(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) expresses its grave concern over the well-being of 5 citizens of Mehazza, who have reportedly been kidnapped by the Bahraini authorities in Nov 2012 following the siege and house raids on the village (see BCHR report for more details bahrainrights.org/en/node/5536). These men were taken by the security forces without any information about their location being known for several weeks, and now they are being detained in Bahraini prisons while sham charges are being brought against them. According to received information, these men are being ill-treated, they are being tortured, and they have been denied access to adequate medical care.
Said Yousif Al-Muhafadha, Acting Vice President and Head of Monitoring at the BCHR met with the families of detainees after the men were first allowed to receive visitors. This was several weeks after they were first kidnapped by the Bahraini authorities. Al-Muhafdha received very disturbing and worrying updates from the families on the detainees’ current situation.The family of Talib Ali (36 years-old, and father of two children), who was reportedly kidnapped from his car on the 14th of November 2012, stated that Talib informed them that he was severely tortured and sexually assaulted. His family members reported that Talib was beaten with sticks all over his body, and especially in his face, they were able to see that his eyes were very red and his face was swollen.
Photo: Daughter of Talib Ali holding a poster that reads in Arabic, “State their Fate”His family stated that Talib became partially deaf in his right ear and that his right jaw is broken due to the repeated beatings that he was subjected to for 15 days. Talib informed his family that he was shocked with electric wires on his stomach, waist and his genital area. They were able to see that Talib is missing 4 finger nails. Two finger nails were reportedly removed from each hand while he was being tortured.
Talib was taken to the 7th floor at the Public Prosecution office on the 16th of November, 2012, at 1:00 AM to be interrogated by Public Prosecutor Fahad Al-Boainain. Talib stated to his family that Al-Boainain put a gun on the table and threatened to kill Talib if he did not confess to the fabricated charges against him, which allege that he participated in bombings in Adliya city; as many as 15 police officers were waiting to beat him if he did not sign the document.
Talib was deprived of his right to have a lawyer present while being interrogated and while at the public prosecution. The BCHR documented many reports on the complicity of the Public Prosecution in supporting these human rights violations.(Read more : bahrainrights.hopto.org/en/node/5357 )
Talib is now being held at Hidd Police Station in solitary confinement, where he is reportedly blind folded and handcuffed while under high security surveillance as reported by his family.
Along with Talib, Saeed Al Hirz, Ahmed Abdullah, Ebrahim Al-Sharqi, and Hassan Al-Moalim also stand accused of the same alleged crimes and their families confirmed to BCHR that they were also subjected to severe torture, with the support of the public prosecution. All of these men are in solitary confinement. Their health has deteriorated to the point that they are hallucinating, and adequate healthcare is still not being provided to them.
Based on the above, the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights demands the following:
• The immediate intervention of the international community, human rights groups and the United Nations to put an end to the arbitrary arrests and brutal torture practices employed by Bahrain’s Security Forces.
• The release of Talib Ali and others convicted in cases where the judgment is only based on confessions extracted under torture, which is internationally prohibited.
• The investigation into claims of systematic torture.
• Accountability against those involved in torture and bringing them to a fair and independent judiciary.
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