A serious case of torture has surfaced yesterday after a citizen was transferred to hospital for immediate treatment. On Friday morning (13^th November) Mr Hassan Abdul Amir Radhi, from Al Ma’aamir town was taken from his torture cell to the Accident and Emergency department at the Salmaniya Hospital after his condition had deteriorated due to the extensive use of torture, used against him over the past 36 hours since his arrest on Wednesday night (11^th November). He was taken to A&E bare-chested, with only a pair of trousers. He apparently suffered enormous injuries in his chest and he was suffering immensely during the transfer. The ruler, Sheikh Hamad, had institutionalized torture as a weapon against his opponents, by issuing the notorious Decree 56/2002 that offered impunity to torturers. Despite repeated calls from the Committee overseeing the implementation of the Convention Against Torture (CAT), to repeal this decree, he has adamantly refused to do so.

The arrest and torture of this young Bahraini has come amid continuing unrest in preparation for the forthcoming Day of the Martyrs on 17^th December. Yesterday, there were clashes in Karbabad, between Bahrainis and the Death Squads, that are managed by the royal court. In the early hours of Sunday, the people had demonstrated against the regime only to be attacked by the heavily armed squads, supported by riot police. On Saturday, the Jidhafs market was scene to several fires started by demonstrators as they protested against the continued repression by the ruling family. The youth used stones and Molotov cocktail to stop the Death Squads and riot police attacking their areas. More troops were dispatched to the area to contain the skirmishes that continued until the early hours of the morning. Subsequently, the District of Mawazan was bombarded with chemical and tear gas. The neighbouring Al Jamma district was also targeted for no clear reason. The day before, Bani Jamra. It was a sad scene to see the youth attending to a young Bahraini who was seriously injured with a rubber bullet fired by the attackers. Several people experienced respiratory problems as they fought off the aggressive forces who mercilessly attacked their homes. Images of the canisters containing prohibited substances were placed on the electronic websites in a cry for help by the Bahrainis. There were persistent sound of gun fire as the foreign mercenaries attempted to break the will of the Bahrainis especially after their homes were targeted. Some youth came out of their cars to join the resistance to the Al Khalifa occupation, which is gathering momentum.

Meanwhile the well-known liberal writer, Ali Saleh, has been sanctioned by the authorities because of his neutral writings and commentaries. The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), has viewed this as further evidence of the ever-shrinking freedom of expression. In its statement, the BCHR said: “The BCHR has learned that Mr. Ali Saleh, a journalist and columnist, was suspended from writing in Albilad newspaper (www.albiladpress.com) since his last column scheduled for Wednesday October 15th. Mr. Saleh noticed that his column was not published as planned, so he approached the officials at Albilad newspaper enquiring about his article. He was advised that based on orders from "High level Authorities", he has been "indefinitely suspended" from writing.”

In recognition of its role, the Director of BCHR, Mr Nabil Rajab, has been appointed as a member of the Advisory Board of the Washington-base human rights watchdog “Human Rights Watch”. This is a boost to human rights activists who have been randomly targeted with various means. Among the worst tools of deception in this field is the creation of an official body to defend the black reputation of the regime in this area. The ruler, not his half-elected council, has ordered the creation of this new body “the National Organisation of Human Rights” in the face of mounting criticism of its black records. While it has been hailed by the government’s media as a step forward, human rights activists view it as yet another attempt to nationalized human rights work to prevent any criticism of the ruling family whose members have been engaged in serious human rights violations, among them Abdul Aziz Atiyyat Allah Al Khalifa, and the defunct, Abdul Rahman bin Saqer Al Khalifa and others.

Bahrain Freedom Movement

16^th November 2009