners.

* Prisoners spend time by creating gifts for their families by modeling soaps they buy from the prison. Prison guards bombarded into their prison ward and broke all their modeling accusing them of having a cell phone. They are not allowed to do crafts anymore in his wing.

* Inconsistence in scheduling of visits. Family are allowed 2 visits a month yet there are instances when the family calls for many consecutive days to book an appointment and no one picks up, or they are given very far out dates. For example, last month there was a visit on 20/06/2012 and the next date was 22/07/2012 which is almost a month. This keeps the family very worried about not seeing him for this long a period.

* During the holy month of Ramadan Mahdi has requested his family to visit him after (afternoon prayers) on the visiting times from 1 PM to 1:55 PM due to the long distance the family will have to break their fast (religious reference), yet they were informed that there will be no visits from 1 PM to 2 PM during Ramadan.

Medical Comments by Dr.Fatima Hajji*

* Dr.Fatima Hajji, a Rheumatology specialist, one of the founders of BRAVO and the Head of Training & Development team- BRAVO. She was one of 20 doctors in Bahrain who were arrested tortured & convicted for treating protestors in Bahrain.

Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners Adopted by the First United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, held at Geneva in 1955, and approved by the Economic and Social Council by its resolutions 663 C (XXIV) of 31 July 1957 and 2076 (LXII) of 13 May 1977

Medical services

▪      At every institution there shall be available the services of at least one qualified medical officer who should have some knowledge of psychiatry. The medical services should be organized in close relationship to the general health administration of the community or nation. They shall include a psychiatric service for the diagnosis and, in proper cases, the treatment of states of mental abnormality.

▪      Sick prisoners who require specialist treatment shall be transferred to specialized institutions or to civil hospitals.

▪      The services of a qualified dental officer shall be available to every prisoner.

▪      The medical officer shall see and examine every prisoner as soon as possible after his admission and thereafter as necessary, with a view particularly to the discovery of physical or mental illness and the taking of all necessary measures; the segregation of prisoners suspected of infectious or contagious conditions; the noting of physical or mental defects which might hamper rehabilitation, and the determination of the physical capacity of every prisoner for work.

▪      The medical officer shall have the care of the physical and mental health of the prisoners and should daily see all sick prisoners, all who complain of illness, and any prisoner to whom his attention is specially directed.

▪      The medical officer shall report to the director whenever he considers that a prisoner’s physical or mental health has been or will be injuriously affected by continued imprisonment or by any condition of imprisonment.

▪      The medical officer shall regularly inspect and advise the director upon:

( a ) The quantity, quality, preparation and service of food;

( b ) The hygiene and cleanliness of the institution and the prisoners;

( c ) The sanitation, heating, lighting and ventilation of the institution;

( d ) The suitability and cleanliness of the prisoners’ clothing and bedding;

( e ) The observance of the rules concerning physical education and ports, in cases where there is no technical personnel in charge of these activities.

Revising the medical issues related to Bahrain prisons we would conclude that medical problems will be categorized as follow:

1. Chronic medical conditions that the imprisoned may suffer from
2. Medical and mental health problems that might be complications of exposure to torture or mistreatment during detention
3. Medical and mental health problems that might be related to prison environment, hygiene, or climate

It is not a right to the best possible health care. But it is a right to at least that level of health care that a civilized society would think necessary.

• medical needs generally
• mental health needs
• dental needs
• women’s health needs
• youth health needs
• needs of inmates with disabilities (9)

The prevalence of chronic conditions among inmates vary by age, but among 34 to 49 year old men and women in prison the leading medical conditions were:

1) Hypertension (24.7%)

2) Obesity (24.7)

3) Arthritis (23.1%)

4) Asthma (13.9%)

5) Hepatitis (12.9%)

Of the conditions we examined, cancer was reported by 3.1% of 34-49 year olds, and cervical cancer was reported by 6.3% of the women.

Adjusted Odds of Chronic Medical Conditions of Jail Inmates Compared With the General Population Hypertension 1.2, Diabetes 1.1, Heart attack 1.2, Asthma 1.3 Arthritis 1.6, Cancer, any kind 1.2, Cancer, cervix 5.2, Hepatitis 4.3 (10)

Local and International Reports on Bahrain’s Prisons

A number of reports have been issued addressing the continuous violations against prisoners in Bahrain. These reports were issued from local and international Human Rights Organizations and Media reports.

Sample of the Reports:

• Physicians for Human Rights: Do No Harm: A Call for Bahrain to End Systematic Attacks on Doctors and Patients (April, 2011)

• Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (Report). Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry. 23 November 2011.

• US Department of State, Bahrain Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 2001, and Working group on arbitrary detention, para 90.

• Summary, “Torture Redux: The Revival of Physical Coercion during Interrogations in Bahrain”, published by Human Rights Watch 8 February 2010, ISBN 1-56432-597-0, accessed 19 June 2011

• Patrick Cockburn (June 11, 2011). “Detained poet ‘beaten across the face with electric cable’”. The Independent. Retrieved July 14, 2011.

• Cassel, Matthew (18 May 2012). “Autopsy finds torture behind Bahrain drowning”. Al Jazeera English. Retrieved 22 May 2012.

• “Martyr Karim Fakhrawi died due to torture & electrocution to force him to confess he was dealing with Iran & Hizboallah”, Nabeel Rajab, 23 May 2011, accessed 25 May 2011

• Bahrain: The Human Price of Freedom and Justice ,  Bahrain Center for Human Rights, 2011.

Conclusion

The current situation in Bahrain does not seem that it will settle anytime soon and the crackdown is continuing to be with the same brutality if not more.

The systematic violations against the prisoners of conscience will cause sever medical and physiological consequences that will shape the daily life of the Bahrainis involved.

We demand the Bahraini regime to stop all forms of violations against the people of the Bahrain and to show their commitment to international conventions that have been signed and ratified by the authorities in Bahrain, particularly those that ensure that the accused gets a fair trial and his/her human rights are respected.

We also call upon local and international concerned organizations to collaborate their efforts to help the Bahraini people against the brutality of the Bahraini regime and to help push the regime to release the Bahraini prisoners of conscience.

References

1)    Human Price of Freedom and Justice (Report). Bahrain Center for Human Rights, Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights and Bahrain Human Rights Society. 22 November 2011.

2)    Report of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (Report). Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry. 23 November 2011

3)    Prisons in Bahrain : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prisons_in_Bahrain

4)     Ali Al-Ghanmi, A Praise of a Bahraini Police Officer  – Human Rights First -  http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/2011/11/04/in-praise-of-a-bahraini-police-officer/

5)    Younis Ashoori, One of the Bahrain’s Forgotten Prisoners, Human Rights First – http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/2012/03/23/younis-ashoori-one-of-bahrain’s-forgotten-prisoners/

6)    Urgent Appeal: Maternity Admin Mr. Younis Ashoori: Health at Risk |  http://bahrainrights.hopto.org/en/node/5095

7)     Mehdi Ab Deeb – Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahdi_Abu_Deeb

8)    Torture in Bahrain – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torture_in_Bahrain

9)    Medical Care Neglect in California Jails & Prisons California Civil Rights Lawyers

10)  Chronic Medical Diseases Among Jail and Prison Inmates, By Ingrid A. Bingswanger, MD, MPH, Published: 10/25/2010, Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, Aurora, CO 80045, USA.

11)  Karim Fakhrawi – Committee to Project Journalist , http://cpj.org/killed/2011/karim-fakhrawi.php

12)  Ahmed Oun , Eye4Freedom Campaign – Bahrain http://www.eye4freedom.org/ahmed-aoun/

Human rights lawyer Mohamed Al-Tajir who provides legal assistance to human rights defenders and political activists targeted during the ongoing security clampdown in Bahrain to speak in Dublin – Monday 27 August 2012

Mohamed Al-Tajir has himself been the subject of threats and intimidation and was at one point held in incommunicado detention without access to family or lawyers for 5 weeks.

Mohamed Al Tajir will talk about how the Bahraini Government uses vaguely worded security legislation to target those who criticise the regime and call for reform and human rights.

Where: The Oak Room, The Mansion House Kildare St, Dublin 2

Who: the event is co-organised by the Bahrain Rehabilitation and Anti-Violence Organisation (BRAVO), Ceartas- Irish Lawyers for Human Rights and Front Line Defenders.

When: Monday 27 August 2012 6.00pm

Background

In February 2011, the Arab Spring spread to Bahrain. After nearly four weeks of massive pro-democracy demonstrations, the authorities launched a violent crackdown on the protesters.

Along with over twenty other lawyers, Mohammed Al-Tajir worked to assist those held in incommunicado detention during the crackdown. On 15 April 2011, Al-Tajir was himself arrested in front of his wife and children by a group of more than twenty-masked men and plain-clothes police officers.

Ceartas – Irish Lawyers for Human Rights is an independent organisation that seeks to promote and protect human rights internationally through the innovative use of law.

The Bahrain Rehabilitation and Anti-Violence Organisation (BRAVO) is an anti-violence NGO that works with the aim of achieving compliance and adherence to human rights principles, values, and standards in Bahrain.

Front Line Defenders is a Dublin based international organisation working for the security and protection of human rights defenders at risk , people who work, non-violently, for any or all of the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

For further information please contact:

Gearóid Ó Cuinn, Co-director, Ceartas – Irish Lawyers for Human Rights, T: +353(0)860890819 – E: gocuinn@ceartaslaw.org

Jim Loughran, Front Line Defenders T +353 (0)87 9377586 E jim@frontlinedefenders.org

Mr. Rajab is President of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, Director of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights and Member of the Board of Counsel for BRAVO.

He has been charged today August 16th  with: “involvement in illegal practices and inciting gatherings and calling for unauthorised marches through social networking sites” and “participation in illegal gathering and calling for a march without prior notification”. The ruling against him will be appealed.

BRAVO condemns his prosecution and imprisonment for exercising his rights to freedom of expression and assembly in a society that markets itself as being multi-cultural and tolerant of all religions, yet falls dramatically short of international standards in Human Rights, and has a proven track record of economically marginalising and violently discriminating against sections of its society who aspire to achieve the rights of free speech, association and assembly.

BRAVO urges the Bahraini Government to immediately release Nabeel Rajab and quash all charges against him, allowing him to return to his legitimate work in defense of Human Rights and furthermore to stop the judicial harassment and punitive measures taken against him in retaliation for his outspokenness and the vital Human Rights work in which he is engaged.

Bahrain Rehabilitation and Anti-Violence Organisation (BRAVO) is pleased to announce that Bahraini teenager Mohammed Al Jaziri has received preliminary and successful medical treatment in Ireland, following the loss of his left eye after he was shot in the face by Bahraini police.

Mohammed was fitted with a prosthetic eye which will help to restore his natural features. His treatment aims to ensure that he will no longer be at risk of losing sight in his right eye as a consequence of his sustained injury. However, he will require continued monitoring and possible further treatment in Ireland over the coming months. BRAVO hopes that Mohammed will be the first of many such victims we are able to help in this manner.

Mohammed was an energetic and keen footballer and is an avid follower of Barcelona. Sadly, this injury will affect his ability to play contact sports in the future. He has proven an able academic in his schooling, achieving very high grades – in the high 90s – but his prospects for college education are now limited specifically due to his being marginalized for attending a democratic protest.

Chair of BRAVO, Dr Nada Dhaif, said “I was fortunate to spend several days with Mohammed and his brother in Ireland during my recent visit there. He is such a precious young man, with an angelic face. It saddens me that he has had to suffer so much. We were determined to try to help him have at least the opportunity to experience a full and happy life. The care given in Ireland to assist in Mohammed’s medical treatment and rehabilitation gives me a little bit of hope in my heart for the future of Bahrain.”

Mohammed, 16, received his injury in February 2012. He was protesting against police in his village of Sitra, when security forces fired a tear gas grenade at his head from approx 15 metres. The impact broke Mohammed’s skull in 5 places and displaced his jaw, and irreparably damaging his left eye. Footage of the incident was captured by a citizen journalist, revealing how close – and potentially deadly – the shot was.(1)

The police left Mohammed bleeding and lying in the street, he was taken to the local clinic. From there, he was transferred to the Salmaniya Medical Complex. After arriving at the hospital, Mohammed was subject to repeated attempts by police to interrogate him, despite the extent of his injuries and the fact that he was barely conscious.

The authorities in Bahrain have often arrested individuals in their hospital bed, taking them into detention and denying them access to essential medical treatment. Fearing such a fate, Mohammed’s family requested that he be discharged from Salmaniya, the administration of which took two days. They took him to a private hospital. Mohammed was operated on his skull and jaw, with orbital reconstruction and cranial bone graft. His eye was cleaned out and sewn shut.

If he had received immediate and complete treatment, rather than the threatening atmosphere of police harassment, it is possible that Mohammed could have had a less traumatic experience and overall impact on his physical health. However, the Irish Consultants mentioned at various times during the treatment that were it not for the tremendous medical professionalism and surgical ability of the Bahraini team who provided that original surgery for Mohammed, the medical task would have been far more challenging in Ireland.

Mohammed arrived in Ireland from Bahrain early in June. His injury was examined at the Mater Hospital in Dublin by Ophthalmologist Professor Michael O’Keeffe. Mohammed was subsequently fitted for a prosthetic eye, which takes approximately four weeks to construct. This was attached to his eye muscles, which are still intact, making the eye fully mobile and cosmetically providing an acceptable physical appearance. Mohammed also underwent minor reconstructive surgery at Temple Street Children’s Hospital, to repair his left eyelid for cosmetic purposes. He will spend further time in Dublin to monitor his progress before returning to Bahrain.

BRAVO is satisfied with the success of the surgery to date, and deeply appreciative of the outstanding work and support provided by Irish staff and specialists. BRAVO intends to help many other individuals like Mohammed who are in need of specialist care, but unable to safely access such treatment in Bahrain.

Mohammed’s case is not unique. Since the start of the uprising in February 2011, an estimated one-hundred Bahrainis have suffered serious eye injuries after being shot by police with tear gas grenades and shotguns loaded with birdshot pellets. Some of these individuals are currently behind bars, held as political prisoners charged with attending illegal demonstrations. BRAVO is seriously concerned for the short and long-term health of all these victims, especially as many have only received basic medical attention. This coupled with the fact that approximately 40% of the injured victims are under 18 years old. The lack of access to good health care often means that even minor eye injuries can quickly become very serious.

The crisis of security forces in Bahrain causing serious eye injuries is persistent and ongoing. The day before Mohammed arrived in Ireland, a four-year old boy, Ahmed Nasser alNaham, was shot and injured by Bahrain police whilst helping his father sell fish. He was moved to Saudi Arabia for treatment a number of times and his welfare is a concern for BRAVO. The Bahrain authorities have also withheld treatment from individuals in detention, as in the recent case of Ahmed Oun who was made to wait over 25 days before finally receiving eye surgery that doctors had deemed urgent.

BRAVO is working at all levels to both document and alleviate the effects of these and multiple other human rights abuses on the ground in Bahrain. However, its work is obstructed by the fact that civil societies are not permitted registration to work legitimately within the community.

(1) Footage of when Mohammed was shot by police: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SE9rcYleHlk
BBC: Bill Laws coverage of Mohammed’s case: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17141305
For all media enquiries please contact Tara O’Grady at: tara@bravo-bahrain.org

Bahrain Rehabilitation and Anti Violence Organization (BRAVO) expresses its doubts with regards to the resolve of the Bahraini Government to overcome the negative impact of the harsh judgments from the Military Courts against pro-democracy and human rights activists since February and March 2011.

On Sunday July 1, 2012 the Supreme Criminal Court held the first case appeal hearing of three young Bahraini men. The High Criminal Court in Bahrain ruled against them on May 27, 2012 and has sentenced imprisonment against five Bahraini citizens accused of what is referred to as the Terrorist Cell. Those accused were arrested in Qatar and transferred to Bahrain where they were sentenced to 15 years imprisonment, only two of the defendants were found not guilty.

Previously, the Ministry of Interior in Bahrain (MOI) declared what they described as “a cell that was planning for terrorist armed attacks against personnel and vital installation”. The MOI spokesman, Director of Public Security, Major General Tariq Alhassan stated in a press conference (12 Nov 2011) at the Officers Club in Qudiabia that “the investigations had shown that the accused were targeting King Fahad Causeway, the building of MOI and the Saudi Embassy in Bahrain and personnel”. The MOI stated that “Qatari authorities arrested 4 Bahrainis and found documents, papers and a laptop in their car. These were said to contain important security information and details of vital installations, airline tickets to Syria and an amount of money in US Dollars and Iranian Toman”.

The particulars go back to last September 2011 when the four defendants: Emad Yaseen, Mohammed Sahwan, Ali Abbas and Isa Shamloh went to Qatar. Emad and Mohammed knew each other previously but they had no prior relationship with Ali and Isa. However, because Ali and Isa work in Transport, they offered to drive Emad and Mohamed to Qatar.

Emad Yaseen is a political activist and was wanted for arrest. Mohammed Sahwan had already been injured with 40 bird-shot pellets in his head. Mohammed feared to go to the hospital as he would most likely be arrested. Emad decided to take Mohammed to Qatar for medical treatment. They crossed the Saudi border without stamping their passports – as they were wanted men. As they reached Qatar and were finalizing their entry a Qatari Customs Officer ordered an inspection of their laptops. They found hundreds of photos and numerous reports about the human rights violations and crimes that had happened in Bahrain. These were found on Emad’s laptop.

The Qatari Customs Officer directly contacted the Qatari National Security Apparatus (Intelligence) and after interrogation of the men, they were promised that they would be released as soon as the Intelligence received some clarification regarding the material that was found on their two laptops.

Suddenly a twist happened, the situation dramatically changed and their treatment was completely altered. The four defendants were threatened and separated into solitary confinement of 2.5 m2. Activist Emad was threatened that he must confess about all his political relations and his connections with the Bahraini opposition otherwise he would be kept in detention. He was also threatened to be killed. They insisted to know where Emad was taking the reports to.

The four were kept incommunicado, solitary detention and deprived of contact with or meeting any person for a period of approximately one month, with continuous interrogations and physiological pressure. Emad was interrogated in a peculiar black room, restrained to a chair that was fixed to the floor chair and with a flash and camera directed on his face.

The Qatari Intelligence persistently tortured them by means of psychological and physical mistreatment. That included extensive continuous interrogations, the solitary confinement and complete isolation (incommunicado detention) from the outside world. During the entire period the activist Emad refused to give any information. Consequently Qatari authorities decided to deport them and passed the four defendants over to the Bahrain authorities.

Bahraini National Security Apparatus (NSA) received the four defendants on 4th Nov 2011. They were instantly abused once they arrived at Bahrain Airport. They were beaten in the airport, blindfolded and pushed into security vehicles and were transported directly to the Criminal Investigation Directorate (CID) building in Adlyia.

The Qatari Authorities provided the Bahraini Authorities with all of the information gathered from the laptop of the activist Emad. Hence, the spectacle of a Terrorist Cell was instantly fabricated. Hugely fictitious charges were pushed against activist Emad and the other three men. It was considered as revenge for his Human Rights activities and the presence of critical Human Rights Reports that condemned the Bahrain Regime.

Isa Almajali –A Jordanian officer – was responsible for the interrogation of the four – he took them and re-interrogated them. Sheikh Ali Almostrarshid (A Shia Cleric) was then added by Isa Almajali to the group. They were all accused of the Terrorist Cell without any valid basis.

The main accused in this case are Abdulraoof Alshayb (outside Bahrain), Ali Almoshaima (outside Bahrain), Ahmed Mohammed Salih (in hiding), Emad Yaseen, Mohammed Sahwan, Ali Almostarshid. The drivers, Ali Mobarak and Isa Shamloh were found innocent.
However, the witness who was listened to by the High Criminal Court on 11th March 2012 declared that no weapons or any explosives were found with the four convicted “members of the cell”. He said that four of the seven accused were brought by him from Qatar based on an order directly from the Bahraini Authorities. He received them without arrest warrants, or interrogation paperwork. Additionally he did not file any inference forms before arresting them and he depended on their confessions when pressing charges against them. The court has accepted this, although it is proven that the men were subjected to torture to force confessions.
Separately a witness told the court that he saw the detainee Emad limping and with marks of bruising when he was at Dry Dock, during the time that they were detained together, around the time of interrogation.

The MOI statements included many contradictions. It claimed that amounts of Iranian Toman (Iranian currency) were found with the four accused, however it did not provide information as to where the four obtained these Toman; taking into consideration that they arrived in Qatar from Bahrain and crossed Saudi Arabia. And as the MOI claimed they were heading to Syria.

The MOI claimed that the defendants were intending to blow up the Saudi Embassy in Manama and were travelling with Iranian Toman to Qatar. It is illogical that the defendants aimed to blow up the Saudi Embassy in Manama but were traveling with documents and Toman as well as Maps to Saudi Arabia and then to Qatar and from there to Syria.

The Security found pictures of Emad standing under the North Bridge Muharraq (Governorate – Bahrain), which is similar in its design to King Fahad Causeway. These pictures were used to claim that he and his friend “Sahwan” had intended to blow up King Fahad Causeway. The court had gone along with the Security Officers claims that they were in a terrorist organization despite the fact that the investigating officer Fawaz Al-Emadi, joined AlMajali in the torture of detainees and the extraction of confessions and had declared in front of the court that they did not have any means to blow up any facility or the assassination of any person. The fact is that everything they had said amounted to no more than thoughts. This means that the court has sentenced the defendants for 15 years imprisonment based upon their ‘thoughts’. This kind of offence has been rejected by the Court of Cassation in other cases similar to what happened in the trial of the political figures who won appeals and their cases were sent back for retrial.

The lawyers of defendants have requested the court to suspend the trial in front of the Criminal Higher Court until an investigation is made against the claims of the torture alleged by defendants but the Court which is headed by a member of the Al Khalifa royal family has rejected the request.

The lawyers have stated that some of the defendants were tortured, declaring that “it is unfortunate that the torture continues regardless the findings of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) which condemned the torture in prisons”. As the lawyers told France Press Agency that the defendants chanted “victory is soon” after they heard their verdicts.

The consequence of repetitive talk surrounding so-called terrorist cells has gone beyond reasonable limit. This has no connection to the daily mass popular peaceful movement taking place in the streets.

Nevertheless, this is not the first time that the Bahraini Authorities have declared that they were arresting terrorist cells. During the past two years, Bahrain made announcements about four cells.

One in 2009, which they said had its members trained in Syria. The second was before the Revolution in 14 of February, accompanied by media and diagram of a terror plot which included the organizational structure of the cell. The third group detained now for the establishment of a cell to overthrow the regime during the revolution of 14 of February last year. Finally the fourth is an alleged terrorist cell accused of plotting attacks against Bahrain, which was uncovered by neighboring Qatar. The new element about the last charge is the involvement of Qatar and the direct accusation of Iran, amid the escalation of both files in Syrian and Iran.

One of the most considerable thing to worry about is that the trial of the accused was in accordance with the Anti-Terrorism Law of 2006, a law that has raised its issue and is widely criticized by local and international human rights organizations, where it is tainted by several disadvantages, including that the law has contained several articles which have nothing to do with terrorism and does not adhere to international law.

http://www.bahrainrights.org/en/node/3449
http://www.bahrainrights.org/en/node/1529

By these allegations the Bahraini Government has proven that they still choose the security solution. The authority used in each episode makes claims against the Political and Human Rights Activist in order to keep them in prison. Most of these accusations, campaigns and cases have been suspended before on many occasions, or have been ceased and the defendants released. That is except for the charges that were against the Political and Human Rights Activists that occurred during the last year and during the National Safety period. Whereas the defendants in most of these cases are still behind bars, which gives an indication that they will stay imprisoned until a National Dialogue, solution or resolve for the case of Bahrain is found.

Based on the above, Bahrain Rehabilitation and Anti Violence Organization BRAVO calls on the Government of Bahrain to:

• Be aware that these trials and harsh judgments will not result in anything but more tension in all aspects. Bahrain has witnessed the emergence of increased numbers of Activists in reflection to the court sending individuals for imprisonment based on corrupt findings, which in turn is compounding the situation.
• End these trials and charges against Politicians and Human Rights Activists and acknowledge accountability for all those persons responsible for their torture.
• Guarantee the protection of all activists who participated in the uprisings of Feb 2011.
• Guarantee in all circumstances that all detainees have the right to a fair trial. BRAVO respectfully reminds the Bahraini Authorities that the United Nations Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, adopted by consensus by the UN General Assembly on 9 December 1998, recognizes the legitimacy of the activities of human rights defenders, their right to freedom of association and to carry out their activities without fear of reprisals. We would particularly draw your attention to Article 5 (b) which states that: “For the purpose of promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms, everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, at the national and international levels: (b) To form, join and participate in non-governmental organizations, associations or groups;” and to Article 12.2, which provides that “the State shall take all necessary measures to ensure the protection by the competent authorities of everyone, individually and in association with others, against any violence, threats, retaliation, de facto or de jure adverse discrimination, pressure or any other arbitrary action as a consequence of his or her legitimate exercise of the rights referred to in the present Declaration.”

BRAVO demands the immediate release of the Medic Younis Ashoori. Mr. Ashoori has been detained since March 2011. The only remaining charge against him is one of delivering oxygen cylinders to a tent at the site of a protest. Mr. Ashoori was employed for almost 30 years in Bahrain’s Dept of Health and as an Administrator in Salmaniya Medical Complex. He is the sole supporter of his family and worked hard for his child to attend private university. His wife Amina is lost without him. Mr. Ashoori’s health was poor prior to his incarceration, and the experience of torture, continued abuse and lack of access to any form of healthcare has given rise to grave concerns for his well being.

His case and that of the remaining medics; Hassan Maatouq (30), Ahmed Almushatat (27), Hasan Alarabi (27) and Ahmed Madhi Saleh (19), has received little media attention by comparison to the international outcry for ‘The 48’, and their sustained mistreatment by the regime appears to have been overlooked by foreign powers.

Five medics are still in bahrain prison despite the continuous call for their release by local and international NGO’s.Many countries are asking the government of Bahrain to close this issue which has spoiled Bahrain reputation in the field of human rights and fair trials.

The 60 years old , Younis Ashoori,an administrator in Muharraq Maternity Hospital, has spent 15 months in jail but still struggling in the appeal court as a continuation of the special national safety court which lack the basic principals of a fair trial ( as documented in Bassiouni report).This court has convicted Younis as guilty for transferring an oxygen cylinder to help in treating the injured . He received and carried out the orders from his superior in the ministry of health, as witnessed by several defendat witnesses who worked with him and helped to carry the order of the ministry of health official. The only witness against Younis is his torturer, who is the same witness and investigator in the medics case. He is the same person who fabricated the charges of occupiying Salmaniya Medical Complex and accused the medics of possessing weapons , charges from which medics were acquitted as the court found them to be baseless . Not only the court dismissed the testimony of this witness as unreliable, but also the medics have filed a case against him in regard of the systematic torture & abuse which he carried out against them as was documented in Bassiouni report.

Any person following younis case will reallize that he is an old man suffering from so many health problems like mitral valve prolapse and migraine the severity of which has increased following his torture and abuse during detention.He is also suffering from prostatic hypertrophy, kidney stones causing him severe pain which led the doctor to advise him surgery. He is also complaining of osteoarthritis of both knees causing more suffering and entailing the necessity to treat him in a hospital setup, not in jail.

Continuing jailing of the administrator Younis Ashoori, the nurse Hassan Matooq,,the pharmasist Ahmed meshatit and the newly graduate doctor Hassan Alaradi indicate the unjust language of punishment of medics to horrify them and prevent them from carrying their nobel role in a country pretending to respect human rights and medical neutrality. We therefore ask the mankind and the world conscience to support Younis Ashoori and his collegues by asking the government of Bahrain to release them and hold their torturers accountable for their actions.

By Lloyd Mudiwa.

Human rights activists in Dublin have claimed the Bahrain regime may have used CS gas up to 10-times more toxic than in normal teargas canisters to quell anti-government protestors, in contravention of some international conventions. Human rights groups claim this resulted in up to 30 deaths and several spontaneous miscarriages.

Bahrain’s Ministry of the Interior and the Public Prosecution Office has previously denied any deaths or miscarriages linked to teargas dispersal and asserted that such claims were fabricated.

Irish Medical Times, however, understands a leading Dublin university has been analysing some “teargas canister” samples allegedly used by the Bahraini police.

Campaigning Irish Orthopaedic Surgeon Prof Damian McCormack, addressing journalists as part of recent solidarity demonstrations regarding the persecution of medical workers in Bahrain held in Dublin, revealed the ongoing analysis, alleging manufacturer labels had been removed from canisters recovered.

He claimed Bahrain indiscriminately used the choking agent, and Ireland, which was also a signatory of the international agreements, could request an investigation.

“Some 30 people have died from teargas. CS gas is the stuff that killed people during the war [World War 2]. Were Bahrain to go to war today the use of CS would be banned because it is a chemical weapon.”

He claimed only a few days previously a 27-year-old woman with sickle cell disease suffered a fatal miscarriage following exposure to the nerve agent.

Tara O’Grady, General Secretary (Ireland) of BRAVO (Bahrain Rehabilitation and Anti-Violence Organisation), who said results of the analysis would be announced in a few weeks, claimed there had also been a plague of eye injuries due to gun pellets “aimed at head level” with victims denied medical surgery — a charge the Bahraini authorities have also denied.

There were ongoing efforts to bring patients from Bahrain to Dublin for the eye surgery, she said.

On the occasion of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

This day, 26^th June, has been allocated annually by the General Assembly of the United Nations as the Global Day against Torture. This is the day when legal organizations, human rights associations and victims of torture and ill-treatment submit reports, statements, and the names of perpetrators who were involved directly or indirectly in the crimes of torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

The United Nations has devoted this International Day of Solidarity to victims of torture and unifies efforts to eliminate all forms of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

In spite of the endorsement of the Kingdom of Bahrain on the international charters and conventions that were signed by them, in particular the UN Convention and treaties against Torture and Other Cruel, degrading or inhuman treatment, they continue to repress civilians of all ages who are subject to physical and psychological torture during their detention, without the Judiciary Systems investigation of complaints by victims, especially those that occurred after the issuance of the BICI report, where citizens were arrested and prosecuted under the complaints put forward by officers and policemen in order to punish them for, and put and end to, the democratic street protests.

The torture and mistreatment which affected hundreds of Bahrainis by the security forces, lead to the deaths of five people last year in custody, and caused permanent disabilities and impairments, and sustained injury that lead to psychological and physical disorders.

Despite that, the Government is doing nothing to treat the victims or rehabilitating them as a process of reconciliation. They should have done this as a start to reconciliation

Even though the BICI proved with evidence that mistreatment and torture is systematically conducted by security forces, members of MOI and National Security, it was a systematic practice of members of MOI, National Security and Police in order to force them to confess to crimes that in most cases people hadn’t committed. In other occasions the purpose of it was punishment and revenge. BICI concluded that these practices were a pattern of systematic behavior that is common between the officers and supervisors of detention centers, who are using the same exact methods in a systematic way that cannot be rectified.

Human rights centres documented cases of rape and stripping, hanging them from their feet, sleep deprivation, excessive beatings, electrocution and mock execution and exposing victims to A/C currents and cold water, and the threat of rape, and insults, humiliation and attacks on their beliefs, and spitting upon them, and forcing them to lick the boots of their torturers, and denial of toilet and bathing facilities, and solitary confinement, and incommunicado detention, and depriving victims of legal representation or visits from their families and other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.

It was found from the continuous documentation of human rights organizations that there are many disorders experienced by victims of torture which requires that each case must be studied to solve their physical, psychological, social and legal problems.

The situation of the victims in Bahrain needs a national campaign to unite the efforts of everyone and we believe that the State, instead of rehabilitating and helping the victims, by escalating the situation, is doing the opposite thing by increasing the repression.

Bahrain Rehabilitation and Anti Violence Organisation (Bravo) stands in solidarity with the victims and will persevere in treating and assisting them to recovery, and alleviating the suffering they endure, just as human conscience dictates.

We declare our absolute solidarity with all victims of crimes of torture and ill-treatment in all parts of the world and with their families and the families of their martyrs, and we condemn the perpetrators of such crimes, and the state’s contribution to the impunity of those responsible, directly or indirectly, from accountability and punishment.

We call upon the Bahraini government to permit local and international NGO’s to investigate the violations of human rights that have been committed by the State, and that are directly linked to the confiscation of the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.  Also we reject providing impunity to those responsible for torture and urge the attachment of accountability and prosecution for those involved.

We appeal to all organizations, associations, human rights and international humanitarian aid  workers and the international community to put pressure on the Kingdom of Bahrain to respect its international obligations regarding human rights issues and to provide a UN mechanism to monitor and report on human rights.

Due to the detrimental effects upon the body and soul of the individual, BRAVO believes that we should work together for the rehabilitation of victims of torture in general, and for Bahrain specifically.

BRAVO salutes those who work throughout the world to alleviate the suffering of survivors of torture, victims and their families. We applaud those who work to provide medical and psychological care, legal assistance and social and financial support to victims of torture.

Bahrain Rehabilitation and Anti-Violence Organization (BRAVO)

Republic of Ireland,
06/26/2012

Lloyd Mudiwa reports on the recent solidarity demonstrations held in Dublin for an end to the persecution of medical workers in Bahrain.

In a departure from its policy of lobbying for tolerance behind the scenes, the RCSI last week publicly advanced its “strong conviction” that the remaining convictions and sentences upheld against nine Bahraini healthcare professionals, three of whom trained at the College in Dublin, for their role in anti-regime protests be withdrawn.

A Bahraini appeals court had on Thursday last week passed judgment in the case of 18 medics, nine of whom were acquitted.
While four were sentenced to a shorter prison term than what they have already served under disputed detention last year, five were sentenced to a longer period, which means that they would receive summonses to serve the remaining period in prison.

Remaining in jail will be Irish-trained surgeon Ali al-Ekri, given a five-year sentence for his role in an uprising in the country last year, while Ebrahim al-Demestani, Secretary General of the Bahraini Nursing Society, was imprisoned for three years.

Al-Ekri, a consultant orthopaedic surgeon, was initially sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Also among the nine convicted and imprisoned from one month to five years were two other Irish-trained surgeons,Ghassan Dhaif and his brother Bassim Dhaif, who were given one-year and one-month sentences, respectively.

Two other medics who did not appeal — Qassim Omran and Ali Al-Sadadi — remain at large. They both have 15-year sentences awaiting them but they have no intention of returning to the Gulf state, it is understood.

All 20 doctors and nurses in the case worked at Manama’s Salmaniya Medical Complex, which was stormed by security forces after a crackdown on a protest encampment at the capital’s nearby Pearl Square in March 2011. The medics faced a plethora of charges, the most serious of which was occupying the vital medical centre and possessing weapons while denying Sunni Muslims access to the hospital as Shiite demonstrators camped in the car park. According to the doctors though, they were targeted for merely treating injured anti-government protesters and speaking to the press.

They were handed down jail sentences of between five and 15 years by a military tribunal but were retried in the civil appeals court after the public prosecutor dismissed confessions allegedly extracted under torture.

RCSI lobby
“We will continue to advance our strong conviction that the sentences should be withdrawn,” the RCSI stated in the aftermath of the appeal ruling.

However, speaking from Dublin, Bahraini medic and human rights activist Dr Nada Dhaif — one of the other nine doctors acquitted on appeal — just fell short of branding the RCSI statement as a little too late.

The diminutive Dr Dhaif, who is not a relation of the Irish-trained brothers Ghassan and Bassim, arrived from Bahrain two days earlier for a Dublin demonstration in support of her colleagues and other medical workers ahead of the judgment, as some of them had trained in Ireland.

While welcoming the release of a number of healthcare professionals by the Bahrain court, the RCSI, however, “very much” regretted its decision to sentence a number of medical personnel to terms in prison.

In seeking withdrawal of the sentences, the RCSI pointed to the findings of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) report, which found that in many cases those arrested following the demonstrations of 2011 had been subjected to ill treatment or torture.

The College contended that given the circumstances, no sentence could be fairly or safely upheld and that all charges should therefore be dropped.

The College further revealed that it had previously written to the King of Bahrain, asking him to drop all outstanding charges, before reiterating its request for the King to release those medics whose sentences or imprisonments were upheld.

Earlier this year, the RCSI wrote to the BICI, pointing out that the medical profession in Bahrain had become polarised and suggested that in order to rebuild trust, a number of things were required to happen, foremost, the dropping of outstanding charges against the healthcare professionals, the College further disclosed.

“We indicated that these charges are a major obstacle to progress and serve only to fuel hostility and division. This continues to be our view.

“We believe that the future for Bahrain has to be one of dialogue and reconciliation. Our own Irish story tells how this takes time.”

The RCSI said it strongly supported the recommendation for the development of a national reconciliation programme in Bahrain and has offered to assist in every possible way to advance the building of reconciliation and mutual understanding among healthcare professionals in the state.

The College supported the BICI recommendation that sought the development of programmes at primary, secondary and university levels to promote the religious, political and other forms of tolerance, as well as human rights and the rule of law.

It was determined, the RCSI said, to contribute to the future of Bahrain by providing high-quality medical and nursing education in a non-sectarian environment to its more than 1,000 students. It would help them reach their potential so as to maximise future opportunities, irrespective of their background.

A little too late?
Despite her own acquittal, Dr Nada Dhaif, who had been sentenced to 15 years in prison by the military tribunal, said: “I am quite shocked; I don’t feel that the case is resolved.”

She said the fact that the Bahraini authorities chose to release some of the medics did not take away from the core problem. “We want to feel safe and secure but if the regime doesn’t acknowledge there is a problem and apologise, I don’t see how that is possible,” the oral and dental surgeon commented.

Responding to the RCSI statement, she added: “I am sorry I cannot receive this very well because for over a year, the reaction has been quite disappointing, not just to me but to all the doctors and everyone else.

“I think it’s only in reaction to our demonstration and criticism of the College for their response to it.

“The statement is good, but the whole world has been saying this for over a year now. I won’t say it’s a little too late, but I feel they will have to show good faith.”

Dr Dhaif, who says she and her colleagues were subjected to detention and torture, joined a vigil outside the RCSI to highlight the plight of the College’s alumni and staff in Bahrain, as well as to protest at the RCSI’s alleged silence in the face of this persecution.

Speaking ahead of the ruling, Dr Dhaif was critical of the reception given to her by the RCSI, which the demonstrators had invited to join their cause, when she presented a letter in protest at the College’s failure to speak out for the doctors.

There had been no-one in senior management to meet Dr Dhaif, although the College was aware of her impending visit, in contrast to the response she received at Dáil Éireann, with politicians across the divide praising her for her courage and condemning the Bahraini regime. She had presented the letter to the Chief Porter.

A letter circulated by the College on the morning of the vigil outside its St Stephen’s Green campus stating: “Dear Colleague, For your information we understand that there may be a gathering outside the College today where a letter will be handed in for the President of RCSI ahead of the upcoming sentencing of some healthcare professionals in Bahrain”, supported her claim they were aware of her visit, Dr Dhaif said.

Campaigning Irish Orthopaedic Surgeon Prof Damian McCormack said: “Dr Dhaif is a small butterfly of a woman, but she is made of plutonium.” He cited previous revelations that the RCSI questioned its students and asked some to sign a pledge of allegiance to the regime and its alleged silence in relation to the abduction and torture and sexual molestation of Dr Fatima Haji, a senior lecturer in RCSI Bahrain, and claims surrounding the departure of a senior administrator at the RCSI in Manama following the abduction of his two nephews, Bassim Dhaif and Ghassan Dhaif, both of whom are Fellows of the RCSI. The College has previously declined to comment on that case.

An Arab spring
Dr Dhaif, who has become an icon in Bahrain for the so-called Arab Spring — a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests occurring in the Arab world that began in December 2010 — had, prior to her acquittal, expressed her preparedness to return home and assert the people’s human rights, regardless of the verdict, even though she feared persecution.

She said she felt guilty for leaving her colleagues behind to face the alleged persecution on their own, despite the fact that Dr Dhaif, as the only member of their group allowed to leave the country pending the appeal verdict, had travelled to several countries, leaving behind her small daughters, while lobbying for international support to the doctors’ and their country’s cause.

She expressed her anger that Bahrainis were having to ask for their “trumped-up” charges to be dropped and be allowed back to work, when they should be asserting their human rights and demanding protection from repressive policies.
The Bahraini government has said the retrial was part of a reform programme.

During Dr. Nada Dhaifs visit to Dublin, she joined the Demonstration March co-ordinated by Witness Bahrain Ireland, in solidarity with Medics who continue to be persecuted by the Bahraini Regime, and to protest against the maltreatment of Fellows, Staff and Students of the Royal College of Surgeons in Bahrain. She hand delivered letters from Medical Workers to the President of RCSI Dublin and expects the authors of the letters to hear feedback on these during the coming week.

• While at Leinster House (Government Buildings), she was received by members of The Oireachtas and was admitted to the Seanad Chamber. The plight of the medics was addressed and Dr. Dhaif delivered letters from Bahraini citizens requesting advocacy from the Irish Government at a National and International level. http://debates.oireachtas.ie/seanad/2012/06/12/00004.asp
• This was followed by a Press Conference at Buswells Hotel, where there was an interview via Skype uplink with a number of medics who were facing verdicts in the days to follow. The Q & A was broad and extensive, with representatives from Witness Bahrain Ireland, European Bahraini Organisation for Human Rights, Irish Anti War Movement, Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, Gulf Centre for Human Rights, and BRAVO.
• On the second day, Dr. Dhaif and the delegation from BRAVO visited The Danish Ambassador at the Embassy where Dr. Dhaif conveyed thanks on behalf of Abdulhadi AlKhawaja for the continued efforts of the Danish Government to advocate for his release. After which the BRAVO Team met with a met significant figures within the Irish business community associated with corporate bodies who are exploring opportunities to invest in Bahrain once the Human Rights commitments as outlined in BICI are met.
• The BRAVO Team were invited to the Seanad to make a presentation on the current Human Rights predicament and to discuss their purpose in supporting victims of torture, providing medical aid to eye injury casualties and to assist in rehabilitation for those who have been detained and their families.

On Thursday 14^th June 2012 Dr. Nada Dhaif was acquitted along with 8 of her colleagues, however the remaining 9 who had faced verdicts (during this round of sentencing) were given prison sentences.

• BRAVO Held a Press Conference in The Oak Room of The Mansion House where there was a Q & A, and Dr. Dhaif was interviewed by media networks.
• Dr. Dhaif was honored to make a Formal Address to the National Womens Council of Irelands AGM. She had been invited to attend by Ms. Sheila Dickson, President of the Irish Nurses & Midwives Organisation and NWC Council Member. http://www.nwci.ie/members/memberslist.html
• After this Dr. Dhaif and the BRAVO Team accompanied an eye injury patient who had arrived from Bahrain in the morning, to the clinic at The Mater hospital to meet with Professor Michael O’Keeffe to assess the damage to the eye, give a prognosis and initiate steps to treatment.
• The final visit of the day was to the School of Chemistry at Trinity College Dublin where the BRAVO Team met with Professor David Grayson.

On Saturday evening Dr. Nada Dhaif and Tara O’Grady attended the Anniversary of the death of Imam Musa al-Kadhim at AHLUL- BAYT Islamic Centre, the purpose built NATIONAL IRISH MUSLIM ISLAMIC CENTRE. Dr. Nada was invited to speak and both women were honoured to receive a presentation from Imam Dr. Ali Al Saleh.

The women planted an Olive Tree as a Tree of Peace in the extraordinarily beautiful Garden of the House of Hussein, to represent their sisterhood and that of the islands of Bahrain and Ireland, and their shared purpose for peace as symbolized by the Olive Branch throughout numerous world religions and as used on the flag of the United Nations.

Dr. Nada Dhaif concluded her stay in Dublin with a meeting with Mr. Pat Kelly, Middle East Director at the Department of Foreign Affairs to advocate on behalf of her colleagues and others who continue to be persecuted by the Regime in Bahrain.

Click to see extensive media coverage of Dr. Nada visit

Bahrain – Saturday, 16th of June: Bahrain’s appeal court issued political sentences including fiveyear imprisonment against a number of medics because of their medical activities and expressing their views, a right they have in both the constitution and internationally.

The appeal court announced Thursday, 14th of June 2012 sentences for 20 medics. Nine were declared innocent, including the chair of BRAVO Dr. Nada Dhaif and the Head of Training and Development Dr. Fatima Haji. Furthermore, the court convicted Dr. Ali AlEkri to five year imprisonment charging him with ‘attempting to overthrow the regime with force and illegal measures’, and it also convicted nurse Ebrahim AlDamistani for the same charges to three year imprisonment. Additionally, Both Dr. Saeed AlSamaheeji and Dr. Ghassan Dhaif were sentenced to one-year imprisonment based on unproven claims that they detained Asians in Salmaniya Medical Complex. Dr. Mahmood Asghar was also sentenced to six months in prison; nurse Dheyaa AbuEdrees was sentenced to two months, and Dr. Nader Deewani, Dr. AbdulKhaleq AlAraibie and Bassem Dhaif to one month in prison. All the medics were convicted for participating in marches where demanded their rights as per internationals agreements Bahrain have agreed upon.

BRAVO congratulates the medics who were deservingly declared innocent including the Chairman of Bravo and the Head of Training and Development, while remaining deeply concerned about the verdicts of the other medical staff members. BRAVO finds that if, god forbids, the security authorities did arrest any of the medics it would be a crime and it will punish not only the medics but also all the patients they take care of. Not to mention the fact that medics are the most important part of society that helps patients , torture victims and rehabilitate them both physically and mentally after all they went through. Arresting them means depriving the society of their care and expertise.

Therefore, BRAVO, The Bahrain Rehabilitation and Anti Violence Organization, strongly condemns the conviction of medics and demands the Bahraini authorities to drop all charges against them and stop their conviction immediately.

Bahrain Rehabilitation and Anti Violence Organization (BRAVO)

BRAVO has been watching closely over the case of 4 year old Ahmed Nasser AlNaham, and we have been briefed about the severe injury that he has incurred due to direct gunshot to the eye. We learned that the child was admitted to Salmaniya Medical Complex as seen in this video then moved to Saudi Arabia for treatment.  As we are waiting for news and further progress on the child’s condition, BRAVO is highly concerned over the child’s health and well being and would strongly encourage the family and the authorities in Bahrain to allow BRAVO to intervene in his treatment and to provide emergency assistance in his case. Given the fact that BRAVO is the only NGO in the Gulf Region with such expertise and worldwide contacts, we could facilitate a premium level of professional care and prognosis of the child’s condition, if he needs surgery and follow up care. Once again we would like to stress, in the strongest possible terms, our sincere and genuine offer to assist the child and his family and the Bahraini Authorities in handling the case.

A colleague in Salmaniya Medical Complex, has confirmed that the 4 year old, Ahmed Nasser Alnaham, from Dair Village was admitted unconscious this week with bird shot pellet wounds peppered all over his body, the most serious of which were to his left eye. It is probable that he will lose vision in that eye.

An eye witness confirmed to us that the wounds ranged between shallow and deep injury, penetrating throughout his body.

He was shot, reportedly without provocation, while with his father, a fisherman, who was selling his wares. We deplore and condemn the continued brutality against children and innocents in Bahrain.

The Bahrain Rehabilitation and Anti Violence Organization (BRAVO) have detected the growing number of children detained for investigation in security cases. The latest case is the arrest of child Ali Hasan from Al Bilad Al Qadeem who is 11 years old. A statement that BRAVO received a copy of from the defense attorney shows that the child was detained on the 14th of May and has been detained ever since. He is accused of protesting in a public place and the intention of committing crimes and disrupting general security.

The defense attorney added that the child is suffering from a worrying mental condition especially because he should be on his school desk doing his final exams as a 6th grader; his imprisonment is affecting his condition and education. He may require help from experts after what he’s gone through after all his feelings and childhood has been abused during more than 25 days of imprisonment away from his parents who are suffering from it themselves.

From a legal point of view, BRAVO finds the actions of the Bahraini government’s security forces with the detainment of a child under 15 a huge violation of International laws and treaties for child rights on one hand and the Bahraini law which forbids punishing or detaining children. Instead, the law states that, if they’re convicted, the children are to be rehabilitated and taught so they can play a positive role in their society and do not repeat their actions. BRAVO also, as a rehabilitation organization, finds that the child should be kept in a normal environment between his family and friends instead of prisons that lack the simplest measures of care and rehabilitation for such cases.

In respect of the above, BRAVO demands authorities of the Kingdom of Bahrain to release him as soon as possible and to drop all his charges without any delay.

Bahrain Rehabilitation and Anti Violence Organization (BRAVO)
Ireland
Friday, 8th of June 2012

Welcome to the website for The Bahrain Rehabilitation and Anti Violence Organization (BRAVO). The concept for this collaborative was triggered by the personal experiences of torture, oppression and degradation perpetrated RECENTLY by the Bahraini GOVERNMENT against a number of its founding members AND THEIR FAMILIES after the peaceful public protests during The Pearl Revolution of 2011.

The continued violations against many of the civilians and peaceful protesters, encouraged us to immediately and actively engaged in providing support services to individuals who have and who continue to experience torture and abuse in the recent unrest in Bahrain. We aim to develop a service for counseling and a resource for practical aid for victims of torture, political prisoners and the families of those who have suffered unjust detention.

Thank you in advance for your interest in our work and what we hope will be your willingness to support the efforts of BRAVO and to make a helpful and valuable difference to our community.”