Bahrain Photojournalist Ahmed Humaidan Psychologically Tortured Denied Access Lawyer

Bahrain: Renowned Photojournalist Ahmed Humaidan Psychologically Tortured During Interrogation and Denied Access to His Lawyer
19 January, 2013 – Bahrain Center for Human Rights

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights expresses its grave concern over the escalated use of torture against journalists by the authorities in Bahrain. The BCHR received concerning reports on the well-being of Ahmed Humaidan (25 years old) who was kidnapped by fifteen security officers, in civilian clothing, on the 29th of December, 2012.

Humaidan’s family stated that Ahmed was subjected to psychological torture, which is believed to have caused him to mentally break-down. According to his family, Humaidan was forced to stand up for hours while being handcuffed and blindfolded in a very cold room. He informed his family that while he was blindfolded and handcuffed at the CID “Criminal Investigation Department” they forced him to hold an unknown object and interrogators told him that its was a timed bomb set to explode. The unknown object was in his hands for hours. He was constantly monitored during this time, and was screamed at if he moved so much as a finger.

Furthermore, Humaidan informed his family that while being interrogated and forced to confess to a crime that he claims he did not commit, interrogators threatened that they will accuse his brothers of crimes if he did not confess. The interrogators named his brothers and randomly selected charges that they would arbitrarily bring against them.

The BICI report from November 2011 documented similar death threats and psychological torture were widely employed during interrogation sessions. This is a clear indication that the authorities have failed to reform their methods of interrogation. Another example of such psychological torture documented in the BICI report states that:
“On 8 May, the detainee went to court and was cursed and sexually harassed in the car on the way there. He was taken to the side of the court for “executions”. A guard told him, “It is a long time since we executed anyone.” …more