New martyrs in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia as AI reports first water-boarding claim

A young Bahraini youth has been martyred while receiving treatment at hospital. Jaffar Ahmad Al Durazi passed away today after he was left without care following numerous sessions of severe torture. He was arrested in January with a group of youth who had been active in the pro-democracy movement. While in police custody, they were all subjected to extreme forms of torture including sexual abuse, electrocution and beating. They were then transferred to Rafaa police station to recuperate from their horrific injuries before their trial. But Jaffar’s conditions deteriorated as he was suffering from sickle cell blood disorder. He was transferred to the military-run Salmaniya Hospital where he was ill-treated further and denied proper medical care. He passed away in the early hours of this morning.

A kangaroo court run by the ruling Alkhalifa family has ordered the detention for one more week of a juvenile. Mahdi Ali Jaffar Shuja’a, 11, has been ordered to stay behind bars for one more week in revenge for joining a peaceful demonstration calling for democratic rights.

At the Awwamiyah Town of Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia two people were martyred by police on Thursday 20th February. Heavily-armed thugs of the Al Saud regime attacked the town and raided houses. Although he raised his white shirt to indicate his submission, Hussain Ali Al Faraj was hit with live bullets and died instantly. Shortly afterwards another house was raided and Ali Ahmed Al Faraj was also hit with live bullets which killed him on the spot. This criminal behaviour has enraged the people and pushed many of them to chant anti-regime slogans during the funerals of the martyrs.

On Sunday 23rd February, the people who were sitting in mourning at a congregation hall at Saar Town were bombarded with large amounts of chemical and tear gases. An armoured vehicle manned by members of Alkhalifa Death Squads targeted the audience at the town congregation hall as they took part in mourning the late pro-democracy journalist, Sayyed Ali Al Mousawi. A video showing the horrific crime was posted on the internet. In such circumstances (ie when there is irrefutable evidence of an Alkhalifa crime against the people) the regime would always promise to investigate, but none of the perpetrators of the crimes has ever been charged).

The Alkhalifa court has extended the illegal detention of three orators for unspecified periods for chanting pro-democracy slogans at one of the demonstrations. Lawyer Yousuf Rabi’e said that his clients; Abdul Jabbar Al Durazi, Mohammad Jaber Al Durazi and Poet Mohammad Al Yousuf were detained for 38 more days in the absence of their lawyer.  An elderly citizen, Hajji Majeed, also known Hajji Sumood (steadfast) is among those detained for taking part in peaceful demonstrations. Al Wefaq Society described these harsh sentences against Bahrainis as revenge and unethical exploitation of power. Bahrain’s jails are overcrowded with more than 3000 political prisoners.

On 20th February, Amnesty International issued an Urgent Action about a young Bahraini prisoner of conscience. It said that Ahmed Mohammad Saleh al-Arab saw his family for the first time on 10 February, a month after he was arrested, and again on 18 February. During the visits Ahmed al-Arab told his family that he was still suffering the effects of shoulder injuries, especially on his right side, which he said he had sustained as a result of severe beatings at the National Security Agency headquarters in the capital, Manama, and being hung from his wrists while they were twisted behind his back and handcuffed. He also told his family he had numbness in his hands and a tooth which was broken during the beating was bleeding every day. He said he had not received any medical attention for any of his injuries. He told his family that he had been severely beaten, on his genitals and elsewhere, at the National Security Agency and a detention facility in Riffa. He also said he had h ad his face covered with a cloth and water poured over it to make him feel as if he was drowning; he was threatened with having his nails pulled out and being raped. He was also made to sign papers while blindfolded but did not know what they were. During their first visit, the family saw that Ahmed al-Arab had scars on his face, black marks around his wrists and a broken tooth. Amnesty called on the regime to provide Mr Al Arab with urgently needed medical care, stop torturing him and allowing him access to his lawyer.

Bahrain Freedom Movement
26th February 2014