Bahraini youth martyred due to medical neglect, Eight Saudis await execution
On a Friday 19th April a native Bahraini man was martyred as a result of lack of medical care by the authorities. Omran Sharaf, brother of martyr Hussein Sharaf from El-Ekr town passed away after years of hiding. For more than 10 years this young man was pursued by the regime’s torturers for his active role in opposing the hereditary dictatorship. He was riddled with cancer in recent years and did not receive adequate medical care. He was avoiding arrest by all means and spend a decade moving from one hideout to another. Eventually, his tortured soul lift him to the divine. His funeral attracted thousands of people were moved by the way he died. They cursed the cruelty of the khalifi tribal rule and pledged to follow in his footsteps until the political rights have been realised.
Another serious crisis has engulfed Bahrain this week. Unknown gases are escaping from their storage tanks at the main refinery at an alarming rate. Citizens of nearby towns and villages are extremely worried about their health having been exposed to these gases for a week with no end in sight. The whole country is talking about the foul smells that fill the air at towns like Sitra, Nuwaidrat, El Ekr, Isa town, Aali and most towns and villages along the Budayya Road. The regime has remained silent and did little to contain the problem.
Meanwhile protests have continued in the country. On Friday 19th April the people of Al Maqshaa town demonstrated to mark the anniversary of the two martyrs: Ahmed Al Masjan and Ali Abbas. They called for the release of all prisoners of conscience immediately and unconditionally. On the same day there was a similar protest in Dair town. The people of Sitra also demonstrated in support of the hunger strikers at Jau prison. Protesters gathered outside Bahrain’s Kanoo Medical Center to demand the unconditional release of jailed opposition figure Hasan Mushaima and human rights activist Dr Abduljalil al-Singace. Both were imprisoned for their role in peaceful pro-democracy protests in 2011 and suffer from a number of serious health problems.
Two political prisoners have been transferred to hospital from their torture cells, following a deterioration in their health. Hassan Ali Hassan Mahmood and Anwar Abdul Aziz Mushaima have been on hunger strike since 16th April in protest against their continued detention despite their innocence. Also, senior political figure, Sheikh Mirza Al Mahroos was taken to hospital when his health deteriorated rapidly. Inmates at wings 3 and 5 of the notorious Jau prison have joined the hunger strike in support of hundreds others who also challenge their prison sentences. On 21st April Mahmood Ahmed Mansi was arrested when he went to have his passport renewed. He was recently released from prison among the recent batch of releases.
On 21st April political detainees at wing 5 of Jau Prison issued a statement to confirm that they were continuing their hunger strike. They described the various methods of intimidation by the authorities to force them to end their strike as inhumane and vicious. They presented a bleak situation in which the authorities adopt unlawful means to exert pressure on them including banning them from calling their families as long as they are on strike. In their statement the inmates said: “We, the hunger strikers are forging ahead with our action, we will not give up our demands; we either win or die”.
Since 1st April the management of Jau prison has enforced new serious forms of punishment on those held in the isolation wing No 3. From Tuesday 9th April the management has escalated its aggression especially after other prisoners joined in the protests. Sixteen isolated prisoners were denied family visits or contact, disruption of electricity and water supplies to them, removing food items from the canteen, banning the prisoners from their daily outing in the courtyard, denial of medical care and spontaneous raids on the prisoners cells.
The Saudi Supreme Court confirmed death sentences against Jalal Labad and Abdullah Al-Derazi without notifying families or lawyers. These sentences could be carried out at any moment after the king’s signature. Also, the specialized Court of Appeal referred death sentences against Yousef Al-Manasif, Ali Al-Mabiouq, Hassan Zaki Al-Faraj, and Ali Al-Subaiti to the Supreme Court, which represents the final judicial stage before execution. The Supreme Court sent back the death sentence against Jawad Qureiris to the specialized Court of Appeal for revision several months ago. Death sentences were also issued against Mahdi Al-Mohsen.
The Saudi regime has arrested a young man from Qatif Province in Eastern Arabia after Bahrain’s khalif regime handed him to Riyadh. Ali Taher Jaffar Al Shamimi (whose mother is Bahraini from Bani Jamra Town) was released from prison recently and sent back to Saudi Arabia. Despite warnings from human rights activists of severe punishment if he were handed, the khalifis did not heed the call. His activism was mainly to support the people of Bahrain. He was arrested twice, the last of which lasted over a decade (December 2013 to April 2024).
Bahrain Freedom Movement
24th April 2024