In the previous part, we tackled new details concerning what the political prisoners in Jaw Central Prison "Guantanamo" of Bahrain were subjected to during the first three days since the eruption of the incidents inside the prison on March 10th 2015.
The ministry of interior faced the prisoners' uprising in the prison in a hysterical way. It intended that its actions exceed retaliation and yet less than an attempt of murder. The aim was not to allow the prisoners to dare once more and show their refusal or protests against the humiliation and degradation exercised against them. The penalty of protesting against the policy of humiliation followed by the prison's administration is further humiliation, beatings, torture, preventing from using the restroom, being left in a cold open place for days (10 days), preventing from visits and contacts with families, not allowing to contact people outside the prison and more. In this part, we will continue the series of the central torture which has not yet ended.
March 16th: Cold Water on Bare Bodies
On March 16th, the security forces made the prisoners take off their whole clothes and stay in their underwear.
Among the prisoners were Sheikh Jassim Al-Demistani and Sheikh Ali Al-Mustarshed. Prisoners were ordered to head towards the fence (window) where they were forced to lie on their chests noting that the weather was cold. The prisoners' bare bodies felt the coldness of the ground. They shivered and thought that things would stop here.
However, they were surprised with very cold water being poured on their bare bodies amid the cold weather. Their bodies shook and trembled for some time. Prisoners felt fatigue and a drop in their body temperatures. Their bodies were in a need of water to shower after being left in the open air for six days; however, they did not need the cold water that was poured on their bodies.
What the security forces did to the prisoners was not a part of an "Ice Bucket Challenge" that was spread a year ago to raise awareness for the disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, but aimed at causing sclerosis to the prisoners' hearts and damaging them. Medical science confirms that such an action would cause a heart stroke to those who have narrow arteries or a tendency towards constriction. After their bodies froze, prisoners were ordered to wear their clothes and sit under the heat of the sun. They were ordered to do so while counting the holes in the fence and the cracks in the ground (asphalt).
This situation lasted until the afternoon. Yet, the retaliation of that day did not end. Some prisoners were ordered to dance and others were ordered to sing. Hussein Abdulghani, the arrested, was ordered to do gymnastics for half an hour and finally he was ordered to move like a snake. It was an indescribable pleasure for the mercenaries to bring out their inferiority complexes on the prisoners. None could imagine the horrible kinds of humiliations in the mercenaries' minds until the prisoners are asked to do them.
After 10 Days: Plastic Tents
The media and human rights awareness over "Jaw" prison incidents' exerted a pressure on the authorities.
However, this pressure was not enough to put an end to the retaliation and return the punished prisoners to their cells. Ten days after leaving the prisoners in the open air amid the cold weather at night, the ministry of interior brought two plastic tents and put them in the yard next to building 4. About 318 prisoners were jammed in the first
tent and 315 others in the second one, while the rest were transferred to the yard next to building 2.
At that time, prisoners were allowed to use water, shower and change their clothes under a condition that the shower time should not exceed 3 minutes to be taken once every 12 hours. Prisoners felt that this step is like being extracted from a bad-smelling swamp. This situation lasted for another five days.
After 15 Days: Limited Calls
After 15 days, amid the noise of the worried families who protested to know the fate of their sons who they lost contact with, some prisoners were allowed to make reassuring calls to their families of not more than one minute. Despite what the prisoners suffered and witnessed, they felt so happy when they were allowed to call their families. The calls did not exceed few words "I am fine". The policeman then closes the phone and returns the prisoner to its plastic tent. This was the case with the rest of the prisoners who were allowed to call their families.
April 1st: The Sand Storm
On April 1st, 2015; the night during which Bahrain witnessed a severe sand storm, the prisoners suffered from dust and sand that covered their tents in the yard of building 4. Some prisoners suffered from suffocating. Around 11 p.m., the prisoners of one of the two tents were transferred inside the prison and were jammed and locked in the T.V room. Some suffered from dyspnea as a result of inhaling amounts of dust. Two syncope cases were recorded and when the mercenaries heard about them, they opened the door and poured water on one of the unconscious prisoner and severely hit him to wake up. The same process was applied on the other unconscious prisoner. Meanwhile, prisoners of the second plastic tent were transferred to building 5 due to the increase in syncope cases and their inability to move.
April 2nd: Torture Continues
On the eve of Thursday, April 2nd, 2015, the prisoners were transferred again to the plastic tents with the continuation of the torturing and beating course besides the verbal insults. The most severe thing the prisoners witnessed and affected them was when the mercenary brought one of the prisoners who was in a pitiful situation from the third tent next to building 4. The said prisoner was fatigued and could not understand what his friends were saying. He only repeated that he is responsible for the protests and the inciter and that he broke the building. The mercenary forces were hitting him on his stomach using metal skewers while he was repeating what he was asked to say in front of the prisoners who cried when seeing him being tortured in front of their eye while they can do nothing for him.
The New Torturing Building in Jaw Prison
Jaw Central Prison consists of six buildings in addition to building 10 that was prepared to host the arrested foreigners who reside in the country as illegal. These illegal residents are called "The Free Visa". These foreigners spend a couple of days in this building before being deported.
After March 10th, the building was transferred to a special place to torture the prisoners of political backgrounds.
Prisoners were beaten and tortured in a brutal way in this building. Groans were emitted from this building and yells were heard. Calls for help echoed and prisoners of nearby buildings were able to hear them. From this
building, one can hear the torturing sound in a very clear way. Crimes were committed in building 10 and are still ongoing. Perpetrators and supervisors have to be brought accountable sooner or later.
After March 10th incidents, the human rights activist Naji Fateel, the arrested Mohammed Sarhan and Mohammed Sahwan, the activist Abdali Al-Singace, the arrested Ahmed Abbas Hilal along with other whose names have not been disclosed to the moment were tortured in this building.
Guantanamo Criminals
Bahrain Mirror could reach a number of names of those involved in torturing Jaw's prisoners in the recent incidents, whether by direct torturing or giving orders. The list has many more names and does not only include the
followings:
1. Major General Ibrahim Habib Al-Ghaith
2. Brigadier General Sheikh Khalifa bin Ahmed
3. Rehabilitation and Reform Director (Jaw Prison): Colonel Nasser Bakheet
4. First Lieutenant Hamad Al-Jowder
5. First Lieutenant Mohammed Al-Ansari
6. First Lieutenant Abdullah Essa
7. First Lieutenant Ali Hussein
8. First Lieutenant Mohammed AbdulWahab
9. Agent Force: Muhammad Salman
10. Captain Jassim Al-Mulla
11. Ahmad Al-Sanjar, of Syrian Nationality
12. Jazzaa (Al-Namla), of Syrian Nationality
13. Khaleef, of Syrian Nationality
14. Mohammed Awad, of Syrian Nationality
15. Abu Ghannam, of Syrian Nationality
16. Mesha'an, of Syrian Nationality
The aforementioned people used metal rods, batons, firearm butts, "square" wooden planks and policemen shoes in torturing the prisoners. This is not the end of Guantanamo's story for its chapters are still ongoing inside "Guantanamo" of Bahrain.
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