Bahrain Prisoners of Conscience denied Medial Care after Passing Grade on Prison Conditons

OPPOSITION LEADER DENIED MEDICAL TREATMENT
10 October, 2013 – Amnesty International

Dr ‘Abdel-Jalil al-Singace, one of the 13 jailed prominent Bahraini opposition activists, has been denied medical treatment. He is a prisoner of conscience.

An academic and spokesperson of the al-Haq Movement, Dr ‘Abdel-Jalil al-Singace, aged 51, is serving a life sentence in Jaw Prison, which is around 30km south of the capital, Manama. Since March 2013 at least nine appointments with the cardiology, ophthalmology and dermatology departments at the Bahrain Defence Military Hospital and 11 appointments at the prison clinic have been postponed because he refuses to wear the prison uniform.

According to his family, Dr ‘Abdel-Jalil al-Singace suffers, amongst other ailments, from sinus inflammation and a perforated eardrum for which he needs surgery.

Between March and mid-July all 13 activists had been denied family visits for refusing to wear the prison uniform, saying it is only worn by criminals and to wear the uniform would be to admit criminality: Every time family members went to the prison they were told they could not visit because the prisoners were “refusing prison instructions”. In mid-July 11 of the 13 started to wear prison uniform, as a result of family pressure, and therefore have been able to receive visitors. Only Dr ‘Abdel-Jalil al-Singace and Hassan Mshaima’ still refuse to wear it.

The High Criminal Court of Appeal in Manama issued its verdict on 4 September 2012, upholding the 13 defendants’ sentences of between five years and life in prison on charges including “setting up terror groups to topple the royal regime and change the constitution”. The Court of Cassation upheld the sentences on 7 January 2013. See Additional Information for a list of all 13 prisoners’ names. …more