http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=153541&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=29157
By KANWAL TARIQ HAMEED
Published: 24 August 2006
A BAHRAINI political group is appealing to the United Nations (UN) to support calls to release 19 men arrested following clashes between protesters and police in March.
The suspects have been held in custody for five months, but are still waiting for a court verdict.
It follows claims by the men’s relatives that they have been subjected to physical and verbal abuse in custody after participating in a hunger strike to protest their continued detention last week.
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Story.asp?Article=153541&Sn=BNEW&IssueID=29157
By KANWAL TARIQ HAMEED
Published: 24 August 2006
A BAHRAINI political group is appealing to the United Nations (UN) to support calls to release 19 men arrested following clashes between protesters and police in March.
The suspects have been held in custody for five months, but are still waiting for a court verdict.
It follows claims by the men’s relatives that they have been subjected to physical and verbal abuse in custody after participating in a hunger strike to protest their continued detention last week.
Now the Haq Movement of Liberties and Democracy has appealed to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) working group on arbitrary detention, Special Rapporteurs on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, the commission on human rights on freedom of religion or belief and the special UN representative for the protection of human rights defenders to support calls for their release.
The group says that relatives claimed the prisoners, four of whom are under 18 years old, were beaten “on all parts of their bodies” with rubber batons. The hunger strike was held after the defendants’ most recent court hearing on August 15, during which their case was adjourned for another month.
They are being detained in connection with clashes at Al Dana Mall on March 10, when protesters rushed into the mall’s hypermarket, restaurant kitchens and shops pursued by riot police during a demonstration.
The demonstration demanded the release of people jailed for an “illegal” protest at Bahrain International Airport on December 25 last year, and others detained since for protesting in support of them.
Two of the 19 are accused of assaulting a security official during the clashes and are reportedly being held in isolation, while the other 17 are being charged with participating in an unlicensed gathering.
According to Haq, following the hunger strike the detainees were “paraded barefooted and without proper clothing in the open in the heat of the summer sun”, beaten “with rubberised sticks on all parts of the bodies” and “threatened with severe retribution if the news of such treatment was leaked to their families and the rest of the world”.
“After visiting them, families have been describing such scenes as horrific and reported that some of their beloved sons were limping and looking bad, indicating that they have been the subjected to repeated attacks,” says the group’s appeal.
It also claims that family members have received threats in response to demonstrations held in Riffa calling for their relatives’ release.
“This is an urgent call for intervention for the safety and well-being of the prisoners of conscience in Bahrain,” says Haq, which describes the detainees as being imprisoned “for political reasons”.
“We call upon your support for the immediate release of these detainees of conscience and call on the Bahraini authorities to stop targeting activists.”
Meanwhile, in a joint letter from the detainees released by the now-dissolved Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR), defendants described court proceedings as a “mock trial” and claimed they were herded into the police station’s courtyard, beaten and harassed for going on hunger strike.
The letter was forwarded to the BCHR by a relative of a detainee.
Personal
It also claimed they were separated from each other, prevented from speaking with family members, had their personal possessions – including blankets – taken away from them and denied immediate medical treatment when needed.
The hunger strike was called off after guards agreed to return conditions to as they were before the strike, according to the letter.
“The BCHR calls for an investigation into claims of beating and mistreatment of the detainees,” said the Centre in a statement.
“The investigation has to be done and supervised by an independent entity, which must secure the safety of the prisoners should they choose to convey any information relating to any mistreatment.”
It also reiterated a call for the 17 detainees not accused of any violent activity to be released and for the remaining two who are accused of assaulting a security official to be released on bail because of lack of evidence in trial proceedings.
© Gulf Daily News