Bahrain Politcal Prisoners and State Hostages Protest Restrictions

Bahrain: Detained leading activists and opposition figures protest increased restrictions in prison

Bahrain Center for Human Rights
23rd August, 2012

BCHR has learned that the detained 13 leading activists and opposition figures have submitted a letter to the prison authorities informing them that they will start a series of protest actions including a hunger strike if the increased restrictions in prison are not removed by Thursday.

“Today we submitted a letter to prison authorities that we will start a series of actions to protest against the violations and new restrictions, including on calls to families and lawyers, prevention from daily newspapers as well as prevention from daily exercise in the open air. The protest will include a hungerstrike.”

Further to the earlier report by Bahrain center of Human rights regarding an increased level of restrictions applied on the detained leading activists and opposition figures at Bahrain central prison (Jaw), new information has been received that these restrictions are not limited to the monitoring, interrupting and cutting phone calls of the detained activists to their families, but also includes prevention from access to newspapers and prevention from the daily exercise in the open air.

Mrs Fareeda Ghulam, the wife of detained leading activist, Ebrahim Sharif had reported earlier that an officer had interrupted a call between her and her husband, then the call was cut while she was describing the situation in Bahrain after the killing of 16 years old child Hussam AlHaddad by the security forces.

These increased restrictions come in time as the activists wait for a final verdict from the higher court of appeal which has postponed issuing the ruling from 14 August 2012 to 4 Sep 2012 for no obvious reason. It also synchronize with the increased level of security attacks on protesters as a 16 years old has been shot dead by police on 17 August 2012 and the leading human rights defender Nabeel Rajab has been sentenced to 3 years imprisonment.

The Bahrain Centre for human rights urges for the release and full exoneration of the prisoners who were arrested and sentenced in unfair military trials for practicing their legitimate right of expression and assembly.

The 13 opposition activists are as follows:

1-Abdulwahab Hussain ( life sentence imprisonment)
2-Ebrahim Sharif ( 5 Years imprisonment)
3-Hassan Mushaima( life sentence imprisonment)
4-Abdulhadi Al Khawaja ( life sentence imprisonment)
5-Abduljalil Al Singace.( life sentence imprisonment)
6-Mohammed Habib Al Miqdad ( life sentence imprisonment)
7-Saeed Mirza AlNouri ( life sentence imprisonment)
8- Abduljalil Al Miqdad ( life sentence imprisonment)
09-Abdullah Isa Al Mahroos.( 5 years imprisonment)
10-Salah Hubail Al Khawaj.( 5 years imprisonment)
11-Mohammed Hassan Jawad.( 15 years imprisonment)
12-Mohammed Ali Ismael. ( 15 years imprisonment))
13-Abdul Hadi AlMukhodher ( 15 years imprisonment)

More information: http://www.bahrainrights.org/en/node/5384