Appalling Bahraini Prison Conditions and Treatment - by Stephen Lendman
Daily human rights abuses continue as Washington winks and nods approval.
Since early 2011, Washington, Western governments, and major media scoundrels largely ignored outrageous Al Khalifa monarchy abuses. They include crackdowns on nonviolent protesters, mass arrests, torture, intimidation, and cold-blooded murder.
The Bahrain Center for Human Rights (BCHR) and other NGOs documented:
- 46 killings;
- 1,500 arbitrary arrest cases;
- 1,866 torture and abuse cases;
- 500 prisoners of conscience;
- destruction of over 40 mosques and other places of worship;
- 4,000 summary firings of workers suspected of having unsympathetic regime views;
- 500 individuals forced into exile for their safety;
- three innocent men on death row;
- 477 students expelled for supporting democratic change; and 96 targeted journalists.
Ruthless repression continues. In September, special military tribunals lawlessly sentenced 208 civilians to a combined 2,500 years in prison. Twenty doctors got up to 15 years for treating injured protesters.
Arrests continue daily. Violence is extreme. Victims of state atrocities seek help getting redress.
On December 22, BCHR reported receiving "appalling information about (conditions) at Bahrain Central (Jaw) Prison, and infringing the standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners by the United Nations."
