Human rights groups called for the prosecution of the King of Bahrain, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Interior before international courts due to the insistence of the Khalifei authorities to abuse 14 political prisoners in the notorious Jau prison for nearly a month.
The International Center for Supporting Rights and Freedoms said in a statement that it encourages the families of 14 political prisoners who are held in Jaw Central Prison, who have been abused and banned from communicating with family since August 10, 2022, to sue the King of Bahrain, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Interior.
According to the Center, 14 political prisoners in Jaw Central Prison and their families are suffering, as prisoners are being abused and denied the right to visit by the Jaw prison administration.
The prisoners are Hussein Ayyad, Hussein Fadel, Muhammad Abd al-Nabi al-Khor, Muhammad Abd al-Jalil, al-Sayyid Muhammad al-Tublani, Salman Ismail, Hassan Ahmed, Husayn al-Mumin, Hussain al-Sheikh, Hussain Muhanna, Yasser al-Mumin, Aqil Abd al-Rasoul, Ahmad Jassim al-Qubaiti and Ammar Abd al-Ghani.
The Center said it was disappointing and resentful that the prisoners’ families had contacted the bodies established by Bahrain, such as the National Institution for Human Rights and the Grievance Committee, asking for a date to visit their children.
After the families’ efforts, the families of nine political detainees were contacted to inform them that they had been scheduled to visit their sons on September 5. Still, after reaching Jaw Prison gate on time, the families were informed that the visit was cancelled without giving reasons.
As for the political prisoner, Muhammad Jumaa, he was crying out for his call, and he mentioned to his mother the name of an officer in Jaw Central Prison, a lieutenant named Rashid, after which the connection was suspiciously cut off immediately.
These prisoners who Bahrain considered political opponents participating in the Bahraini revolution were arrested without legal basis and detained in the Criminal Investigation Building for several days. They were subjected to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.
After that, they were presented to the Public Prosecution, which accused them of the usual accusations of a political background. It referred them to the Criminal Court and sentenced them to long prison terms, including life, and they were placed in Jaw Central Prison.
The Center affirmed that Bahrain is obligated to protect the rights contained in the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, as Article 37 states that a prisoner is allowed, under the necessary supervision, to communicate with his family and reputable friends, at regular intervals, both by correspondence and by receiving visits.
The Human Rights Center called on the Bahraini authorities to take decisive decisions towards allowing the aforementioned political prisoners to visit and the right to communicate with the outside world.
He stressed the need to guarantee the right of all detainees inside Bahrain’s prisons to humane treatment and to activate all the articles in the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, which were recommended for adoption by the first United Nations Crime Prevention Conference.
The Center appealed to member states of the Human Rights Council and international and regional organizations concerned with the protection of human rights to make efforts to advance human rights in Bahrain.
The Center emphasized that Bahrain never respects the rights of detainees, as it is clear and public that torture crimes are committed on a large scale in places of detention, which leads the victim to confessions that lead to execution or imprisonment for long periods.
