Bahrain: Torture and repression at unprecedented scale – Bahrain Freedom Movement

Zuhair Makki Abdulla Khalaf is a 16 years old Bahraini youth, but he looked much more drained for his age when he appeared at a kangaroo court on 30th April. He exhibited all signs of extreme forms of torture, including beating, electric shocks and deprivation of sleep.

 Nine other young men were paraded in front of the court, presided over by one of the Al Khalifa stooges, who refused to cooperate with the lawyers who asked him to set the Bahrainis free. The nine are: Mahmood Mohammad Mansoor, 27, Ali Makki Radhi Abdul Hussain, 26, Hassan Ahmad Jum’a, 20, Ali Mohammad Abdulla Khalaf, 18, Faisal Sayyed Mohammad Saleh Salman, 18 and Sayyed Ahmad Aqeel Al Sari, 18. They are being held hostage by the Al Khalifa tribal regime for taking part in protest against the continued oppression of this antiquated regime. The youth are from the village of Sar which has been a target for the regime’s policy of ethnic engineering through a massive settlement programme that aims at eradicating the cultural and human face of the village. The lawyers asked for their immediate release, but that was refused. They asked the “judge” to allow the prisoners to prepare and set for end of year examination and examine them to reveal the extent of torture they had been subjected to. They had been arrested last month following a peaceful protest against the continued repression against a young religious leader, Sayyed Ageel Al Sari for his anti-regime stands. They were attacked by the foreign-staffed riot police and Death Squads, using rubber bullets, chemical and tear gases.

Earlier, two Bahrainis were presented to the court for taking part in a peaceful protes. Abbas Ali Mohammad, 41 and Jamil Abdulla Abdul Karim, 37, both from Sar village. They were standing outside their houses when the Death Squads carried out a vicious attack against anyone in the street. The regime was nervous at the time as its flagship Formula 1 race was underway, and would not tolerate any open dissent that could be seen by foreigners.

Another group of Bahrainis have also been arrested and tortured for political motives. Hassan RAdhi Hassan Al Baqqali, 20, from Jidhafs was arrested on 2nd April, Hussain Ali Mansoor Al Bash, 17 was arrested on 7th April, Saeed Khamis Yousif Marzooq, 16, from Jidhafs was also arrested on 7th April and Ali Abdullah Sa’ad Ahmad, 23, from Jidhafs was arrested on 8th April. Their families have described in graphic details the extent of torture inflicted on these innocent young Bahrainis at the hands of the Death Squads who are becoming more ruthless.

In the past two days several Bahrainis have been detained by the ruthless Al Khalifa torturers. Taher Mohammad Taher Al Ghanmi, 18 from Bani Jamra was arrested in the early hours of this morning and taken to the Prosecution department.   The list of Bani Jamra detainees is extending by the day. Among them are: Naji Fateel, Hussain Shakar, Isa Sarh, Ibrahim Arab and Jaffar Moosa.

In another dangerous development, Sheikh Hamad’s shura council has rubber-stamped the draconian press law that makes it a crime to possess anti-regime leaflets. Since it was drafted five years ago, the Press Law has been subjected to attacks from international organisations for its lack of respect to human rights. The Al Khalifa have now resorted to a new trick; leave the journalists form prosecution for what they write, but legalise the persecution of the Bahrainis for anti-regime activities including the possession of political leaflets and books. It is one of the most draconian laws ever imposed on the people. The approval coincides also with the approval of the “Molotov” law that criminalises the possession and the use of the Molotov cocktail bottles. It is a move intended to frighten the Bahrainis into submission to the Al Khalifa hereditary dictatorship. Since Sheikh Hamad rose to power, he has sought to “legalise” his family’s criminal acts against the people of Bahrain, using tricks, money and co-option as tools to facilitate these measures.