Bahraini female detainees speak out about painful ordeal behind bars

AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): Bahraini female detainees Hajer Mansoor and Medina Ali have been speaking out about their painful ordeal behind bars and the systematic abuses that they have been subjected to.

The two were subjected to sham trials and brutal torture following their arrest in 2017. They are currently housed in Bahrain’s Isa Town Women’s Detention Centre.

In a letter published by Ms. Magazine, Mansoor says she has “committed no crime” but was jailed over the activism of her son-in-law and exiled Bahraini human rights defender, Sayed Ahmed AlWadaei.

“I was convicted, along with my son and nephew, without any evidence—but instead with confessions extracted from us under torture,” she added.

Meanwhile, Medina Ali described the constant humiliation they suffer at the hands of prison authorities due to their political status.

“They confiscate our religious texts, isolate us from other inmates, monitor our phone calls and refuse us urgent medical care,” Ali explained.

The two women have only seen their children once over the past year as a result of restrictions on family visits.

“The prison authorities have installed a glass barrier during visits, preventing any physical contact,” Ali added. “To be forced to speak to your child through a pane of glass, unable to hold or comfort them, is too painful to bear, and prevents us from seeing our families.”

She also blasted Manama’s Western allies for turning “a blind eye” to rights abuses in the Persian Gulf kingdom.

“As long as the U.S. and U.K. have a place to sell their guns and moor their warships, they are content for a repressive state to do what they like to their citizens. We urge you to raise our plight with your representatives and let them know that you won’t tolerate their silence,” Ali said.

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