RELATIVES of inmates at Bahrain’s central prison were turned away yesterday after showing up to demand access.
Visits to Jaw Prison have been suspended following the launch of a hunger strike just over a week ago.
Families are demanding information about the inmates’ health, but authorities have remained tight-lipped on the situation – saying only that police had to use force to bring unruly prisoners under control last week.
RELATIVES of inmates at Bahrain’s central prison were turned away yesterday after showing up to demand access.
Visits to Jaw Prison have been suspended following the launch of a hunger strike just over a week ago.
Families are demanding information about the inmates’ health, but authorities have remained tight-lipped on the situation – saying only that police had to use force to bring unruly prisoners under control last week.
A rights group claimed on Thursday that the hunger strike was continuing, with inmates understood to have made a number of demands – including access to personal items such as razors, extended exercise time and cell doors to be left open until midnight.
The Interior Ministry previously branded the demands “illegal”, while a ministry official told the GDN yesterday that the hunger strike was over.
However, they added defiant inmates were being punished by having their visitation rights revoked, among other things.
Refused
“I came with two other families to visit our loved ones and check on their well-being, but prison management wouldn’t allow us to do so,” said Ali Sarhan, from Ma’meer, who showed up at the prison with his wife and 12-year-old daughter to visit his son Isa.
“They even refused to discuss the matter further and told me to leave, saying that Isa was unavailable for visitation.
“No-one should ever be in my shoes and even if my son is an inmate, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t know how he is.
“Everyone who has a son in there is worried and it is time that someone allowed us to see them, because we won’t stop our daily visits to the prison until they do so.”
Families of some inmates staged a demonstration in Naim village last Friday demanding access to their relatives.
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