(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Interior Ministry officials summoned Abdulla to the ministry's headquarters in Manama at around 11 p.m. on April 14, according to a source close to the family. His wife and his father-in-law accompanied him to the ministry. They waited there for several hours but Abdulla never emerged.
The source told Human Rights Watch that the family contacted an officer at the Interior Ministry on April 15 to inquire about the status of Abdulla and was told that he would be in custody for "a few more days." No information was provided regarding the reasons for Abdulla's arrest.
Later that day Abdulla called his wife and told her that "he was fine." The authorities allowed Abdulla's family to drop off his medications at the Criminal Investigations Directorate in Adliya on the same day, but have so far not allowed his family or his lawyer to visit him. Abdulla's family believes that authorities are currently detaining him at the Adliya police station.
Abdulla is one of at least 19 doctors arrested by authorities since March 17, at least eight of whom were arrested within the past week. Authorities arrested Dr. Kholood al-Derazi and Dr. Nayara Sarhan on April 14, and Dr. Sadeq Jaffar on April 13. Two days before that they arrested Dr. Nabeel Tammam, Dr. Nabeel Hameed, Dr. Aref Rajab, Dr. Abd al-Shaheed Fadhal, and Zahra al-Sammak. The authorities had previously detained al-Sammak on March 19. She is the wife of Dr.Ghassan Dhaif, who has been custody since March 19. Dr. Tammam and several of the other doctors arrested after March 17 have since been released.
"We have serious concerns regarding the well-being and safety of some of the detainees," said Stork. "The authorities should immediately provide information on the whereabouts of all detainees arrested since March 17 and permit them to meet with their families and lawyers."
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Bahrain ratified in 1998, requires that anyone arrested shall be promptly informed of any charges and brought before a judge or other judicial authority. A refusal of the authorities to acknowledge a person's detention or provide information on their fate or whereabouts would be an enforced disappearance.
Since March 15, Bahrain has been subject to martial law, officially labeled a state of "National Safety," that gave authorities wide powers of arrest, censorship, and prohibitions on freedom of movement and association. Even during a state of emergency, fundamental rights - such as the right to life, the right to be secure from torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, and the prohibition on discrimination - must always be respected, Human Rights Watch said.
Any restrictions on other rights during a genuine emergency must be strictly limited.
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