On 18 August 2023 Brian Dooley posted for Human Rights First about the new crisis in Bahrain‘s prisons as at least 500 prisoners are on hunger strike refusing food in protest at their detention conditions. Among those denied the care they need are prominent rights activists Abdulhadi Al Khawaja, Abduljalil Al Singace, and Hassan Mushaima, who have been jailed since their peaceful protests in 2011. On 15 August 2023, human rights defender Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja was denied a prearranged video call with his daughter days after he was rushed to the intensive care unit where doctors declared his life was in danger. Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja is at imminent danger of losing his life since he has started a water-only hunger strike on 9 August 2023. [see: https://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/laureates/4d45e316-c636-4d02-852d-7bfc2b08b78d]
Bahrain’s main prison, Jau, currently holds an estimated 1300 prisoners, around half of whom are on a hunger strike. The current crisis could have been easily avoided – if Bahrain’s government had shown an iota of wisdom, it would have released those unjustly jailed years ago, and given all those who need medical treatment adequate care.
See also: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/tag/bahrain/
It’s another mishandling of a situation that now threatens to spiral dangerously out of control. In March 2015 there was a prison riot at Jau. HRF predicted that the poor conditions, overcrowding, and poor medical care would erupt into large-scale disturbances, and they did.
I spoke to several former inmates of Jau last night. One recently released prisoner said “This frustration in the prison has to go somewhere, it’s been building for so long. The situation is getting worse every day with more and more prisoners joining the protest. Some have already collapsed.”
Some prisoners began refusing food on August 7, and many more have since joined the protest. International attention is starting to turn towards Jau. Yesterday I joined others in an overnight protest outside the Bahrain embassy in London, praying for those prisoners in urgent need of medical care.
But if any of the hundreds of prisoners on the hunger protest die, the consequences of Bahrain’s failure to resolve the crisis could be catastrophic, with unrest spilling onto the streets. The authorities in Bahrain need to act fast to prevent a similar outcome to 2015, when they responded to prison unrest by torturing and ill-treating dozens of detainees. Better to make the smart move now, grant the prisoners’ basic demands including proper health care, and avert another disaster.
Among those in most acute danger are the leading rights activists. Human Rights First joined other NGOs this week urging the State Department to use its considerable influence with Bahrain to press for a speedy and humane resolution to the crisis.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/aug/18/bahraini-prisoners-hunger-strike-conditions
This post was originally published on Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards.
