Sami Jaafar Abbas AlShaikh was a 21-year-old university student and accountant when he was first arrested by authorities during an ambush in Ma’ameer in January 2019 and again in December 2019. In both cases, Sami’s convictions were based upon weak evidence and false confessions extracted through torture. Since his arrests, Sami’s health has greatly deteriorated due to his contraction of COVID-19 and subsequent medical negligence on behalf of prison authorities. He is currently held in Jau Prison.

On 29 January 2019, officers in civilian clothing and riot police surrounded and arrested Sami in the Ma’ameer industrial area without presenting an arrest warrant nor giving a reason for the arrest. From the moment of his arrest, officers beat and tortured Sami, passing by the fire station, the civil defense building, and finally reaching the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID). Sami arrived at the CID almost completely naked as his clothes had been torn from all the beating he was subjected to.

For the first two days of his arrest, Sami was disappeared as authorities refused to disclose his location to his family and he was unable to contact them. For 14 days after his arrest, CID officers interrogated Sami without a lawyer and tortured him to extract a confession. The officers punched him, beat and kicked him in sensitive areas, forced him to stand for long periods of time, and threatened to assault his wife if he denied the charges made against him before the Public Prosecution Office (PPO). Sami confessed to the charges when officers threatened to bring in his wife.

Sami was only able to meet his family around one month after his arrest and on 14 April 2019, he was charged with harboring individuals who are wanted in political cases and was sentenced to one year in prison. However, he was released before completing his sentence, on 15 May 2019, as the execution of the judgment was suspended.

Almost seven months later, on 4 December 2019 at 2:00 p.m., Sami received a summon accusing him of being a fugitive and notifying him that he has a court hearing on the same day at 10:00 a.m., which he missed as the summon arrived too late. He later received another summon to attend a court hearing on 15 December 2019. During the hearing, Sami was charged with 1) arson, 2) illegal assembly and use of violence, and 3) possession of flammable canisters (Molotov cocktails). On that day, the Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs issued an arrest warrant and Sami was taken to pre-trial detention directly from court. Around two months later, he was convicted and sentenced to three years in Jau Prison despite the fact that the detainee who gave Sami’s name up revealed that he was pressured by the authorities to do so and despite the fact that Sami presented a medical certificate proving that at the time of the alleged crimes, he was confined to the house due to a surgery he underwent after a ligament injury. Sami was able to meet with his family 14 days after his second arrest.

On 23 March 2021, Sami’s wife received a phone call from a public health employee informing her that Sami tested positive for COVID-19 and, seemingly unaware that he was a prisoner, asked her about the people with whom he had contact. The employee hung up the phone as soon as she informed him that Sami is a prisoner. Following this news, Sami’s wife repeatedly called the prison administration to check up on her husband; however, the employee first denied the news of his infection and then told her that if he was dead, the Health Ministry would call her and tell her he is dead. Following that, the administration stopped answering the family’s calls and they were only able to track whether Sami was still infected through the Ministry of Health online service.

Sami’s family was first able to call him five days after finding out about his infection, for four minutes and under surveillance. He informed them that he was taken to medical isolation where he shares a cell with seven other prisoners, the only medicine they receive is Panadol,  and they are not allowed to go out to the yard and have to stay in their room for 24 hours a day. Before the COVID-19 outbreak inside Jau Prison, prisoners were not provided with any masks or sanitary products other than soap. On 6 April 2021, Sami called his family and told them that because the police station had lost his bank card, his clothes had not been changed for over a week as he could not buy new ones.

During another call on 16 April 2021, Sami informed his family that his clothes had still not been changed, which means that at the time, he had been in the same clothes for 26 consecutive days. Sami has reportedly started to develop signs of skin allergies and disease. On the last call they had with him, on 23 April 2021, Sami told his family that for the last 24 hours, air conditioning in his cell had been so weak that he was having trouble breathing and that, despite complaining to an officer, no action had yet been taken in this regard. Although Sami has been given a new bank card, as of 30 April, he still has not received clean clothing.

The Bahraini authorities’ actions against Sami, from his arrests, his torture and coerced confession to his deprivation of a fair trial, as well as lack of proper medical and hygienic care in prison, all constitute violations of Bahrain’s obligations under international law, namely the Convention Against Torture (CAT), the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). ADHRB calls upon the Bahraini authorities to drop all convictions through unfair trial, grant Sami a retrial respecting international judicial and evidentiary standards, and investigate claims of torture and inhumane treatment and hold prison officials accountable. Furthermore, ADHRB urges the authorities to provide Sami with adequate medical and health care and to respect basic standards of hygiene and sanitation.

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Mohsen Ebrahim AlMajed, unemployed, was 27 years old when he was arrested in Isa Town. Since his arrest, Mohsen has been subjected to torture and medical negligence which affected his health. Until today, the conditions behind his deteriorating health are still unknown. He is currently held at Jau Prison.

On 14 December 2014, officers in civilian clothing and officers from the Ministry of Interior arrested Mohsen at a house in Isa Town after the Intelligence Services tracked and followed him. They did not send him an arrest warrant or inform him of the judgments issued against him, and they failed to mention the reasons behind his arrest when it took place. During his arrest, Mohsen was subjected to torture and beating.

While detained, Mohsen was forcibly disappeared for 9 days. Later, his family found out he was at the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID). At the CID in Adliya, Mohsen was subjected to different forms of torture. He was undressed and hung by his legs, beaten with a board of firewood with nails, whips, and batons, burnt with cigarette buds, threatened with electrocution, sexual assault, and rape, forced to stand for long hours, and deprived of sleep and use of the bathroom. On 17 December 2014, he was taken to the Public Prosecutor’s Office (PPO) where he was blackmailed into signing the case papers. On 24 December 2014, he was taken to a medical examination at Al Qala’ Hospital clinic where it was found that he sustained injuries from shotgun pellets in his leg, in addition to suffering from a broken right ear, epilepsy, delirium, and traces of nail holes and cigarette burns on his body. On the same day, he was also finally able to meet his family.

The Intelligence Services, the PPO, and the judge interrogated Mohsen for more than 10 hours, without the presence of a lawyer. The torture methods were used to force a confession out of him to the crimes he was charged with. Mohsen was convicted in a number of cases. He was sentenced to 1) 15 years for the attempted murder of a police officer, bombing, possession and acquiring of fireworks, and intentional destruction of property; 2) life imprisonment, a fine of 200,000 Bahraini Dinars, and revocation of his citizenship for the intentional murder of Jordanian Corporal Ali Mohamed Ali, using explosives that led to the death of a police officer, possession, acquiring and manufacturing fireworks and explosive canisters, illegal assembly, and rioting, and joining and collecting funds for a terrorist group, causing an explosion for terrorist purposes; 3) two years for illegal assembly and rioting; 4) 10 years for the possession of explosives produced locally; and 5) 5 years for collecting money during religious occasions to destabilize security, and for terrorizing and sabotaging. On 21 April 2019, Mohsen’s citizenship was reinstated through a royal pardon.

In prison, Mohsen’s health has deteriorated, and he also faces discrimination on the basis of his Shiite religious beliefs. Mohsen’s teeth have fallen out because of medical negligence. In this regard, his family submitted many complaints to the Ombudsman but to no avail. They also filed complaints to the National Institute for Human Rights, but no action was taken. On 18 March 2021, Mohsen was taken to the military hospital because he was prescribed medications unsuited for his condition. He entered into a coma for the first three days of his stay and was only able to contact his family to inform them on 23 March. Mohsen was supposed to be transferred from the hospital on 1 April, but his condition worsened as he experienced a high temperature and body spasms. The causes for the continued deterioration in his health are still unknown to his family even though he has undergone multiple tests. As of 25 April 2021, Mohsen had completed 37 days in the military hospital where he is being subjected to further medical negligence amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

The practices of the Bahraini authorities against Mohsen are blatant violations of international legal conventions which Bahrain is a party to, such as the  the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Therefore, ADHRB calls upon Bahrain to uphold its obligations by dropping the unfounded charges against Mohsen and to investigate the allegations of torture and medical negligence in order to hold the perpetrators accountable for their actions. ADHRB also urges authorities to provide Mohsen with the appropriate medical treatment and follow up on the complaints submitted by his family.

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Mohsen Ali Baddaw, a Bahraini graduate from the Bahrain Training Institute, was only 24 years old when authorities arrested him from his fiancee’s house in 2015. He was tortured and convicted of multiple terrorism-related charges through unfair trials conducted in absentia or using confessions produced under torture. 

On 2 April 2015, the house was surrounded by police cars, and a huge number of police officers, Commandos forces, civilian officers, and state security officers were all over the area. Mohsen was with his sister on the line at that time and heard the police officers through the phone. He went to the window and saw the officers, so  he tried to escape but was caught and beaten. Mohsen was warrantlessly arrested and placed in a police car.

Before Mohsen’s arrest, his home was raided by Bahraini forces several times, and summons were sent for him to appear before the relevant authorities. He was convicted in several cases, many of which were not communicated to him. Mohsen was wanted before the arrest but did not have  information about all the rulings and charges against him.

After his arrest, Mohsen was able to call his family and inform them that he was at the investigation building. However, he was forcibly disappeared for the 15 days which followed. During the interrogation at the CID in Adliya, Mohsen was subjected to different forms of torture, causing him to faint and be transferred to the military hospital on the first night of the interrogation. He was insulted, verbally abused, and severely beaten. The interrogation lasted 2 weeks, and his lawyer was not allowed to be present. Mohsen confessed under torture, and the confession was used against him in trials held after his arrest. When his family visited a month and a half after his arrest, they noticed bruises and marks on Mohsen’s body, but he did not tell them anything. 

Mohsen was convicted in more cases after his arrest, and the total of his sentences has reached 4 life sentences (130 years)  on charges related to illegal assembly, possession of explosive materials, assault of a public official, detonation of a bomb, among others. He was brought before a judge several months after his arrest. During the court sessions he attended, he was not allowed to provide evidence and could only insist that he is innocent.

The outbreak of Coronavirus in Jau Prison, where Mohsen is currently held, has raised much concern among prisoners and their families. Mohsen had faced multiple health-related issues due to the unsanitary and overcrowded conditions in prison, such as contracting scabies and the spread of allergies on his leg in 2019. Despite repeated requests from the family to provide him with medical care, Mohsen suffered for more than 6 months without any treatment. Additionally, the torture he was subjected to during the events of Jau Prison in 2015 left him eyesight problems. Although the administration had scheduled an appointment for treatment at the Salmaniya Hospital, it was cancelled due to the pandemic. In light of this track record of medical negligence, the risks of Coronavirus are high. 

On 17 April, riot police forces attacked prisoners in Buildings 12, 13, and 14 in Jau Prison, and many of the prisoners were injured. This attack was an act of reprisal against the prisoners who were protesting the inadequate prison conditions and punitive measures implemented against them in Buildings 12, 13, and 14, such as prohibiting calls and holding prisoners in their cells for 24 hours per day. Mohsen is held in Building 14. As such, his family have repeatedly communicated with the prison administration and Ministry of Interior but did not receive a response. They have also submitted many complaints to the Ombudsman Office and organized a demonstration demanding the fate of the prisoners of Buildings 12, 13, and 14 be disclosed after contact with them was cut off as well as condemning the statement of the Ombudsman Office which denied the fact that prisoners are prohibited from calling their families. On 28 April 2021, Mohsen’s family confirmed that they have not heard from him or received any information about him in 23 days, which further heightens their concerns. 

Mohsen’s arrest, disappearance, denial of access to his lawyer, and torture  constitute violations of Bahrain’s obligations under the Constitution and international law, namely the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) and the International Covennant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). As he was arrested without a warrant and was not granted a fair trial under international standards, Mohsen Baddaw was arbitrarily detained by the Bahraini authorities. Moreover, the punitive measures against prisoners and the denial of calls with their family is in violation of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Mandela Rules). ADHRB therefore calls upon the Bahraini government to grant Mohsen a fair retrial that respects international judicial and evidentiary standards, in addition to investigating the allegations of torture to coerce a confession and the attack in Jau Prison with a view of holding perpetrators accountable. Further, ADHRB urges the prison administration to provide Mohsen with appropriate medical care. Finally, ADHRB reiterates the demands of the concerned families of prisoners in Buildings 12, 13, and 14 for the families to be informed of the prisoners’ wellbeing and whereabouts and be allowed to contact them regularly. 

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Ali Hasan AlAradi, a student at the Sheikh Khalifa Bin Salman Institute of Technology, was only 17 years old when he was first arrested while attending a funeral in Muharraq. Since his arrest, Ali has been transferred to various prisons and detention centers where he has sustained severe physical injuries due to torture and has been held in isolation and solitary confinement for long periods of time. To this day, Ali remains in Jau Prison, where he serves a sentence of more than fifteen years. 

On 16 May 2013, civilian and military forces surrounded a funeral that Ali was attending in Muharraq. They ran after him and eventually arrested him on the roof of a house, without presenting an arrest warrant nor giving a reason for the arrest. They transported him to Hidd station. Prior to his arrest, between March and May 2013, Bahraini authorities raided Ali’s family house several times, and sent him summons and subpoenas to appear before court as well as two communications. On the evening of his arrest, officers in civilian clothing from the National Security Agency and from Hidd station, including the station’s director, raided Ali’s family home without a warrant and confiscated electronic devices belonging to Ali and his family. For two days following his arrest, Ali’s family did not know his whereabouts nor his fate, until he called them and informed them that he was being held at the Criminal Investigations Directorate (CID). 

Ali’s interrogation lasted for 16 days, from the day of his arrest until 31 May 2013. During that time, he was transferred to Hidd Station, Sanaheej Station, and Muharraq Station where officers from each station interrogated him and subjected him to psychological and physical torture, forcing him to sign papers and confessions without knowing their contents. Officers beat, kicked, and slapped Ali on his whole body and stripped him of his clothes several times. As a result, Ali suffered from headaches, a hemorrhage in his head, and a leg fracture, in addition to psychological distress, humiliation, and insults to his religious sect. Throughout his interrogation at the three police stations, Ali was denied access to his attorney whom he was only able to meet during the court hearings. 

In total, nine cases were brought against Ali, and they consisted of intentional arson and burning of tires, possession of Molotov cocktails, illegal assembly, rioting and assaulting police patrols and a policeman in prison. Between July 2013 and July 2014, Ali was brought before the Public Prosecution Office (PPO) several times, and many court hearings were held regarding the charges against him. Ali was acquitted of four charges. However, authorities refused to release him because of the five other charges, for which he was sentenced to a total of five years and seven months and transferred to New Dry Dock Prison to carry out the judgment. 

Since his imprisonment, Ali has been subjected to ill-treatment at the hands of the authorities, furthering the deterioration of his psychological well-being. In late December 2013, prison authorities held him in solitary confinement for two weeks without a reason and, on 18 June 2014, they put him in isolation for six months, accusing him of beating a policeman. During that time, he was prohibited from buying food and other products from the canteen and was held in solitary confinement for six days, from 4 August to 9 August 2014.

On 3 June 2016, seventeen detainees escaped from New Dry Dock Prison, and Ali was among them. The next day, on 4 June 2016, he was captured along with 11 other fugitives by Bahraini authorities. He was hiding in a house in Bilad Al-Qadim near Manama, when masked officers in civilian clothing who were following him arrested him and severely beat him. Following his second arrest, Ali disappeared for six days. On 10 June 2016, he was able to call his family for a few seconds to inform them that he was at the Criminal Investigations Building. His mother was able to briefly visit him once on 16 June 2016 in Jau prison, but four policemen were accompanying him, and he could not speak freely. She reported that there were signs of beating and torture on his face and that his right hand was fractured. 

Ali’s interrogation lasted for 30 days and took place at various locations, namely the Criminal Investigations Building in Jau Prison, the CID, the Royal Police Academy, and AlQurain prison. In Qurain Military Prison of the Bahrain Defense Force, Ali and his colleagues were surprised that the one who is investigating recently is the Minister of the Interior himself, Rashid Al Khalifa, and the Head of Public Security, Tariq Al-Hassan and was grouped with other detainees based on his religious denomination. During that period, various officers tortured and mistreated Ali. Among other things, they handcuffed him, chained his feet, blindfolded him, physically assaulted him, and forced him to stand up for long periods of time, depriving him of sleep. He consequently suffered from a fractured right hand, loss of hearing in his left ear, and swelling in his face. On 12 April 2018, Ali was convicted by the Military Court for escaping Dry Dock Detention Center and was sentenced to ten years in Jau Central Prison, where he is currently held. Similar to his previous charges and trials, Ali was not able to meet his attorney during the interrogation period and did not have adequate time and facilities to prepare for trial. 

Since his first arrest in 2013, Ali’s family has filed two complaints to the Ombudsman Office and the Prisoners and Detainees Rights Commission with regards to his ill-treatment and physical and psychological torture, in 2014 and 2016. On 11 November 2014, the military court summoned Ali’s mother to the Ministry of Interior (MoI) building, where she was interrogated about the reasons for her complaint against police forces and has received no follow-up ever since. 

Bahraini authorities’ treatment of Ali, from his arbitrary arrest without a warrant, his denial of fair trial rights, and his torture and discrimination, all constitute violations of Bahrain’s obligations under the Bahraini Constitution and under international treaties, namely the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). ADHRB therefore urges authorities to drop all convictions through unfair trials and to grant Ali a retrial respecting international judicial and evidentiary standards. Finally, ADHRB calls upon Bahraini authorities to investigate allegations of torture and inhumane treatment by investigation officers with a view to holding them accountable.

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Hasan Asad Jasim Jasim Nesaif was a 20-year-old Bahraini student when he was arrested without a warrant in an ambush in the al-Naim area following a raid on his family home. Hasan was tortured and subjected to several human rights violations, including his right to due process and a fair trial. He is currently held in Jau Prison.

On 20 May 2015, an ambush was set up by officers from the Ministry of Interior and civilian officers after his family’s house was raided and entirely searched.  Hassan tried to escape, so he was pursued and shot. The area was subsequently surrounded by riot police. Officers beat Hasan while arresting him from the street, and he was transferred to al-Naim police station. 

Hasan remained at the station, where he was tortured and mistreated, for around an hour until he was transferred to the CID, where he remained for two days before being transferred to the public prosecution building. Then, he was returned to the CID. At the CID, Hasan was insulted and cursed at, in addition to having his clothes torn, having his skin burned with cigarettes, and being beaten on his arms, legs, and sensitive areas. Hasan’s family did not receive a phone call from him until 5 days after his arrest. On the fifth day of his arrest, he was taken to Jau Prison and tortured there for a day before being transferred to New Dry Dock Prison as he was still under the age of 21. His lawyer was not allowed to be present throughout this duration. Hasan’s house was raided and searched entirely once again the day after his arrest. 

Hasan had been wanted since 2011 and sentenced in absentia to 13 years in prison. After his arrest, he was convicted in more cases, with his sentence totaling 32 years in prison. Hasan was convicted in many charges including arson, illegal assembly and rioting, assault, as well as manufacturing and possession of explosives. All sentences were upheld by each of the Court of Appeals and Court of Cassation.

Since Hasan was wanted by authorities before his arrest, his house would be raided systematically twice a month. During one of the pursuits in 2011 where he was shot, he fell from the second floor while escaping, fracturing his spine. He could only remain at the hospital for 2 days, due to authorities pursuit, and could not properly follow up on his treatment. In prison, his condition has worsened, as he suffers from excruciating back pain and favism. Hasan has demanded that the Jau prison administration transfer him to an osteopathic doctor, but his multiple demands were dismissed until he was transferred once to the clinic, where he did an X-ray for his back. The doctor told him that two of his vertebrae have moved out of their place and that he needs a medical back corset. He did not offer him any treatment at the clinic, and Hasan was never transferred to a hospital to receive medical care. The family have submitted multiple complaints to the Ombudsman but have received no response. 

The treatment Hasan has suffered at the hands of Bahraini authorities, from his arrest to the torture and mistreatment he endured during interrogation, to being deprived of a fair trial, constitutes violations of international law, including the Convention Against Torture and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both of which were ratified by Bahrain. ADHRB calls upon the authorities to drop the preselected charges against Hasan and to investigate claims of torture and inhumane treatment in order to hold the perpetrators accountable. Finally, ADHRB urges Bahraini authorities to hold a retrial for Hasan that respects international standards of fair trial and provide him with adequate medical treatment for his condition.

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Ali Naser Ahmed, the grandson of the spiritual leader of the Shia community in Bahrain, Sheikh Isa Qasim, was a 22-year-old Industrial Secondary School student when he was arrested without a warrant by Bahraini authorities during a raid on his home. Ali was tortured, forced to sign a confession to crimes he did not commit, and sentenced in a mass trial marred with fair trial violations. He is currently held in Building 16 of Dry Dock Detention Center.

On 16 January 2020, at 2:30 a.m., civilian officers, Commandos forces, and security officers, all masked and armed, stormed the house. They searched Ali’s room for 45 minutes, closing the door of the bedroom so that the family could not see what was happening. Outside, there were Nisan Patrols, Jeeps, civilian cars, and two small buses along with officers filling the neighborhood. When Ali and the officers emerged from the room, the officers were carrying Ali because he could not walk on his own, and they claimed he was sick. Ali called his family approximately an hour and a half after the arrest, telling them that he is at the investigation building. Following this call, he was forcibly disappeared for 26 days. The family submitted a complaint to the Ombudsman on 19 January regarding Ali’s mistreatment and disappearance, but the Ombudsman found no offense to be committed.

Ali was taken to the CID where he was interrogated and tortured. Ali was coerced into signing a statement confessing to charges brought against him, and eventually confessed to stop the torture. His statement was also taken by the public prosecutor in the investigation building, and no lawyer was present with him. After the interrogation, Ali was transferred to Dry Dock Detention Center. He was able to meet with his parents for the first time on 13 February 2020, and he looked visibly exhausted.

Ali was charged with: 1) Joining a group or organization for the purpose of disrupting the law or violating rights and freedoms; 2) Training on the use of weapons and explosives with the intention of committing a terrorist crime; 3) Providing or receiving support or funding for an association that practices terrorism. On 31 January 2021, Ali was sentenced to 15 years in prison in a mass trial which included 18 defendants, labeled the Soleimani Cell case. Ali was also denied access to an attorney during the trial and did not have adequate time and facilities to prepare the defense. 

On 8 March, Ali was transferred to the Building 16 in the Dry Dock Detention Center, where he remains. The Dry Dock Detention Center has multiple confirmed cases of Coronavirus, and there have been reported cases in the same ward where Ali was held for a month, which places him at risk of contracting the virus. 

Ali has been arrested several times since the beginning of the movement in Bahrain when he was very young. The first arrest was on 18 April 2013. Ali spent 105 days in Dry Dock Prison, and on 17 June 2014, he was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months for the charge of illegal gathering and assault. On 23 April 2015, Ali was taken to Salmaniya Hospital for treatment after he had fainted in Jau Mosque, and officers carried him out on a stretcher covered with his own blood.  Someone informed the family that Ali was in a private guarded room in the hospital for treatment and that the cause of the injury and the effects of scabies were unknown. Ali was taken back to Jau Prison early even though he was still in need of treatment.

Ali was arrested for a second time at his grandfather Sheikh Isa Qasim’s house on 21 December 2016, during the violent dispersal of the peaceful assembly in Diraz. He was sentenced to one year in prison and released on a 200 Bahraini Dinar bail. Following the appeal, he was arrested once again to implement the verdict. He was arrested from his home for the third time to carry out the sentence. 

The treatment Ali has suffered at the hands of Bahraini authorities, from his arrest to the torture and mistreatment he endured during detention, to being deprived of a fair trial, constitutes violations of international law, including the Convention Against Torture and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both of which were ratified by Bahrain. ADHRB calls upon the authorities to drop the preselected charges against Ali and to investigate claims of torture and inhumane treatment by CID officers in order to hold those officials accountable. Finally, ADHRB urges Bahraini authorities to hold a retrial for Ali that respects international standards of fair trial and his release, especially in light of the conditions of the Corona epidemic in prisons.

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Husain AlSari was a 23-year-old employee when he was arrested by authorities at the Central Investigation Department (CID). Husain was tortured, unlawfully detained and forced to sign a confession to crimes he did not commit. Despite a medical report proving he was at the hospital the day the crime was committed, he was found guilty and also charged with additional crimes while in prison. He remains in Jau Prison to this day.

Husain received a summon to his house on 23 October 2014 requesting his presence at the CID in Adliya without mentioning the reason for the arrest or the charges. He went on the same day and was promptly arrested and sent to interrogations blindfolded and handcuffed and was put in a dark cell alone. At 10:00 a.m. he was called by Office 99, a department at the CID, and was tortured in order to extract a confession. He endured insults and defamation at the hands of CID officers, who undressed him and hit him with wooden and iron boards, despite his injury and pain in his knee as a result of his injury while playing soccer at Sitra Club. Husain suffered from pain in his head as a result of the severe beatings, to which he was denied medical treatment. He was also coerced into signing a statement confessing to charges brought against him, and eventually confessed to stop the torture. He was transferred from the CID to the Public Prosecution Office (PPO) 10 hours later, before being transferred to Dry Dock Detention Center at 2:10 a.m. on 24 October 2014. His lawyer was not permitted to attend the interrogation. Husain was only allowed contact with his family two weeks after his arrest.

Husain had been informed after his arrest that he was charged with burning a car belonging to 2014 parliamentary elections candidate Sheikh Majeed AlAsfoor in the city of Sitra. When AlAsfoor was present at the prosecution on 21 October 2014 before Husain’s arrest, he did not accuse anyone of burning his car. Later, he dropped all charges as he believed Husain was innocent.  In addition, a knee ligament in one of Hussein’s feet was injured due to playing football at Sitra Football Club, and he was undergoing treatment at Aali Hospital on the day of the burning of AlAsfoor’s car, with an operation being scheduled for him before he was arrested. The family submitted medical reports from Aali Hospital to the court confirming their claims that Hussain was in the hospital on the day of the accident, as evidence of his innocence and also of the impossibility of him participating in assemblies or gatherings on that day. 

Despite evidence of his innocence, Husain was charged with: Assembly, arson, rioting and possession of explosive material in the first case. While in prison, he was charged with a second case, assaulting a police officer. On 6 September 2015, Husain was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the first case, which was reduced to 7 years in March 2016 as a result of the appeal. As for the second case, he was sentenced for 3 years in prison on 11 January 2015, which was reduced to 2 years as a result of the appeal, making the total of his sentence after appeal 9 years in prison. Husain was also denied access to an attorney and did not have adequate time and facilities to prepare for trial.

The treatment Husain has suffered at the hands of Bahraini authorities, from his arrest to the torture and mistreatment he endured during detention, to being deprived of a fair trial, constitutes violations of international law, including the Convention Against Torture and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, both of which were ratified by Bahrain. ADHRB calls upon the authorities to drop the preselected charges against Husain and to investigate claims of torture and inhumane treatment by CID officers in order to hold those officials accountable. Finally, ADHRB urges Bahraini authorities to hold a retrial for Husain that respects international standards and take into consideration all pieces of evidence.

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