12 April 2012
Mohammed Ahmed Al Ajmai is a victim of kidnapping which occurred in February 2012 with no regards to his medical condition. He is currently held pending investigation despite his need for an urgent surgery and delaying it is putting his health at risk.
Arrest and kidnapping
On 2 February 2012, Mohammed was stopped at the custom of Bahrain-Saudi Causeway (King Faisal causeway) while he was heading to Kuwait with some friends.
He was held in the police station on the causeway, until civilian forces arrived. They took him without warrant and without identifying themselves or explaining where he was being taken.
12 April 2012
Mohammed Ahmed Al Ajmai is a victim of kidnapping which occurred in February 2012 with no regards to his medical condition. He is currently held pending investigation despite his need for an urgent surgery and delaying it is putting his health at risk.
Arrest and kidnapping
On 2 February 2012, Mohammed was stopped at the custom of Bahrain-Saudi Causeway (King Faisal causeway) while he was heading to Kuwait with some friends.
He was held in the police station on the causeway, until civilian forces arrived. They took him without warrant and without identifying themselves or explaining where he was being taken. Not knowing his whereabouts, his family searched in several police stations, as well as the Criminal investigation department. However all stations reported not having Mohammed in their custody. His kidnapping case appeared in a local newspaper as his wife, who is also a Bahraini lawyer, calls for information about his whereabouts[1].
After 2 days, his family found out that Mohammed is at the public prosecution, and that he will be presented to Investigation judge on 4 February 2012.
Investigation and Torture
Although the Criminal Investigation Department denied having Mohammed in their custody, the family found out later that he was actually held in there after his arrest. He was subjected to physical and psychological torture. He informed his family during their first visit that he was beaten, prevented from praying and going to the toilet, handcuffed, blindfolded, verbally abused and forced to stay standing for 3 days in a very cold room until his hands and legs had blue marks. Mohammed was also threatened that if he did not confess of things he did not do, he will be subjected to severe torture. Finally, he was forced to sign those confessions while blindfolded.
He was further forced to undergo interrogation without access to a lawyer which is a right not only preserved by international human rights covenants but also by the Bahraini constitution.
Deteriorating health
Mohammed Al Ajami suffers from Asthma since 1996, which is proved in his medical report and file in Budaiya Health Center. He was accused of rioting and illegal gathering on 24 January 2012. However, on that day he had suffered from severe pain in the left side of abdominal and he has evidence of that in the form of medical reports. According to his family, he went to a private clinic on 24 January 2012 and was given an injection and pills. He was advised by the doctor to get an x-ray. The next day, his pain increased, so he went to Al Amal hospital where he was examined further. His examination showed that he has stones in his left ureter which lead to complete obstruction and affected his left ureter. On 26 January 2012, based on his doctor’s recommendation, he went to Salmaniya Medical Complex where he was given an appointment for an Intravenous urogram for 31 January 2012. After his arrest, on 9 February, his medical report was delivered from Salmaniya which confirmed the previous diagnosis. The report stated that he is in need for an urgent ureteroscopic lithotripsy surgery.
The public prosecution refused to accept the medical report of the government hospital (Salmaniya). They insisted on examining Mohamed by its forensic doctor, who claimed that the “visual inspection did not show signs or manifestations of ureteral obstruction” and recommended to examine the detainee by a specialist urologist surgeon. According to Mohamed’s lawyer the public prosecution forensic doctor didn’t conduct a thorough examination of the detainee[2] .
On 20 March the investigation judge extended the detention period to another 45 days pending investigation. He refused to listen to the detainee and rejected the repeated requests of his lawyer to release Mohamed on basis of his deteriorating health conditions and to refer the case to the court for the trial to start.
According to his family, Mohamed is still suffering and is currently depending on pain killers. He has also informed them that he is starting a hunger strike from 11 April 2012 to demand his release or start of trial.
The Bahrain authorities’ actions against Mohammed are mainly in direct and clear violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights where Article 7 states that “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Also, Article 9 states that “(1) No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. (2) Anyone who is arrested shall be informed, at the time of arrest, of the reasons for his arrest and shall be promptly informed of any charges against him.”
Based on the information above, Bahrain Center for Human Rights demands the immediate release of Mohammed Al Ajmi, considering his medical condition and his urgent need for surgery. BCHR also renews its calls to the authorities of Bahrain to respect its obligations to the human rights conventions which they have ratified.
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[1]alwasatnews.com/3437/news..[2]alwasatnews.com/3466/news..