Bahrain: International condemnation of aggression by ruling family
The unprecedented reaction of the international human rights community to the recent attack on rights and freedoms in Bahrain has angered the ruling family so much that it has resorted to more aggression against Bahrainis.
After moving the prisoners of conscience from the dungeons of the National Security Agency (NSA) to other prisons such as the Dry Dock prison, they were returned for more torture in order to force them to sign incriminating “confessions” prepared by the torturers. Latest brief visits by relatives (most of which lasting no more than five minutes in the presence of several torturers) have confirmed that the Bahrainis have endured more physical coercive acts and that they looked more pale and drawn, although they enjoyed high spirits. Prior to the visits, secret service officers sat with the families and directed them on visitation rules.
They were forbidden to ask about torture, charges, proceedings or anything relevant to the cases of the detainees. They were ordered not to speak about what was happening on the outside, or give the detainees any news. The families were also directed not to look at any parts of the detainees’ bodies under their clothing. During each visit, there were four to ten secret service officers sitting next to the detainee.
Two families were ordered out after only five minutes. Al-Mukhodher’s family was told to leave because Almukhodher asked them if a trial date had been set, and Al-Muqdad’s family was ordered out after they told him.
The ruling family has undertaken more raids on people and property and arrested more people. Yesterday morning, 8th October, scores of Death Squads raided the town of Sanabis, shooting at people using rubber bullets and beating whoever falls while trying to escape. At least one Bahraini was arrested. Abdulla Ali Salman, 16, was shot with a rubber bullet. As he laid on the ground injured he was stepped over by the raiders, beaten up mercilessly and taken away to the Al Khalifa dungeons. Three days ago, three more Bahrainis from Bild Al Qadim after being lured towards the cars of the Death Squads by a spy in the area. Among them were Sadiq Khalil Al Hayki, 16 and Hassan Ibrahim, 16. Many under-age children have been arrested including a ten years old boy.
Meanwhile at least one family from the village of Musalla was forced to leave their house after repeated raids turned their lives into hell. At one point one of their daughters was taken hostage so that the son gave himself up. Eventually the son, Hakim, a known and promising young footballer was arrested. Nothing has been heard about him yet. More young men have also left the village as their lives became hell.
On 7th October the renowned body “Reporters Without Borders” issued a statement expressing concern regarding the violence meted on Dr Abdul Jalil Al Singace since his detention on 13th August. He is now believed to have lost hearing in one of his ears. The organization called for his immediate release and urged the international community to put more pressure on the Bahraini authorities to respect the basic rights of citizens in accordance with international conventions. The statement also called for the release of Ali Abdul Imam, the renowned blogger who is being subjected to horrific treatment since his arrest in early October. It also highlighted the repeated threats against Nabeel Rajab, the President of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights and Abdul Hadi Al Khawaja, the Frontline representative in the region.
On a similar note, the International Union of Publishers and News Agencies (WAN-IFRA) urged the government of Bahrain to take all precautions to end its violent campaign against freedom of expression in the country. At the end of its meeting on 4th October in Hamburg the Union detailed the recent crackdown against bloggers and publishers and highlighted the cruel treatment of Ali Abdul Imam. It called for ending the blackout on the campaign against political and human rights activists.
Bahrain Freedom Movement
9th October 2010