(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The children of detained Bahraini medics have started a hunger strike to push for their parents’ release from prison.
“I am concerned about my father's health,” said Zeinab al-Khawaja, one of the detainee's daughter.
“He was beaten when detained and his jaw was broken. They also beat him repeatedly on his jaw in court,” AFP quoted al-Khawaja as saying on Saturday.
She further added that her father has lost weight in prison and that his sugar level has dropped several times.
The doctors and nurses, who have been imprisoned for almost 6 months, have reportedly been tortured and denied adequate legal representation prompting them to start a hunger strike at the start of the week.
A number of their children have now joined, while messages under the hash tag #hungerstrike are urging more people to also start fasting for the release of the medics.
12 years Fatima H.Tublani posted “I am Fatima daughter of Dr.Hassan Tublani and I will be on Hungerstrike startimg tomorrow supporting my father and the rest of the Docs.”
On Thursday Bahraini media claimed that Amnesty International called on protesters not to use their children for political gains. Amnesty has since issued a statement denying the claims.
The government and its supporters should be shamed that kids are starting at hunger strikes asking for the release of their innocent parents.
In an statement Alwefaq said showed deeply concern about the deteriorating health conditions of medics & other prisoners of conscience in custody.
The “Front Line for Human rights” organization deputy in Ireland, Andrew Anderson said in an interview that Irish medical delegation which visited Bahrain recently confirmed that the doctors and nurses were subjected to torture in Bahraini prisons, describing the arrest of such a large number of doctors and medical staff as horrific.
Andrew Anderson added “The arrest of such a large number of doctors and nurses has not happened in any country in the world, this is horrific in Bahrain”, stressing that the medical staff do not threaten security in Bahrain and there is no reason for their continued presence in prison.
In February, massive protests broke out in Bahrain, with people taking to the streets and calling for a constitutional monarchy -- a demand that later turned into calls for the ouster of the monarchy.
In mid-March, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates deployed military forces to Bahrain to assist the government in its crackdown on the popular protests.
Scores of protesters have been killed -- many under torture -- and numerous others have been detained and transferred to unknown locations during the regime's crackdown.
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