ADHRB Weekly: Prominent Spanish MP Tabled Written Questions on Systematic Human Rights Violations in Bahrain

Prominent Spanish MP Tabled Written Questions on Systematic Human Rights Violations in Bahrain

A member of Spanish Parliament, María Gloria Elizo Serrano, tabled a written question regarding the human rights situation in the Kingdom of Bahrain, in particular the cases of death row inmates and human rights defenders. Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) welcomes this parliamentary question and thanks Deputy Serrano for bringing attention to the ongoing human rights crisis and the plight of imprisoned human rights defenders and political activists in Bahrain.

Deputy Serrano’s question is as follows (translated from Spanish):

“In accordance with the provisions of the Rules of Procedure of the House, the undersigned member of the Confederal Parliamentary Group of Unidas Podemos-En Comú Podem-Galicia en Común, submits the following questions to the Government, requesting a written answer, on the human rights situation in the Kingdom of Bahrain, in particular the cases of death row inmates and human rights defenders. (...)"

Political Prisoners Remain Incommunicado Days After Assaults by Police at Bahrain’s Central Prison

Several political prisoners at Jau Prison in Bahrain remain incommunicado and unable to contact their families after being assaulted by riot police on Saturday 17 April, who entered Building 13 and violently attacked at least 35 inmates for holding a protest against poor prison conditions, the Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB)٫and Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) stated today.
According to an eyewitness who spoke with BIRD, the attack began after prisoners from Cells 3 and 8 of Ward 2 of the building held a ‘sit-in’ in the prison corridors, refusing to return to their cells. The attack was reportedly led by senior police officers Captain Ahmed Al-Emadi and Captain Muhammad Abdul Hamid and was captured by CCTV cameras and recordings made by riot police.

As well as being beaten, several prisoners were reportedly thrown face-first onto the ground repeatedly. One detainee, Sayed Alawi Alwadaei, was knocked unconscious after suffering a deep head wound which reportedly bled profusely. Another detainee, Saeed Abdulemam was seen being carried away by police. The present condition and location of these individuals is currently unknown; family members have been unable to contact them and prison authorities have refused to divulge any information as to their whereabouts.

Read the full article here

Ali Hasan AlAradi

Ali Hasan AlAradi, a student at the Sheikh Khalifa Bin Salman Institute of Technology, was only 17 years old when he was first arrested while attending a funeral in Muharraq. Since his arrest, Ali has been transferred to various prisons and detention centers where he has sustained severe physical injuries due to torture and has been held in isolation and solitary confinement for long periods of time. To this day, Ali remains in Jau Prison, where he serves a sentence of more than fifteen years.

On 16 May 2013, civilian and military forces surrounded a funeral that Ali was attending in Muharraq. They ran after him and eventually arrested him on the roof of a house, without presenting an arrest warrant nor giving a reason for the arrest. They transported him to Hidd station. Prior to his arrest, between March and May 2013, Bahraini authorities raided Ali’s family house several times, and sent him summons and subpoenas to appear before court as well as two communications. On the evening of his arrest, officers in civilian clothing from the National Security Agency and from Hidd station, including the station’s director, raided Ali’s family home without a warrant and confiscated electronic devices belonging to Ali and his family. For two days following his arrest, Ali’s family did not know his whereabouts nor his fate, until he called them and informed them that he was being held at the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID).

Bahrain

Prominent Spanish MP Tabled Written Questions on Systematic Human Rights Violations in Bahrain

Political Prisoners Remain Incommunicado Days After Assaults by Police at Bahrain’s Central Prison

Profile in Persecution

Ali Hasan AlAradi

GCC in the Wire