Report Exposes Bahrain Maltreatment of Juvenile Prisoners
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Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain reveals in a report the violations committed against juvenile prisoners in the al-Hawdh al-Jaf detention center.
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The detention center for juvenile convicts witnessed an increase in the rate of violations of international laws and conventions.
Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain published a report entitled The reality of juvenile convicts in al-Hawdh al-Jaf contradicts the law on Restorative Justice for Children and Their Protection from Maltreatment.
The organization's report shed light on the most prominent provisions of the law in Bahrain and the latest violations against juvenile convicts in the al-Hawdh al-Jaf detention center.
The report reveals live testimonies of four former minor political prisoners and points out the violations that were committed in the prison while referring to legal analysis that shows Bahrain's violation of international laws and conventions.
According to the organization, the al-Hawdh al-Jaf detention center for juvenile convicts witnessed an increase in the rate of violations of international laws and conventions, notably the ones related to children's rights, as most of these violations are physical in nature.
In detail, the report acknowledged an audio clip by the father of minor prisoner Sayed Mojtaba Saeed al-Khabbaz, who was beaten and whose books were confiscated.
Al-Khabbaz had been subjected to the most severe forms of torture, electric shocks, and threats of physical assault in order to confess.
Another former minor political prisoner, Ali Ahmed Khamis, stated that he and a colleague were tortured and subjected to insults, slander, and degrading treatment, as well as physical and psychological violence. The two were simply accused of knocking on the cell's door and threatened with increased punishment if they file a complaint.
For its part, the family of Sadiq Jaafar Ali warned on October 26 of Sadiq's deteriorating condition.
The prisoner has been in isolation for nearly a year and has been on a hunger strike since October 14 to demand appropriate treatment and his release from isolation.
He was arrested at the age of 16 and sentenced to more than 13 years in prison, and is currently suffering from eczema, a chronic skin disease.
Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain also monitored the complaints of a group of political prisoners about a continuous defect in the air conditioning system and water leaks inside their cells.
One of the prisoners was beaten, insulted, and cursed by prison guards after complaining about the inhuman treatment that violates their most basic rights.
The report also mentioned violations such as poor quality meals, inappropriate health care, spread of allergies and skin diseases, and denial of communication.
Several prisoners are currently on hunger strike in protest of poor quality meals, among whom are minor prisoners Mahdi Abd al-Wahhab Hassan and Hussein Ali Matar, who suffers from diabetes and is in need of appropriate health care.
