MSF Alleges Torture in Bahraini Hospitals

MSF Alleges Torture in Bahraini Hospitals
By Shannon June 20, 2011

The humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF, or Doctors Without Borders), alleges that Bahraini security forces regularly tortured patients at the Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) in Manama. Recently returned from Bahrain, MSF’s head of mission Jonathan Whittall reports that after security forces took control of the hospital in March, “many of the wounded with injuries that could have been sustained during the protests were taken to the sixth floor, where they were beaten three times a day.” The MSF testimony essentially describes a “torture chamber” within the hospital, providing new evidence that the crackdown has not been limited to protest leaders. Whittall says, “the hospital became a place to be feared.”

The 47 medical professionals currently on trial worked at the SMC hospital. After working with Bahraini doctors and nurses for months, MSF claims that the charges against them are groundless. Rather, Whittall says, “many of the doctors feel that they have been singled out and targeted because of their standing in society; because they spoke out against the violence, and that some worked at medical stations set up in Pearl Square during the height of the protests.” Whittall also agrees with many critics, that the recent reforms implemented by the regime have been superficial. …more