The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) urgently calls on Bahraini authorities to address the deteriorating situation of four underage political detainees—Ali Yousif, Hassan Masoud, Ahmed Abdul Latif, and Ali Reza Mashakheel—currently held in Building 17 of Dry Dock Prison. These children, aged between 16 and 17, have launched a hunger strike to protest their prolonged arbitrary detention, which has exceeded three months in some cases without trial, charges, or access to justice.
The hunger strike comes in response to:
- The refusal of authorities to either release or prosecute them, leaving them in legal limbo.
- Denial of basic rights, including the right to education and family contact.
- Their ongoing mistreatment and inhumane detention conditions.
Multiple credible sources confirm that the four children were subjected to severe physical torture during interrogation, in violation of international law. The visible signs of abuse, particularly on the face of Hassan Masoud, indicate the intensity of physical harm inflicted upon them. Such acts are not only morally reprehensible but constitute clear breaches of Bahrain’s obligations under the Convention Against Torture and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), to which Bahrain is a State Party.
Moreover, their prolonged pre-trial detention contradicts both Bahraini national law and international standards of juvenile justice, which require that detention of minors be used only as a last resort and for the shortest period of time.
The children are demanding:
- Immediate release, or at the very least, an expedited and fair trial.
- Access to education and the ability to complete their studies.
- Medical attention, psychological support, and protection from further abuse.
Despite repeated calls from local and international rights organizations, the Bahraini authorities have failed to take any visible steps toward safeguarding the rights of these children or ensuring accountability for those responsible for their torture and illegal detention.
BCHR Quote:
“The use of arbitrary detention and torture against children is a stain on Bahrain’s justice system. These are not criminals—they are students, sons, and victims of a system that punishes the future to silence the present. Bahrain cannot claim reform while its prisons hold children in solitary suffering.”
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights calls on the international community, including UN Special Rapporteurs on Torture and on the Rights of the Child, to intervene and demand:
- The immediate release of the four minors or the initiation of transparent, fair, and prompt judicial procedures.
- An independent investigation into allegations of torture, with full accountability for perpetrators.
- Immediate access to education, healthcare, and family communication.
- Provision of psychosocial support and rehabilitation for the children.
- Legislative reforms to end the prosecution and detention of minors in political cases.
These children should not have to starve to be seen. Their strike is an act of desperation—but also a powerful reminder of the cost of silence. Their voices must be heard, and their rights must be restored.