A Bahraini family from Manama was devastated by the loss of their son shortly after he was released from the prisons after nine years of arbitrary detention.
The family and friends of the released prisoner, Imad Al-Araibi, could not congratulate him on his freedom in March 2020, as he lost his life soon after release.
During his imprisonment, the Bahraini authorities refrained from releasing him temporarily to attend and participate in the funeral and mourning ceremonies for his mother.
Activists and close relatives of the late Al-Araibi’s family recalled his exploits and virtues, stressing that the file of political prisoners with the Bahraini regime will continue to constitute heartache.
Mysterious diseases, infectious diseases, and acute strokes haunt many political prisoners after being subjected to severe torture before being released from the prisons of the Bahraini regime.
With the Bahraini authorities releasing prominent political prisoners amid the outbreak of the Coronavirus in prisons, the injuries they are exposed to, which amount to laceration of internal organs, shed light on their horrific stories.
For weeks, security forces tortured some of the released prisoners by beating, hanging, electrocuting them, and forcing them to stand for long periods.
In addition to preventing them from communicating with their family and his lawyer, they remain under enforced disappearance for weeks, most spent in solitary confinement.
Side effects
They are still suffering from pain and side complications as a result of torture and complaining of other diseases that require continuous and permanent medical care.
Since their arrest, some prisoners have experienced setbacks in their health, which requested that they be transferred to the hospital several times.
The government charged them with inciting hatred against the regime, and inciting violence, after their involvement in the 2011 protests.
Bahraini scholars condemned the authorities’ disregard for the lives of citizens, especially prisoners of conscience, including those in prison in difficult health conditions.
In a press release, Bahraini scholars held the authorities responsible for the consequences of ill-treatment and denial of treatment in prisons.
“The health neglect, which has been relied upon by testimonies from inside the air prisons in light of the Corona epidemic, holds the authority and the regime at the highest levels fully responsible and severely accountable, legally, legally and popularly, and it should not be tolerated at all.”
And last month, two human rights organizations called on the US administration and the British government to intervene with the Manama government to stop holding political opponents hostage.
These claims came in the wake of the death of political prisoner Hussain Barakat at Salmaniya Hospital after being infected with the Coronavirus in the notorious Jaw prison in Bahrain.
Link to foreign policy
The Executive Director of Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain Hussain Abdullah said:
“The Biden administration and the British government, after this tragic death, must tell their Bahraini allies that holding political opponents hostage is no longer an issue.”
“All those convicted for their peaceful opposition to the government must be immediately and unconditionally released,” he added.
Politicians in Washington and London are stepping up their rhetoric toward the Gulf ally.
They called on the two countries to stop selling arms to Manama and transfer the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet to another country due to the recorded violations of human rights.
Repression in Bahrain is closely linked to foreign policy. Bahrain has always relied on foreign powers for protection, be it Britain, Saudi Arabia or the United States.
