Islam Times - Bahrain Crackdown: Political Prisoners in Terrible Conditions, Opposition Group Warns

Bahrain Crackdown: Political Prisoners in Terrible Conditions, Opposition Group Warns

Islam Times - Bahrain’s main opposition group al-Wefaq National Islamic Society voiced serious concern about the unhealthy conditions in the tiny Gulf kingdom’s detention centers, saying political prisoners are being held in terrible conditions.

In a statement released on Saturday night, al-Wefaq announced that the imprisoned campaigners are exposed to various forms of mental and physical health conditions, denouncing their mistreatment as criminal and potentially fatal.

“Leaked documents from dozens of political prisoners indicate that the inmates are being kept in very terrible conditions,” the statement read.

The opposition group went on to criticize the international community’s indifference to the miserable condition of imprisoned political inmates and deplored Western governments’ fake advocacy for human rights.

“Depriving inmates of drinking water, treatment and medical supplies, heat and hot water, sunlight and contact with family, in addition to other inhumane conditions amount to a crime and represent a systematic assault on the lives of political prisoners. These detainees are being held behind bars for their advocacy of human rights, and fighting for legitimate political and humanitarian demands as well as civil liberties,” al-Wefaq alarmed.

“Political prisoners in Bahrain have been arrested, tortured, and sentenced to lengthy jail terms, stripped of their citizenship and isolated politically and socially, only because they demanded democracy, justice, freedom, and respect for human rights,” the statement added.

The Bahraini opposition group finally denounced the Al Khalifa regime’s heavy-handed clampdown as suffocating and atrocious, stating that continuation of the status quo will shut the door to reconciliation.

Anti-monarchy demonstrations began in mid-February 2011 and have been held on a regular basis ever since the popular uprising started.

Demonstrators demand that the Al Khalifa regime relinquish power, and a democratic, just system representing all Bahrainis be established.

The ruthless Manama regime, however, has responded to demands for social equality with an iron fist, clamping down on voices of dissent.

In March 2017, Bahrain’s parliament approved the trial of opposition civilians at military tribunals in a measure blasted by human rights campaigners as being tantamount to the imposition of an undeclared martial law.

The monarch, King Hamad, ratified the constitutional amendment in April 2017, bringing about further suppression of political dissent on the tiny Gulf Island under the strong influence of the Saudi regime.