Appalling Bahraini Prison Conditions and Treatment

Appalling Bahraini Prison Conditions and Treatment
by Stephen Lendman, 01 January, 2012

Since early 2011, Washington, Western governments, and major media scoundrels largely ignored outrageous Al Khalifa monarchy abuses. They include crackdowns on nonviolent protesters, mass arrests, torture, intimidation, and cold-blooded murder.

The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) and other NGOs documented:

• 46 killings;
• 1,500 arbitrary arrest cases;
• 1,866 torture and abuse cases;
• 500 prisoners of conscience;
• destruction of over 40 mosques and other places of worship;
• 4.000 summary firings of workers suspected of having unsympathetic regime views;
• 500 individuals forced into exile for their safety;
• three innocent men on death row;
• 477 students expelled for supporting democratic change; and 96 targeted journalists.

Ruthless repression continues. In September, special military tribunals lawlessly sentenced 208 civilians to a combined 2,500 years in prison. Twenty doctors got up to 15 years for treating injured protesters.

Arrests continue daily. Violence is extreme. Victims of state atrocities seek help getting redress.

On December 22, BCHR reported receiving “appalling information about (conditions) at Bahrain Central (Jaw) Prison, and infringing the standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners by the United Nations.”

Human rights activists accuse Bahraini authorities, and Saudis helping them, of crimes against humanity. A European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights submitted a report saying:

“We believe that there are sufficient grounds (on two cases they addressed to accuse authorities of a) pattern of crimes that might amount to crimes against humanity.

Cairo Institute of Human Rights Studies director Eldin-Hassan told the UN Human Rights Council’s 18th Session that “crimes against humanity….in Bahrain and Yemen (have) been swept under the rug.”

Clear evidence proves it. BCHR’s report documented violations of the “right to life, freedom from torture, arbitrary arrest and forced disappearance, freedom of opinion and expression, assembly and association, freedom of thought, conscience and religion, and the right to a fair trial.” …more