Bahrain Security Forces tortures Trade Unionist with MS – Bahrain Freedom Movement

26/08/2009 – 3:44 p | Hits: 3145

In a chilling personal testimony in a House of Lord’s annex, horrified listeners heard the details of how a Bahrain trade unionist suffering from Multiple Sclerosis was regularly tortured by Bahrain prison officials.

Maitham Al-Shaikh, a 32 year old married man with two children was among several people who gave personal testament of the use of torture in Bahrain at a seminar convened by the Human Rights Campaigner, Lord Avebury in London last week.

Maitham’s “crime” was to be an active trade unionist campaigning on behalf of the unemployed and a vocal opponent of the Al-Khalifa family, the Hereditary Dictatorship that rules Bahrain.

Speaking in a quiet trembling voice to a shocked audience, Maitham described how he was dragged from his family bed in Bahrain at five o’clock in the morning on 21st December and beaten severely by officials before being taken to prison in Manama.

There they hanged him from his wrists so that his feet were off the ground.

Then they beat him for hours at as time concentrating on knocking the air out of him.

After suspending him there for 24 hours, they cut him down, forcing him to stand for 6 six hours.

He was then hung up again as professional torturers entered the interrogation room holding small electric devices like a shaving machine with adjustment voltage,

High Voltage current was passed through the screaming Maitham with the guards concentrating on his chest and genitals for over three nights.

All he heard from them were repeated demands to “confess” 

On the third night of Maitham’s resistance to torture they came and threatened to rape him for not confessing.

First he was beaten on his back with large rods, them tearing off his underwear, a large stick was inserted into his body.

At that point he passed out again.

Eventually he was dragged before the public prosecutor at 3 in the morning, where the Public Prosecutor for the Capital Directorate, Ahmed Bucheery demanded his signature on a prepared confession.

Below:- The aptly named Ahmed Bucheery 

When Maitham refused to sign and asked for a lawyer, Ahmed Bucheery, told the guards to take him to a side room and beat him until he was ready to sign.

Unable to take anymore, he signed and was immediately sentenced to 5 years in prison.

Below:- Maitham (middle) giving testimony at House of Lords hearings for Bahrain’s Judicial Torture Victims.