The Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) has been following with concern the deteriorating conditions in Jaw Prison in Bahrain after the death of a political prisoner Hussein Khalil Ibrahim Kadhim (32 years old) last March.
The death of Kadhim is thought to be due to medical negligence according to a testimony from a fellow inmate, Ali Barakat. Barakat claimed that the inmate was sick and the prison clinic kept sending him back after telling him that there is nothing wrong with him. He later fell unconscious during a football game in prison, and there was no doctor available to administer emergency procedures, which eventually led to his death. The Bahrain News Agency published a statement afterwards on March 2024, that the death was caused by pre-existing conditions, including hypertension, despite prior pleas by the deceased to receive the required medical attention.
Kadhim’s death sparked a protest across political prisoners who are held at Jaw Prison. The political prisoners demanded to be released and obtain their rights to proper medical care, adequate recreational time away from their cells, and to obtain educational opportunities and rehabilitation programs while imprisoned. Around 500 political prisoners and other inmates have joined the protest since then under the slogan “Stop the slow death policy”.
In April 2024, King Hamad Al-Khalifah issued a Royal Decree to pardon 1584 prisoners who were sentenced for criminal and riot charges. In June 2024, the King pardoned 545 prisoners, and on 04 September 2024, the King pardoned another 457 prisoners, including 150 political prisoners.
Despite the pardons, the prisoners continued to protest which led to authorities increasing restrictions against the prisoners.
According to the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD), protesting prisoners were subjected to cuts of electricity and air-conditioning at times of excessive heat, a ban on visits and communications, and reduction in water and food deliveries. In response, three UN special rapporteurs, on the right to food, on counter-terrorism and human rights, and on the right to health, urged the Bahraini authorities to take immediate actions to ensure the rights of detainees who are facing poor conditions. Yet, no corrective measures have been taken to date.
In October 2024, GCHR published a report on the Royal Pardon and how it excluded prominent human rights defenders from the list of those released, many of whom were suffering ill-treatment and medical negligence despite having serious health conditions, such as the co-founder of GCHR, Abdulhadi Al-Khawaja.
Recommendations
The Gulf Centre for Human Rights calls for the Bahraini authorities to:
- Immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners and human rights defenders before more death and deteriorating conditions impact their wellbeing;
- Address the needs of Jaw prisoners, particularly political prisoners, for timely and proper medical care, adequate living conditions, access to dietary and nutritional needs, and visitation rights; and
- Ensure the state’s commitment to its international and regional human rights standards in treating political rights and prisoners’ rights.
