Bahraini citizens challenge their dictators, More Saudis beheaded
On Friday 7th February, Hussain Al Ghadiri (from Al Markh town in Bahrain) was arrested as he was crossing the causeway. No reason was given for his arrest. Yesterday, Tuesday 11th February, Hajji Mohammed Yousuf was arrested as he raised two loafs of bread to protest his unfair dismissal. He was taken to AlHoora Police station. He worked for 23 years before his immoral dismissal for protesting outside the ministry of works. He had spent 11 years of his 15 years sentence imposed on him in May 2013.
Yesterday (Tuesday 11th February) Bahraini court imposed new sentences against four people from Karranah town. Hussain Ali Hassan Mahdi, 16, Ali Hussain Nasser Al Matrook, 16, Abdul Aziz Hussain Jaffar Al Hamadi, 15 and Ali Khalil Abu Jassam, 22 were given one year prison sentence for taking part in peaceful protest and assembly. This is the second sentence. On 13th January the same court had imposed a six-month sentence against them. These under-aged citizens will spend 18 months for participating in a peaceful protest.
Medical negligence is threatening the sight of political prisoner, Mohammed Al Mahroos. His family said that the management of the notorious Jau Prison refuses to transfer him to the prison clinic despite his critical condition. He may lose his eyesight. He has fatty cysts in both eyes. His case is part of a pattern of medical negligence exercised by the regime to punish the political detainees.
On 11th February the management of the Jau Prison transferred a political prisoner to isolation. Mohammed Abdul Hadi Al Baqqali (from Jidhafs town) was isolated from the rest of the prisoners without giving reasons. He is serving a 15 years prison term and was arrested on 6th November 2019. Six political prisoners at Jau Prison have been transferred to isolation cells. Three of them: Hussain Nooh, Abbas Nooh and Ibrahim Kuwaitan were moved to isolation at the beginning of the month for exercising religious rights. The other three: Mohammed Al Ujaimi, Ali Al Mutawwa and Ahmed Sakir have spent more than 15 days in isolation. On Tuesday 4th February thee political prisoners at Jau Prison were transferred to isolation. Mohammed Ahmed Fakhrawi, his brother Ali (from Manama) and Mohammed Sarhan (from Nuwaidrat) were moved from Bloc 5 to Bloc 3 for isolation.
On Thursday 6th February political prisoner Mohammed Ibrahim Yahya Ali Hussain, 30, began hunger strike at Jau Prison. He is protesting the denial of medical care and treatment for his severe epilepsy and coma episodes. He is serving a 19 year prison sentence since his arrest in 2018. He has asked to be seen by specialists after the serious deterioration of his health and repeated attacks. His requests have been ignored. Political prisoner Abdul Jabbar Esa Abdulla Hassan is suffering the consequences of medical neglect. His family said that his health has been deteriorating in recent months. Before his arrest he was suffering pains following surgery in his stomach. Since then, he has not received appropriate care or medication.
On Friday 7th February political prisoner Younis Abdul Aziz Al Nassiri was assaulted by a policeman. An eyewitness said that Al Nassiri asked to be taken to the clinic for treatment. But the non-Bahraini policeman refused, using harsh and abusive language. He then attacked the prisoner who was hit on his eye.
The EU High Representative Kaja Kallas has reaffirmed the EU’s call for the unconditional release of Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja. In a written question submitted by Danish MEP Villy Søvndal he said: “The EU has consistently and actively raised the case of Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja, alongside other human rights defenders in Bahrain to demand their unconditional release. In May 2021, the former EU Special Representative for Human Rights addressed a letter to the Foreign Affairs Minister of Bahrain, urging the release of Mr Al-Khawaja and other political prisoners on humanitarian grounds. The EU has raised Mr Al-Khawaja’s and other cases in its annual EU-Bahrain Human Rights Dialogues, including the eighth dialogue held in Manama on 8 December 2024.
The trial of five other political prisoners (from Salmabad town) has been adjourned. Sayed Qassim Ali Al Alawi, Sayed Hassan Hadi Al Ghuraifi, Faisal Mohammed Ramadan, Muqtada Riyadh Al Makhlouq and Yasser Saeed Al Sahhaf will be sentenced on 25th February.
On Wednesday 5th February the Saudi authorities executed two citizens for committing what the regime media called “betrayal of the country” and “supporting terrorism”. The ministry of the interior accused the two who were beheaded of “adopting a terrorist mentality that allows blood-letting and plundering wealth and supports terrorism”. They were also accused of communicating with terrorist elements to endanger the social peace.
Saudi human rights defender Waleed Abu al-Khair received the Anna Dahlbäck Foundation Memorial Fund bursary for 2024 for his courageous work for human rights in Saudi Arabia. Here is the founder and board member of the Monitor of Human Rights in Saudi Arabia (MHRSA).
On 8th February a group of human rights activists gathered outside the Consulate on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in London to demand the immediate release of Egyptian-Turkish poet Abdulrahman Yusuf al-Qaradawi. He was extradited from Lebanon to the UAE on 8th January.
Bahrain Freedom Movement
12th February 2025
